Coralife 150watt HQI

I bought this fixture used for my new 90 gallon reef set up. This is my first tank so I would like to start right from the gate. When i fire them up, i notice one bulb is " bluer" then the other. They are coralife 150w 10k bulbs. I would like to replace the bulbs but was wondering two questions.

1) what are some thoughts on the bulbs off of ebay? I see cheap bulbs, 40 for a pair, 10-20 each. But are they good bulbs? Can anyone recommend a good cheap source and brand to recommend?

2) will the different bulbs, 150w 10k, 14k, or 20k produce more heat or just be brighter?

 

All 150W bulbs use 150W of energy. The K rating is the difference. 10K is your more whiter daylight. The higher K you go, the bluer the light gets.

 

and heat produced?

 

A 150W will put out heat, but different K ratings will have almost no effect on heat output.

I run dual 175W on my tank and I can definately tell a difference in room temp, but it only raises the tank temp by 2 degree while running for 6 hours.

 

So i have the Coralife Aqualight Pro 150w Metal halide fixture. It has two 150w 10k coralife bulbs. If i change the bulbs to 150w 14k bulbs, there will be heat difference just a more whiter color, 10k i think is closer to blue.

 

10K is more yellow. More closer to natural sunlight. Kelvin ratings are color ratings, they have nothing to do with operating temperature. 150w of power usage is 150w of power usage.

Think of color as depth of water. At the surface there is natural sunlight. The deeper you go, the more yellow and red if filtered out by the water and you are left with blue. The deeper you go the only thing left is blue. So 10k is at the surface. 14k is say 20 feet down. 20k is say 40 feet down. Does that help?

 

PERFECT!!!!!! If this isn't clear i dont know what is.....THANX...First person to to tell me that it has nothing to do with what kind of light i want but rather the kind of light the the fish require from their natural depth.

Thanx;D

 

Thanks, but I can't take credit. I'm just repeating what I read in the sticky at the top of the page.

 

well thats what they are there for.. should have read before posting. In any case. Thanx

 

Glad I could help. I'm ready for a change too. I will be going to 14Ks.