12000k blue vs 10000k white???

Hi guys, I have both bulbs, but am wondering which to use? It will be paired with a 420NM actinic. They are 36W PC globes.

At the moment I have the 10,000k white globe in with the actinic and the mushrooms seem to like the situation, if I change to the 12000k blue lamp will they still be as happy?

The reason I am wanting to change is I reckon the colours will be nicer with the 12000k blue lamp, rather than the 10000k white which at the moment looks a little too white ...

 

Really up to your personal preference. The corals will be fine with the 12000K

 

12k should still be more white then blue, you would be fine with the 12k

 

Yeah the only issue is the 12000k is blue, labled as a "marine blue" and I think its tinted to make it blue?

 

No, a 12000K will be traditionally a bluer spectrum than 10000K. 10000K is white daylight. Lower than that is redder, higher than that is bluer.

 

oooo must be bc its a pc bulb hmmmm, idk if i where you id stick with the 10k, its going to be better for growth but if you dont really mind that and you like the look go with the 12k, either way the corals will be fine!

 

Right, but my 12k MH are way more white then blue, you can barley see a tint of blue in them

 

alright thx for the advice, im gonna change the bulbs and monitor the corals over the next few days.

 

Ocean, comparing PC or T5 spectrums with MH is moot. With MH you have a bunch of issues that will cause the same spectrum to burn differently
Namely is lamp... Manufactors might all call a lamp 10,000k but they are all not 10,000k not only in visual color spectrum but if you have a spectral plot they are not the same either(this also comes into play with T5 and PC) but also on MH lets say you take an Ushio 10,000k and a Phoenix 10,000k and burn them on the same ballast they will look different. Then you get a different ballast they will EACH LOOK DIFFERENT than before. Thats the issue with MH, you can go to someones house and fall in love with the color of their tank but you ask what lamps you are using, it won't matter unless you run the same ballast.

As far as just spectrums go, companies just toss a name on there lamps, the spectrum stated is usually not the spectrum it truly burns at. It might be close but not dead on. Take Giesemann for example their 15,000k Aquablue should burn blueish white... In my eyes looking at the lamp it is a PURE white.

As far as your question goes austeve, just fiddle with the lamps and see what combo you like, PC lamps aren't all that hard to change.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

 

Well put. Also to add the that PC bulbs burn with a very narrow light spectrum where as MH have a very wide light spectrum. So PC and T5 any florescent bulb really will have a narrow light spectrum. This will make it appear to be more blue than a MH bulb of the same K rating

J