Hi All,

I recently upgraded to metal halides and T5s. For the metal halide bulbs I went with the XM 10k 250 watt bulbs. I have heard great things about them regarding PAR however after I had them on for a few days I decided that the color just wasn't what I wanted. The light is a very white-yellow. I was looking for more of a blue-white. After chatting with Davejnz, I decided to change over to the CoralVue Reeflux 10ks. The CV Reeflux have a big spike in the 460nm range.

I got them in today and thought I would share some pictures of the two bulbs side by side.

Picture 1: 2 XM 10k with 2 36" T5 actincs
Picture 2: 2 XM 10k only
Picture 3: 1 CV on left side, 1 XM on right side, no T5s
Picture 4: 2 CV 10k, no T5s
Picture 5: 2 CV 10K with 2 36" T5 actinics

Wow, what a difference in color. I really like the way the tank looks now. Thanks Dave for the suggestion.