150W DE HQI, which 10k is best bang for buck?

dukecola

New member
OK, I'm confused why the AB light is $30 more than the competition, is it that much better? All the others seem to be priced close. If this has ben covered before, please point me to the right thread.

Thanks
 
You can't beat the color of the 10k reeflux. I have 2x150DE over my 40 breeder for two weeks without atinics, and the color was pure white with a little blue. Now I have added 2 ATI blue plus T5, and the color with both lights on the color look like 14k.
 
I second the reeflux 10K bulbs, I also use actinic suppliments but it looks good without them. One thing I have noticed though is they don't look all that bright compared to what I had, but they have caused some zoas to bleach so the par is there.
 
ushio is one of the brightest 10k 150 DE bulbs available. it is fairly white for a 10k bulb as well. You will definitely want actinic supplementation, but that is pretty much true for any 10k bulb.
 
I just purchased 2x - 10k Aqualine bulbs as replacement bulbs for my Sunpod. I dont have any experience with the other bulbs, but I heard some very good things from some local reefers on the Aqualines.

I would definitely recommend them so far. Premium Aquatics seemed to have the best price with quick shipping.

The 10k bulbs are slightly bluer than the 14k stock bulbs the Sunpod came with. I have added 42w of T-5 act, because I wanted to get the added par of 10k bulbs for even better growth. I have even noticed some extra coloring in my sps now that I have the ABs (I also added 21w of t-5 when I got the bulbs, totalling 42w of act.)

Supposedly, the the Aqualine has the color spectrum of 13k but the par of 10k.
 
That's kind of what i wanted to hear. I have 14k bulbs now and like the blue-er color but wanted more growth as well, but didn't like the pure white of the 10ks so that's why I was considering the AB's. I've read what Gator has said somewhere as well. I don't want to run actinics, so I'm hoping the AB 10k does the trick, perhaps why it cost more.
 
AB is not a blue bulb. Shielded it actually measures just under 11000K. It's white with just a slight blue tint if the water is uncolored. It's advantage is that it is not yellow like alot of 10000K's and will not appear that way, again, if the water is clear and uncolored.
 
Gator how long have the bulbs burned in for? Just curious because I was looking to buy these for my Sunpod when I replace my stock 14k's. If they are fully burned in and they are the color you describe that is great.
 
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