i just got two 70 watt MH lamps. its for freshwater. it came with 14,000k bulbs and it is really blue. what bulb can i get that will make it look more natural?
metal halide for FW question
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The number followed by "K" is the "Temperature-Kelvin" which is how they measure the light spectrum produced. The higher the number, the bluer the light. I have seen "daylight" bulbs that are 6700K and 10,000K. I think bulbs 10,000K and above appear blue. The cheap bulbs that they sell at Home Depot are 4300K, I believe.
I hope this helps!
I hope this helps!
10k is what you want, it's pure white and it represents the midday sun when it's at it's peak. Anything higher is blue such as the 14k up to 20k on the other hand the 6700 is more of a dull yellow rather than white. The K just stands for thousand, so 10k is representative of 10,000...get it.
The manufacturer of the bulb also makes a difference, example...coralife's 10k is may be whiter than iwaki's 10k and so on...
Just get a 10k by coralife at www.thatfishplace.com and you'll be set for a year or so as the bulb will need replacing by then...good luck
The manufacturer of the bulb also makes a difference, example...coralife's 10k is may be whiter than iwaki's 10k and so on...
Just get a 10k by coralife at www.thatfishplace.com and you'll be set for a year or so as the bulb will need replacing by then...good luck
benray4fun;3890964; said:
The "k" does not just stand for "1000", it stands for "kelvin" as I stated previously.
From the Wikipedia article on color temperature:
The color temperature of a light source is the temperature of an ideal black-body radiator that radiates light of comparable hue to that light source. The temperature is conventionally stated in units of absolute temperature, kelvin (K). Color temperature is related to Planck's law and to Wien's displacement law.
Higher color temperatures (5,000 K or more) are cool (blueish white) colors; lower color temperatures (2,7003,000 K) are warm (yellowish white through red) colors.
Some find 10K still too blue. If you have blue fish you may like the effect though.
6700 looks better to some people, but it's a matter of opinion. See if your LFS has a comparison for you.
6700 looks better to some people, but it's a matter of opinion. See if your LFS has a comparison for you.
Dan Feller;3891007; said:The "k" does not just stand for "1000", it stands for "kelvin" as I stated previously.
From the Wikipedia article on color temperature:
The color temperature of a light source is the temperature of an ideal black-body radiator that radiates light of comparable hue to that light source. The temperature is conventionally stated in units of absolute temperature, kelvin (K). Color temperature is related to Planck's law and to Wien's displacement law.
Higher color temperatures (5,000 K or more) are cool (blueish white) colors; lower color temperatures (2,7003,000 K) are warm (yellowish white through red) colors.
This guys right, however, most people in the hobby long enough see it the same way n that they call the bulbs 10k all the way on up to 20k. The lower the number the more yellow till 10k which is the whitest by most standards and bluer as you move up in numbers to 20k....so touchy...
my lfs doesnt sell bulbs, which sucks. thanks for all the info guys, really appreciated. the cichla look really good under the 14k but i want the tank to look natural and not saltwater.. so i will get that 10k bulb, dont know if i can wait a year though