Changing from XM to Twin Arc bulbs

melev

melev

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I finally swapped out my metal halide bulbs for some new ones. They were long overdue. Twin Arc are two bulbs in one, and let you switch color spectrum by turning the ballast off and on again.

http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28907-Changing-of-the-metal-halide-bulbs

I took some PAR measurements to see how much of a difference the new bulbs would be compared to the old ones, and am I ever glad I did that. I have to reduce the lighting period by 50% at least.
 
Here's a picture of the tank under 20,000K lighting.
 
Does twin arc mean there are two arcs firing at the same time or does it flip between them with each fire up?

Samsung Galaxy S III
 
It switches from one to the other and back again. Only one spectrum is on until you turn the ballast off and on again. Then it is the other spectrum.
 
You can have white light for a while, and switch to blue. Without having to swap out bulbs. So you can have a growth period, and an enjoyable period.

Twin Arcs also come in dual kelvin (like 10,000K and 10,000K) so the bulb lasts twice as long in theory. Instead of burning one arc for a year, you have two arcs and each one is used 50% of the time.
 
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