coral healtj declining

so it doesnt matter what type of bulb i get as long as long as i get one?

 

Well not completely . . .

you need to make sure you have the following distinctions with your bulb purchase:
Straight pin or square pin arrangement (either way it will be 4 pins but they will either all be in a line or will form a small square.)
Wattage- be sure to get the same wattage (in your case 65 watts)
CCT - be sure you get a 10K, 12K, 14K bulbs!!!!

Other than that - any bulb that fits the above criteria should make a HUGE difference in your coral health.

 

ok thanks for the help, i know the bulbs are square pins. but would it make a diference if i got daylight bulb, 50/50 or what?

 

You would want half your wattage to be actinic and the other half to be daylight.

So if you have two TOTAL bulbs - just be sure you have one actinic and one daylight bulb.

If you currently have one actinic - you need to add the daylight back in.

If you currently have 50/50 you need another 50/50 to keep the spectrum balanced to what it was originally.

You said you only had one actinic bulb right? Then you would have one daylight bulb (which sounds like is no longer working so must be replaced).

Sounds like you need a single, 65 Watt, 10K or 12K daylight bulb.

 

no, ibefore it burned out i had a 50/50 bulb and an actinic, so the light was a little blue.

 

Chances are your corals have been declining for awhile since 75% of your lighting was actinic only with aged bulbs. You will need to get a full daylight bulb. If you liked it alittle bluer then go with the 14K. JMHO

 

ok, i will go with full daylight. could i do the one daylight one actinic, then add another actinic?

 

How many bulbs does your unit have?

 

the ballast has hookups for 4 but ive just been using two as i only had sufficient money for two.

 

If you just have the one actinic bulb on there now - you are going to want to get a straight daylight bulb to pair with it. Do not get another 50/50 if you already have an actinic bulb.