14K bulb Users! Did you see the negative effect on color in certain corals?

[7thheaven]

Hi all~

I found a very interesting thread in Singapore SPS forum

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/inde...howtopic=30737

Some said 14K bulb had the negative effect on colors in some corals..

I often read the thead about 14K in RC forum,

I think they are always saying it is so good, and did not say the bad effect..

That is why I am interested in this thread....

How about your opinion?

Have a Nice Weekend~

[John Brancheau]

I have been using Hamilton 14k's for years, I have great results with them, but I have always said water quality is much more important than lighting.........

[moonpod]

I agree with John. That being said, when I was keeping stonies, the colors were just fine if not better under the AC "14k" than the AB or BLV 10ks.

[Orion76]

Vince, I think you are putting too much importance on Kelvin ratings.

IMHO much more important than the color of the bulb is meeting the photosynthetic requirements of your corals. The 14,000K bulbs he switched to may not have been intense enough to maintain the colors of some specimens lower in the tank in his particular setup.

I do not believe it was the color of the bulb that was causing problems.

[invincible569]

Ive had a similiar experience when I decided to change all by bulbs to 14k AC's. I changed 2 bulbs to 10K Ab's and left one AC 14K. It was the perfect combination for me. I feel that using 14k's with 10k's make the color of the coral come out even more. When i had all 14K's for a day or so, all my colors looked washed out.. I lost the strong pinks and yellow. If you guys dont realize, the Japanese have mastered this. Depending on the coral species and color, you need to understand what kelvin color a coral will look better in.. shallow or deep. Purples, yellows, pinks look better under 10k's... shorter Kelvin wavelengths while blues & greens look better under longer wavelengths, 14k-20k. Dont base a single users experience to a fact. There are a lot of factors that are involved.

[7thheaven]

Ive had a similiar experience when I decided to change all by bulbs to 14k AC's. I changed 2 bulbs to 10K Ab's and left one AC 14K. It was the perfect combination for me. I feel that using 14k's with 10k's make the color of the coral come out even more. When i had all 14K's for a day or so, all my colors looked washed out.. I lost the strong pinks and yellow. If you guys dont realize, the Japanese have mastered this. Depending on the coral species and color, you need to understand what kelvin color a coral will look better in.. shallow or deep. Purples, yellows, pinks look better under 10k's... longer Kelvin wavelengths while blues & greens look better under shorter wavelengths, 14k-20k. Dont base a single users experience to a fact. There are a lot of factors that are involved.

Thanks..~
Edward!~
Have you ever used BLV10K? Which is more yellowish between BLV10K and
AB 10K?

[invincible569]

Thanks..~
Edward!~
Have you ever used BLV10K? Which is more yellowish between BLV10K and
AB 10K?

I sure havent. But I have had my eye on them. They are more white than yellow. I have seen them in person. Ushio's are also more white than AB's. All good bulb brands.

[7thheaven]

I sure havent. But I have had my eye on them. They are more white than yellow. I have seen them in person. Ushio's are also more white than AB's. All good bulb brands.

Thanks Edward~
Now I use 10K BLV bulb. I heard Ushio and BLV is a little more different.
Isn't it?

[moonpod]

AB is very yellow IMO. The BLV 10k/Giesemann 13k and the Ushio are not so yellow. I'm wondering about the Giesemann 14.5k as it is supposedly even less yellow, but not a "blue" bulb.

[Detritivore]

what about the XM 10k's, are the SE versions different from the DE?

[moonpod]

yes. The SE is much whiter than the DE

[Orion76]

I'm wondering about the Giesemann 14.5k as it is supposedly even less yellow, but not a "blue" bulb.

I'd like to learn more about this bulb as well, does anyone have experience with it?

[moonpod]

One thing I know Orion....it doesn't come 400w.

[Orion76]

Thanks Chuck, they're not for me then

[OUinLA]

I've run AB 10K, BLV 10K, Aqua Connect 14K, and the XM 10k SE's. The only bulb I didn't like is the 14K.

However, I will be putting the 14K's back on so I will see if my views change.