+lewk Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Just wondering if it's possible when the time comes to replace a 14k bulb with a 10k bulb. I bought a Coralife Aqualight Pro off the boards here and was told it's got a 14k bulb in there now. When the time comes to change, should I stick with the 14k bulb, or can I replace it with a 10k without any problems? So far, everything seems to be growing OK, and I guess as far as future plans go, I'm looking to keep a mix of SPS, LPS and a soft coral or two. I would love to get a nem when things mature a bit, if that should influence my bulb choice at all. Thanks in advance. Luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prof Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 You can run any color temp. you want. You do have to stay with the same wattage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonSequitur Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Agreed, you can use any color you want as long as you stick to wattage and the bulb you're looking at supports the way your ballast starts the lamp (pulse or probe. Most electronic ballasts are pulse start and can run either). One thing to consider any time you change lamps is that the new lamp will be significantly brighter than the old lamp, so you might want to consider shortening your photoperiod or shading your corals for a while until they adjust. This might be more important in your case, since lower K lamps often have higher initial PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) so you might have even more light shock when compared to the aged, higher K lamps you're replacing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Also realize that the 10K blub will give you a more yellowish light. 20K's tend to be very blue light, and 14K a middle of the road blue/yellow. It is somewhat personal preference on what color you like to see, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 You will get more growth out of the 10k than the 20k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarathustra2 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Just from personal experience and what I have picked up... 10k Light is better for growth. Great choice if you have supplemental actinics. You will have problems with some species that use blue light (mostly deep water species. 14k is a good middle of the road. Reccomended if you do not have actinics. 20k is about the same and I have seen it reccomended for Deep water tanks but I find it far too blue for my tastes. I have thought about creating a setup with 2x 14k 250w and 1x 20k to take the place of actinics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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