A good 150w DE bulb

[IndyReefMan]

Jeremy,

I'm currently running (2) 250w DE Phoenix 14K bulbs on my 72 gallon bowfront. I really like these bulbs so I'm staying with them. But, I'm trying to boost my PAR to increase growth a bit so I added a 150w DE fixture in between the two Phoenix bulbs. Which 150w 10K bulb should I buy that would be a good PAR booster, yet not too yellow. Would the reeflux 10K be a good one?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Jeremy B.]

I would actually take a look at the 14.5k Giesemann. Pretty much any of the other 10k's out there are going to have yellow in them. The 14k Phoenix is not a true 14k lamp, much more blue. The Giesemann is a true 14k lamps, which means it's very crisp ice white, no blue and no yellow, and still has a pretty good par rating to it.

BTW, what type of fixtures are you using?

 

[IndyReefMan]

The (2) 250w DE Phoenix bulbs are run on a hanging style Giesemann fixture that also has (2) 54w T-5's. I bought this fixture from you a couple years ago when it was on close-out when Giesemann was introducing the new fixture. It's a good unit, but the T-5 reflectors could be better. The 150w DE fixture is a Coralife clip mount that I used on a smaller tank that I once had. I've mounted it on the back of the tank behind the Geisemann unit. I once had UV issues with this Coralife unit because when I ran bulbs other than Coralife bulbs, UV was reflected up and around the semi-circular UV shield and down into the display (supposedly Coralife bulbs have UV shielding that is manufactered into the bulb where most other bulbs do not... that's what a Coralife Rep told me). I just removed the metal diffuser that came with the unit and inserted a piece of tempered glass in its place and have had no UV issues since. How does the PAR of the 150w DE Geisemann 14.5 compare to the 150w DE Reeflux 10K? Also, what is the highest PAR, broadest spectrum 150w DE bulb that you stock?

Thanks again!

Mike