MH Lighting Question.

[dedecv3]

What is the difference in colors between 10K, 14K, 15K, 20K etc MH bulbs?? My Odyssea fixture came with two 250 watt 15K bulbs but from what i've read these arent the greatest in quality so Im thinking of switching them out. I've already switched out the Odyssea actinic's for Coralife 65 watt actinic bulbs.

[sedor]

The difference is in the color and in the PAR. I'm not an expert so forgive me for not using the most technical language, but I do know the basic differences. A 10K bulb is going to be your best for coral growth, but its also going to be very yellow. If you are using actinics in combination with your MH's then this is not a bad route to go. 20K is going to give you a nice crisp white light, but it won't be as effective as far as growth goes. You can use a 20K without any actinics and still have very nice color. 14K's are right in the middle and because of this the most popular. I use a Phoenix 14K will no actinic supplementation and love the color.

There is going to be a ton of differences among different brand name bulbs. Your right, Odyssea are not the best quality. What your going to want to do is do some research on different brands. Maybe ask your LFS what they use so you can see the color.