Anyone here try 10k for better growth?

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#1
Has anyone here tried using a XM 10K Bulb for better growth on SPS?

Currently I am using a 250w Radium and the growth is okay but not great. The colors are great, best colors ive ever had on SPS. But I want growth!!! :D

According to Sanjays tests, Raidum gets 66 PPFD where a XM 10k gets 115 PPFD.

Please post up your experiences with 10k bulbs and also if you think its a good idea for me to switch! Thanks.
 
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#2
I especially like the 10k bulb..my corals seem to open much bigger and grow faster too...currently using the current 10k hqi with actinic lights
 

Wes

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#3
xm 10K FTW! A very potent bulb that's not as yellow as others. I actually find the color of this bulb to be satisfactory on it's own, but I'm in the minority there... give it a shot, but remember to raise it up so you don't burn your corals... You lose the benefit of the extra PAR if you shock your corals and they have to recover before they start growing...
 
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#4
Has anyone here tried using a XM 10K Bulb for better growth on SPS?

Currently I am using a 250w Radium and the growth is okay but not great. The colors are great, best colors ive ever had on SPS. But I want growth!!! :D

According to Sanjays tests, Raidum gets 66 PPFD where a XM 10k gets 115 PPFD.

Please post up your experiences with 10k bulbs and also if you think its a good idea for me to switch! Thanks.
10K XM is a lot better for growth but the color is yellow...I think 10k is yellow color compare to 12k or 14K if you can handle with the yellow color then 10K XM is the best for growth. Start less hours daily then increase slowly on 10K
 
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JOSE CASAS

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#5
The XM 10k lamp is one of the best and not as yellow as other brands. It is a crisp white. If you can stand to look at your tank everyday it wiol diff give you way better growth. Remember that to get those par reading you must run a M59 ballast.
 

Wes

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#7
the true CCT is over 10k, IIRC. The bulb will be vary in color and output on different ballasts, but it outperforms any other bulb that I would stand to look at on most any ballast.
 

rmor

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#8
I have 10k in Lumenarc reflectors. My bulbs are only about 8" from the water surface and I have a hard time not shocking corals that are on top of the rocks underneath the Lumenarc. I wanted to get 12k bulbs but when I bought my whole lighting setup he was out of 12k so I went with the 10k Ushios. I think I am going to try Radiums next because I want to be able to put more coral on the top of my rocks. Here is a picture of my Red Planet after being under VHO only for 2-months and being under Halides for 6-months. The base of my Red Planet is only about 3" up from the sandbed, so its pretty deep in the tank. Here are before and after, you be the judge on whether the growth is good.
<a href="http://s634.photobucket.com/albums/uu63/ryshark/?action=view&current=IMG_1654.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu63/ryshark/IMG_1654.jpg" border="0" alt="Red Planet 10/4/08"></a>

And a couple weeks ago
<a href="http://s634.photobucket.com/albums/uu63/ryshark/?action=view&current=IMG_2839.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu63/ryshark/IMG_2839.jpg" border="0" alt="Red Planet 6/26/09"></a>
 

reef_doug

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#10
I've used the XM 10k and the Reeflux 10k, both 250w DE on IceCaps. I preferred the XM but I still could not get the color I wanted, it was too yellow for my taste. Maybe it's better looking on a tank with regular green float glass vs. starphire or acrylic.

After many DE bulb auditions, I'm back to Phoenix 14k. I wish I went with SE in the beginning to get Radium 20k.
 

Wes

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#11
remember, if you want top notch growth, you can't neglect any aspect of your system... Do a comprehensive review of your setup and I bet you'll find more than the lighting to change to increase growth.
 

flomojo

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#12
There's been new research published that the blue spectrum actually generates faster cell/zooxanthellae reproduction faster than all others within the PAR range, suggesting that 10K lighting is actually less effective for growth than "bluer" lighting.

Check it out for yourself:

Best Lamp Is...
A Different Look at Lighting
 
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Wes

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#13
These experiments would be MUCH more useful if they were done with a few dozen corals over the lifespan of a few bulbs, but as it stands it is quite a stretch to apply the results from these pseudo-experiments in any sort of general way to our hobby. Perhaps you can gather that for one deep water tabling acropora species, light in the blue spectrum provides better growth for fragmented corals three months after their initial cut with no acclimation period. Does that sound like your tank? Plus, it doesn't mention anything of the massive number of other variables that directly affect growth...

edit: Reading these articles makes me want to scream "correlation is not always causation!" I commend the work, but it would be ripped to shreds in any sort of peer review.
 
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b_shady

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#15
If your gonna run 10000ks run actinics with it to change the yellowish color to a little more blue. I preffer 20,000ks coralvue great white blue color and all my corals love it. My corals are opening up bigger with better color.
 

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