# New 90 gal tank



## Feelin_Salty (Jan 15, 2006)

I just bought a new 90 gal tank. Since it's my first tank i have a few questions. Will 20,000K produce more algae than a 13,000K, or is it just that the higher K the more blue it will look in your tank? What's a good 4-5watt setup for a 48" 90 gal tank? I'm thinkin I need to go with metal halides. But as I'm checkin em out on ebay I'm noticing more bulbs in the setups than just the metal halides. When do these come on. What lights go on/off during the dusk/dawn procedues? I have more questions, but i think this will do for now :withstup:


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The higher the K, the bluer the light and the deeper that light's penetration. There's no real difference in algal growth except in that shallowwater algaes won't grow as well under the bluer light which isn't bright enough for them.

As for the sequence of on/off, dim/bright in any particular hood, you'd have to ask the hood's manufacturer to be sure. Some hoods are very good while some are have a supposed dusk/dawn feature consisting only of bulbs which come on instantly but in sequence instead of starting dim & growing brighter in sequence. One thing you should insist on though is a 28 day lunar cycle timer feature for your moon lights. If those are working right your critters will thrve & spawn normally, but if they're just a simple on/off type of deal then they're worse than worthless, being actually detrimental.


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