Quote:
Originally Posted by JennyFlow
Next noob question you've surely answer 100 times before but confuses me...
When people talk about LEDs I usually see wavelength but when talking about MHs I see K. These are all just colors right?
MORE IMPORTANTLY WHICH ONE DO I GET LOL... 14k or 20k and why are there 2 20ks and one is called 250 watt radium 20k
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I’m sure someone will dig up a big wordy article written by Dr Sanjay Joshi 15 years ago. But I’ll sum it up.
Common reef hobby wattages for metal halides are:
150 watt (smaller tanks under 18” deep)
250 watt (most common for tanks 18-30” deep
400 watt (usually reserved for large footprints and 30”+ depth tanks yet)
1000 watt (mega tank size/commercial applications of 48” or more depth)
“K” rating is a fairly loosely used measurement of how “blue” a bulb is. The higher the number, the bluer the bulb.
6500K is common for horticulture and general commercial lighting (parking lots, shopping centers)
10,000K (or 10K) is going to still be very white, but not quite as yellow as mid day sunlight. Will look like water at a depth of 5 feet or so
14,000k (or 14K) is still white but a little cooler in appearance. Similar to water between 5-15 feet or so.
20,000K (or 20K) is STILL white but with strong blue overtones. Like ocean water 15+ feet deep before the blue takes over entirely
Radium is a “Brand” of bulb created by the German lighting company Osram. There are LOT of different “Radium” bulbs for many applications from photography, film sets, general public commercial lighting, and yes aquariums. It is a fairly pleasing blue/white bulb known for its high PAR value, (photosynthetically active radiation, Or...how much quantifiable visible light the source produces), long life, and stable color output.
How many and what type will depend entirely on what area you need covered and what you are going to keep.
There’s more to it also, but before overwhelming you, if you actually decide to move forward, we will need to discuss bulb and ballast matching. It’s not like screwing bulbs into a bathroom fixture. There are different types of bulbs and ballasts that need to be matched to work.
For instance you cannot run a Radium using a standard magnetic ballast, it requires either an electronic ballast or an HQI ballast. Conversely you should avoid using a mogul based Hamilton 14K bulb on an HQI ballast as you will be heavily overdriving it and run the risk of it exploding. But if you decide to go with MH wecan help there. If not, we’ll....the more you know. Never bad to be informed.
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