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Old 02-27-2002, 01:36 PM
Reefmaster Reefmaster is offline
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Default 12000K vrs 20.000K

hmm. doesn't that article in aquarium frontiers say that they found no correlation or even discernible difference in photosynthesis with higher K bulbs? maybe i'm thinking of a different article.

my honest opinion is that the high K bulbs are becoming a thing of the past, especially those that are nearly monochromatic as i understand the 12,000K are. this is simply my opinion, but i believe a large part of the hype over the past few years of moving towards high K bulbs was driven by marketing. the 5500K was standard, then came the 6500 and everybody liked the crisper colour, then they tried out a 10,000K and that was followed by the 20,000K. is a 50,000K next? hey, i could put a black light on my tank! all the while it is the newest and greatest and there are no long term studies so its easy for them to say "hey your corals will do great" with no contradictions.

i agree, blue is the dominant spectrum at depths of 60', but i'm not sure any of my corals come from that depth. so i figure the pendulum will swing the other way very soon and people will come back to the 6500K range as it may more closely mimic natural conditions for most reef tanks.
just my thoughts. shane
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