Upgraded lighting

[Adam]

In my 75 gallon reef, I used to have (2) 175w 65k Hamilton MH bulbs, and 2 110w vho atentics

Now I upgraded to (2) 250watt HM bulbs, and the XM 10k's I am going to order, along with the VHO's I already have. :smash:


So now the final lighting on my 75 gallon SPS tank will be:




(2) 250w 10k XM Metal Halights

and

(2) 110w Atentic VHO's.

Should I notice any effects from making the higher output switch, and, will I like the XM's more that the Hamiltons as far as intensity and color and such...are they generally thought of as better quality bulbs???

Thanks :blue:

[nbd13]

mkae sure to aclimate you corals to the new lights or you will bleach them out VERY quickly, do some research once again on RC about this!

Nick

[blureff]

ou have ever seen the lamps of the evc I am a lot of perfomance
www.thereefer.it
hqi EVc 10000k end 14000k :-)

[mesocosm]

Greetings All!

Adam,

Should I notice any effects from making the higher output switch ...

There could be several various effects, not the least of which is what nbd13 was talking about. You're significantly increasing your lighting, so acclimation may be critical. Lowering your corals (... increasing the attenuation - "scattering" - as light travels down through the water column ...), placing a screen(s) between your corals and their new lights, and decreasing the total photoperiod could all be useful strategies of acclimation for you.

RTN/bleaching is a typical response to a too rapid increase in lighting, as is STN accompanied by some tissue "peeling", "browning"/color shifts, lackluster polyp extension, and the corals not "feeling/looking" quite right. You might consider these as you make your observations.

... will I like the XM's more that the Hamiltons as far as intensity and color and such ...

Hehe ... ...

... welcome to the great debate ... but seriously ... I have no clue what your aesthetic values may be. You might want to check out the following links in order to evaluate the performance of various halide bulbs. After that, you might have a better idea of what to expect. I haven't checked lately, but I'd wager there are some excellent comparisons of color & intensity regarding XM vs. Hamilton bulbs. HTH.

Sanjay's Reef Lighting Pages
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

Index page of Sanjay's Articles
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/articles.htm

Sanjay Joshi has done some GREAT work ... I strongly recommend reading some of his stuff as you explore the finer points of metal halide lighting.

...are they generally thought of as better quality bulbs???

XMs are generally held in higher regard throughout the industry, but I'm pleased with my Hamilton stuff.

JMO ... FWIW.

[Adam]

thanks guys...I did raise my whole lighting fixture 12" higher than it usually is...I will consider the screen idea too...I cant really move my corals further down: there is no room.

[Adam]

whats lackluster polyp extinsion???

I noticed there is more polyp extinsion now...I have the temporary (mabe) 42k bulbs...

[nbd13]

i think he means that the polys aren't out as much and they arent extended as far, i think that whats he mean by "lackluster" basically there are lacking the luster they had before if that makes sense.

Nick

[mesocosm]

Greetings All!

whats lackluster polyp extinsion???

One day I'll learn to write clearly ... sorry about that ...

By "lackluster polyp extension" I mean:
1. Individual polyp extension that lacks rigidity/"fullness", as though the polyp
isn't fully "pressurized." The extension is there, but it's "limp."
2. Overall/collective polyp extension is mixed ... some polyps are extended
normally, other polyps are "limp", while others are minimally extended (or
not at all).

... basically there are lacking the luster they had before if that makes sense.

HTH.

[mesocosm]

Greetings All !

I noticed there is more polyp extinsion now...

It's been my experience that "polyp extension" is best used as an "indicator" within the context of other observations ... in and of itself, as an isolated "datum", it might not mean a whole lot.

It's also been my experience that polyp extension can be a stress indicator. Not all extended polyps are happy polyps. For example, newly arrived specimens, straight out of the transship box, sometimes present full polyp extension for a brief period. They're not happy ... they're altering their surface-to-volume ratio in order to relieve chemical/physical/environmental stress.

[Adam]

ahh fancy thanks :-)

[Todd March]

Adam, one of the nicer lighting setups I have seen is with 2X XM 250W 10K's and 4X URI VHO Super Actinics. Incredible color when over a low nutrient tank...! The exrta VHO's make such a difference...!