MH - Actinic look w/o Actinic tubes

[Heyoo]

I was at a LFS recently, and asked about the lighting used on a coral tank. In particular, I liked the way it made green hydnophoras and others really pop with the flourescent look. The salesperson quickly replied that it was a 175W AB 10,000K "Plus" bulb with no actinic supplements. With the quickness of his well-recited answer, I figured he knew what he was talking about.

I ordered an AB 10,000K bulb - because I couldn't find a 10,000K plus anywhere (including AB's website). I'd previously read that this bulb was blue-ish, and since the packaging (and bulb) said the true color temp was approx 13,000K I figured that I'd be right on the money. Well - this bulb makes my tank look more yellow-white, and shrooms that previously looked very flourescent green (under my ALS 12,000K Sunburst) are now very dull and drab.

Questions:
1) Is there really an AB 10,000K plus that's different from the standard 10,000K?
2) I'm I being impatient? Do brand-new MH bulbs require a break-in period before the spectrum settles in at the desired color temp? (So far I've burned the bulb about 40 hours).

Thanks
JJ

[getwood65]

not sure about the plus bulb,but i just did the same thing as you at the fish store-their lighting looked awesome--he told me it was 10k blueline bulbs.i did some research and found some people did not care for these bulbs because of how blue they looked,so i figured thats exactly what i want-i have a new diy hood with no actinic installed in it.I ordered a pair from champion,and wow are these things blue,if this is what you are looking for i suggest you try these bulbs,once you get over just how blue they are you'll find the colors on your corals is awesome

[freakyreef]

How bout pics?
Pretty please!!!!:D

[littleprince]

Plus your ballast may not be the recommended one to run the bulb to spec.

I think theres a gd chance of that here.

[Heyoo]

Originally posted by littleprince
Plus your ballast may not be the recommended one to run the bulb to spec.

I think theres a gd chance of that here.


Hmmm... Good point. I've got a PFO brick. I didn't ask what the fish store was using... maybe they did have an electronic ballast....

crap.

thanks for the (potential) bad news...:rolleyes:
jj

[reefman33]

be carefull with the blueline bulbs they dont ive out much PAR and corals may suffer, as far as the AB plus bulb im not suere but i am sure that if your LFS is liek mine the guy didnt know what he was talking about and screwed ya. they probably had a 12K , 14K or Radium in there.