MH vs Xenon ???

Hi, this is my first post in this forum, I am going to change my triangular shaped aquarium to a rectangular and I was wondering about lighting, I am currently using actinic fluorescents and a MH lamp. Do you think that is possible to change the MH with a 10K or similar xenon light bulb/s? ... this would save a lot of energy and car xenon kits are not expensive..
Thanks,

 

they are less efficient and probably produce the wrong spectrum.

 

MH vs Xenon

... but using a 10.000K color temperature does not assure the spectrum will be the same as a 10.000K MH ? why is it different?

 

10000k is a rating of the color light the lamp produces. Different parts of spectrum mix to make that rating, you can have different mixtures to make the same rating.
Just like you can have a cheeseburger at two different restaurants and have them taste alot different. The may look the similar but when you actually taste them you realize they are made differently.

 

Mmmmmm....Cheeseburger.

 

MH vs Xenon

Thanks! i wasn't aware of that fact, i guess I will keep the same setup for the new aquarium.

SB.

 

Part 1 | LFP’s Xenon and LED Reef Lighting System | glassbox-design.com

Part 2 | LFP’s Xenon and LED Reef Lighting System | glassbox-design.com

 

Stick with MH's..."I owned an Acura NSX ten years ago..." So obviously this guy has no inkling of the word 'budget'. 10 HID projectors will run you into the $500 and then 54 LEDs at $6 a pop, plus ballasts, mounting hardware, and labor. Just order a nice light online, sit on the couch and eat a bag of chips. It'll be cheaper and a lot less work too!

Nice find on the article though. Interesting stuff.

 

I have been tossing around the idea of one of those HID car light bulbs over a fuge. This way I would be able to experiment with my corals and see the limitations. There's no data on the spectral output of hid bulbs though so I can't even begin to guess what their PUR is like until I try it.

 

Personally, Xenons would work, but you would have to find a bulb that would do the job. For example, AquaticLife HID Light Fixtures would work. HIDs come in all light spectrums from 6700k to 30000k. I'm still contemplating this idea also, but the main goal is finding a good manufactured bulb and investigating the spectrum makeup.