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Color temperature vs. Lumen Output
Hello all,
I am in a quandary about which kind of metal halide bulbs to purchase and
thought that I would turn to the experts on this list for advice. I have
benefited greatly from the collective wisdom of this list without being
able to add much useful information myself - I am grateful for the
education. To the point.
I have a 90 gallon plant tank with UGH, Dupla Laterite, CO2 injection,
Canister Filter, recently started PMDD additions. It is an open top
lightly stocked community tank that currently has 2 - 175 Watt Metal Halide
bulbs (CRI 65, 4000K, Medium Base) in fixtures that I made myself. Growth
is good but I have an algae problem since I don't have the PMDD dosing
correct yet. The bulbs that I currently have are old and noticeably dimmer
than when I got them. It is time to buy new bulbs and my choices are as
follows:
175 Watt, 4000 K, 65 CRI
100 Watt, 5200 K, 75 CRI
I am limited to these choices because I used the medium base in my
fixtures. The Mogul base would not fit in the housings that I used. Other
bulbs, i.e. 175W 5200K do not seem to be available in medium base. My
question is this--would it be better to go with 200W total of 5200K light
or 350W total of 4000K light?
I would appreciate your opinions.
Regards,
Jamie Howton
Operations Manager
Fotofabrication Corp.
Chicago, IL USA
Tel: (773)463-6211
Fax: (773)463-3387