175 or 150 watts for a 30 gallon

[DGlove904]

My ballast can handle a 150 watt bulb or a 175 watt bulb, which one would be best? And what would be the best bulb to go with. I would like the be able to keep alot of sps.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

What style of fixture is it? I can't think of any fixtures on the market that provide that flexibility. Or are you just referring to the ballast?

 

[dustinc]

I would go for the 175 watt, especially if you're wanting a lot of SPS. As far as bulb goes, that's gonna be totally up to your preference of color and your balast. I have a magnetic ballast and I run XM 15ks. It's a really nice mix of not too blue, but not too yellow. It's a crisp white color and my corals are growing like weeds.

 

[DGlove904]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14793485#post14793485 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by der_wille_zur_macht
What style of fixture is it? I can't think of any fixtures on the market that provide that flexibility. Or are you just referring to the ballast?

sorry I meant ballast

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

So I'm guessing you are facing a choice between a 150w double ended fixture and a 175w single-ended?

IMHO go with the 150w double-ended. It's a more compact package, the bulb choices are better, and typically the output is not much different than 175w single ended bulbs, since most ballasts slightly overdrive 150w double ended bulbs anyways.

 

[DGlove904]

what would be some good bulbs I dont want too much blue or too much yellow

 

[alextheromanian]

i have 250W and 2 PC on my 29G

but my fixture is odyssea and i was told it pushes about 175 with all the stock stuff.

my corals do just fine

 

[Cbravo212]

Go with a 150 watt phoenix 14K if it is a double sided fixture and the 175 watt if it is single sided. 175 DE bulbs are almost impossible to find in a good quality.