my Metal Halidgen

[hitmin4]

hey guys, I was wondering, if you guys had any tips on changing the color of my MH... right now, it's just a coated white blub... I was wondering if I could get some of that stuff, to make it blue... any help?

[on_fire_8]

Never heard of a MH bulb being coated white. As far as color temps go you can use 6500k, 10000k, 12000k and 20000k bulbs on reef tanks. 6500k being the yellowest adn 20000K being bluest. Personally I like the look of 10000k the best but have seen the most growth from my corals under 6500k.

[Phenix]

hey guys, I was wondering, if you guys had any tips on changing the color of my MH... right now, it's just a coated white blub... I was wondering if I could get some of that stuff, to make it blue... any help?

Are you talking about a Metal Halide?

Or a Halogen?

Your topic says, "Metal Halidgen"

As for Metal Halide (MH) and/or Halogen bulbs, they shouldn't be frosted. The bulb itself (in MH bulbs) is filled with gasses that cause the color spectrums to be what they are. Also keep in mind...unless your system (if MH) comes with a UV filter...the MH bulbs put off a good amount of UV rays. So you wana keep that in mind.

[Travis]

I though the HQI put off the UV rays not MH? A frosted white MH bulb is one that is use commercially and should not be used for aquariums. The K rating on that bulb is probably around 4500 or less and as stated above you need a min of 6500k.

[Pineapple House]

The K rating on that bulb is probably around 4500 or less and as stated above you need a min of 6500k.
You don't need to have a bulb in which is 6500k or higher. It really doesn't hurt the corals to have something less than 6500k. The sun(the corals natural light), is around 3300k. Unfortunatly, anything less than 6,500k can easily promote unwanted algae growth, thus, why people do not use anything less than 6,500k. On another factor, many people dislike the yellow coloration of the bulbs with lower kelven ratings (IE: 6500k, 4000k, 3300k, etc.)

On another note, I agree that coated (frosted) bulbs shouldn't be used for aquariums. The halides on the Coil ballasts shouldn't be used for aquariums also.

Take Care,
Graham

[Travis]

"You don't need to have a bulb in which is 6500k or higher"

Ya, "recommended" would have been the proper term. :wink:

[HoopsGuru]

The sun(the corals natural light), is around 3300k. Unfortunatly, anything less than 6,500k can easily promote unwanted algae growth, thus, why people do not use anything less than 6,500k.

Off-topic a bit, I'm just wondering if this is true? Most coral farms use natural sunlight in greenhouses to light their holding cells and grow the corals. If this was the case, I would expect them to be just festering with nuisance algae, but I have not read anything about this being a major concern as I am researching setting up such a "farm."

[Pineapple House]

The sun(the corals natural light), is around 3300k. Unfortunatly, anything less than 6,500k can easily promote unwanted algae growth, thus, why people do not use anything less than 6,500k.

Off-topic a bit, I'm just wondering if this is true? Most coral farms use natural sunlight in greenhouses to light their holding cells and grow the corals. If this was the case, I would expect them to be just festering with nuisance algae, but I have not read anything about this being a major concern as I am researching setting up such a "farm."
I actually cannot tell you accuratly if that's true or not, I remembered reading that awhile back on some other Message boards. But, from a few outdoor systems i've seen, the algae growth is pretty heavy.

Take Care,
Graham

[phistio]

yes, factually it is true. coral propagation farms also have huge volumes of water exchange to help combat the accumulation of nutrients. and most farms use sunlight as their main lights, and MH as supplemental light. richard harker has a 2,000 gallon display tank with skylights over the top, and supplement lighting and color balance with MH pendants. though honestly i cannot say how his filtration is setup.

[matrixnyc]

I was wondering if I could get some of that stuff, to make it blue

You want to make it have a blue tint? If so you can use a blue window tint, like the ones they use in cars. this will give off a blue tint of color from the bulbs.

check out: http://www.gilafilms.com/auto/xtreme_colors.html

to see what I am talking about. This will work with PC bulbs, with MH the temp might get to high an burn the film.

[Scubaman]

if you want to change the color using a filter, go with theatrical spotlight gels. They can withstand really high temperatures and are designed to.