[jtravapd]

its almost time for me to replace my light bulbs on my lighting system...i was planning on replacing everything at once...3 150 watt mh and 4 96 watt pc....should i use the same brand?.corallife or do they make better aftermarket bulbs?....im guessing aslong as they are the same wattage i should be able to use them shouldn't i?..if so what brands do u recommend and are there really major differences in the different brands?..thanks .

[glampka]

It's really up to you as to what manufacturer you want to buy. Be aware that all bulbs are not the same though. The output & color rendition of each company's bulb is different.

[jtravapd]

Originally Posted by glampka

It's really up to you as to what manufacturer you want to buy. Be aware that all bulbs are not the same though. The output & color rendition of each company's bulb is different.

maybe ill just stick with the corallife then....do u have a preference in bulb?....i want to stay with 10k, ...the coral life's look good, and do not look yellow...but if there is something better out there, id go for them..im always looking to upgrade even if its only minor..lol..

[sgarron]

Like Gary said it's all personal preference. I thought 10k wasn't yellow until I saw Aqualine AB 13k 150w MH's. They are as close to pure white as I've seen and with the actinics make a great combination. But, that's what I like, you may not,.

[pogodzib]

The SunPaq are the best PC bulbs available. As far as MH - XM, Ushio, Aqualine AB, and Hamilton are amongst my favorites. I'm not a big fan of Coralife bulbs. Color choice should be based upon user preference, but remember that too high of k-value and your par values go down. If you don't know much about lighting, low k-value bulbs are more yellow, 10k is white, and 15+k is more blue.

BTW - You probably don't want to switch out all of your bulbs as once or the corals might not like the sudden change. Light bulbs loose some intensity over time. Swap out either the PC or MH bulbs and switch the other bulbs out a couple weeks later.