Lighting Halide 250 watt

[ShanGo]

whats the best tank lighting to use 14k 20k 30k
any help

[rygh]

It seems pretty widely stated that anything above 10K makes no real difference to life in the tank.
So it is purely a matter of what you think looks best.
I personally think above 12K looks too blue and unnatural, but others love that look.
You will end up buying a lot of bulbs through the life of your tank. So just buy a few different colors up front, and experiment.
If nothing else, you have a few emergency spares.

[ShanGo]

thanks i am getting some 14k
how high do you set your lights from surface of water

[ShanGo]

any one can tell me how high you put the halide from the water as i was told 22ins ?

[rahjelli]

don't know if it needs to be THAT high, usually 10-15 inches I would think. Mine are 10"

[ShanGo]

ok thanks

[worley]

If it makes any difference, I recently replaced my 250w 14k MH and 2x 54w T5s for 3x:
http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/aquarium/aquabeam-1000.asp 30w LEDs. Extremely happy with them, not cheap but last 10+ years without needing to replace bulbs and works out 1/3 of the power consumption/running costs and far lower heat output, which in turns means less cooling needed for the thank in summer, which means less evaporation / power usage / running costs and more stable temperature
The LEDs give slightly lower brightness (they recommend 4 of the above for my 6x2x2 tank, but I have 3 for the moment) than the T5s and MH combined, but not by much, and the colour + shimmer is at least as good as MH lights.
Tom.

[new2scrub]

my halides are only about 6" from the water with no heat issues,,i like them close because i hate flooding the room with light

[iggy]

Kelvin temperature is kinda a selling point instead of true color temp.

Ushio bulbs have same output at 10K and 14K while many others will diminish rapidly as kelvin increases. I would recommend Hamilton 14K or Ushio 14K (brighter or yellower). But honestly it is not that critical with a good quality bulb.

I have perceived better results with 14K than with 10K with high efficient reflectors