250w DE BULB FEEDBACK "POLL"

[jmc74]

OK, i will be ordering new bulbs, but i need feedback on few brands and color spectrums 14k, 14.5, 15k, 20k and 22k


this is all for DE bulbs, as the SE produce a completely different color and brighness.

of the following brands what bulb produce the best color pop when paired with electronic ballast, i currently own a pair of ReeFlux 12k, and when I test them, they didn't had the blue color manny say they have, and I used the coralVue eballast. then I decided to install phoenix 14k, and they look ok, but i still don't have the pop i want. but I do want my corals to trive...



so here are the candidates:

Ushio 250W UHI 14K MH DE HQI
Hamilton Technology 250w HQI 14k
250W HQI Giesemann-Megachrome Metal Halide 14.5K
XM 250W 15K DE Metal Halide

will any of the 20k have enough PAR to be used? but still have grreat color pop on all corals?

250W Ushio UHI Metal Halide HQI 20K Blue
250w XM XDE HQI 20,000k Bulb
250W HQI Giesemann-Megachrome Metal Halide 22K
250w DE Radium 20,000K HQI

is there another bulb recomeded?

please leave your comments too...

 

[docwells]

You could look on Sanjay's site to see what bulb will give you the best par with your ballast. I have icecap ballast and use the Giesemann megachrome coral 14.5 bulb. I like it so far. It is bright to say the least. It is a crisp whie bulb. I like that look. I supplement with T5's. I did not like the lack of brightness of the phoenix. I also tried ushio and xm 1ok's and they were too yello for me. Just my opinion.

 

[jmc74]

ok, but the Sanjay's site only explains the PAR, I don't know how PAR looks like... so that's why I ask all, for their feedback, because I have on my main tank the Phoenix 14k, it looks good, but I don't have the nice POP on the corals, and my actinics are PC's so they suck!, and im looking to replace the phoenix with something else that has good PAR, but also excellent color POP, I tried the Reeflux 12k's for about 1hr, and they are ULTRA WHITE, just not blue

 

[GSMguy]

i have both ushio 20k and pheonix both on hqi ballast and the ushio has better pop but the pheonix is brighter

 

[jmc74]

some members have voted for 250w DE Giesemann Megachrome Coral 14.5k HQI, is that bulb more blue than the Phoenix 14k, and if so, does it give a better POP, how about the PAR?

 

[oct2274]

you need to add the phoenix bulb to the list, it is easily the most popular 250 DE bulb.

 

[jmc74]

well, yes I know, but I have the250w DE phoenix 14k on my tank, and I like more POP, they just don't have enough, I mean the bulbs are good, as my actinics sux, because they are PC's, and i can't tell the difference by having them on or off, but I still don't get the POP.

 

[USC-fan]

i think you may want to add some vho to supplement the MH.

 

[jmc74]

well, I'm trying to avoid adding more light/heat, currently I run the actinics, 1hr before the MH, and they turn off 5 min after the MH turn on, then the MH run for 8hrs, but 5min before the MH turn off, the actinics turn on again for 1 hr, to emulate dusk/dawn, and 15min before the actinic turn off, my moon lights turn on for about 4hrs...

so this is why I'm looking for a better MH bulb that needs not actinic supplement, and it has a good PAR

 

[ejocam]

Helios is a very nice bulb too

 

[Big Boy69]

Tagging along, I'll be setting up a canopy with 2, 250w DE HQI's and 4, T-5's

 

[jmc74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10442735#post10442735 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ejocam
Helios is a very nice bulb too

do you know what kelvin they have?

 

[jmc74]

bump

 

[DarG]

You need to give the Reeflux more than 1 hour. I have a pair of Reeflux 10000K that got bluer with burn-in. I think bulbs can go either way with Burn-in. The can either go whiter, or bluer eventhough I think most people will say that they get whiter. I know that both my Iwasaki's and my Reeflux 10000K got bluer with break in. My Reeflux 12000K have about 10 hours on them right now. They had a slight blue tint out of the box . Still look about the same now after only 10 hours. I believe they will go bluer with break-in but I'll have to wait and see.

Despite adding more heat like you worry about, you may need to add actinic supplementation with some T5's (or VHO). I think you are probably looking for the "pop" that only super actinic can give you. As you search for higher kelvin halide bulbs you will end up going bluer and probably still not finding what you're looking for. You may need that 420nm purplish actinic, not more and more of the 450nm - 470nm blue.

BTW, from what I have read, those 14.5K Geisemann's arent a blue bulb. They are essentially white and can even have a little bit of a yellow hue if the water isnt crystal clear and maybe just a hint of an actinic tint if the water is crystal clear.

 

[rogergolf66]

why don't you leave your attinics on during the day when your MH are on? That would help give you more pop (blue)

Roger

 

[Nuuze]

I'm currently running BLV 10k 250w DE bulbs. Is par the PPFD on Sanjay's site? If so it's 66 for the BLV and 88 for the Giesemann coral bulb. Does that mean I would get better growth with the Giesemann?

 

[DarG]

Yes, PPFD is the Par. You would only get better growth if not having enough light is actually the limiting factor in the corals growth. Just because you can add more light doesnt mean the corals will benefit from it. If they are getting all the light they could possibly need now, adding more wont help with growth. So, it depends.

 

[rogergolf66]

I beleive it is more complicated then that but YEs assuming all other cal/alk are good and so on.

 

[Nuuze]

Hmmm, that's going to be a difficult one for me too when it comes time to replace bulbs!

So for 250w from looking Sanjay's site the XM 10k has the highest par of 95. What is average par for SPS that is not too much light?

I would like to go to a bluer bulb than 10k but afraid of loosing par.

 

[rogergolf66]

I still think you should add Phonix to the poll because you might find that is what most people perfer. I understand it is not you you perfer but other may, so it is not a far poll if you exclude one of the largest companys. (or most popular any way) I don't use Phonix I use Hamilton.

Roger