Anyone with Blueline 10k experience?

[user48953]

Well after hearing Sanjay talk at WMC 2006, i have a better understanding of lighting.

i'm using XM 10k's now and was planning on moving to XM 20k's for the blues, but now am rethinking the move.. the Blueline 10k's are looking more attractive to me now since the spectral plot of that bulb is almost identical to the XM 20k; just minus all that UV spectrum.. the par on both are relatively the same on the IC ballats.. plus one of Sanjay's test showed the spectrum shifting away from the blue in the XM bulb within a few months.. not sure about the Blueline..

i'm due to change out my bulbs in a few months and would like to know if anyone has long term experience with the Blueline 10k 250w bulbs?

 

[JB NY]

Very dim bulb. I would not use it. I feel it is mislabled as a 10K it looks and measures just like a 20K.

 

[user48953]

How dim is dim?? 20k's are usually dimmer then 10k and i'm fine with that.. my concern is the UV and how fast XM 20k shift away from the blue.. is the Blueline 10k as bright as the XM 20k?

 

[JB NY]

About as bright as the XM20K. I don't think anyone has measured UV on the XM20K or the Blueline10K.

 

[getwood65]

i used the 175w bluelines on my soft coral tank and they are bluer than any 20k bulb i used.the shrooms and zoas looked good under these bulbs,but i would never use them on my sps tank-way to dim.

 

[user48953]

if i recall correctly, dim is relative to how much white/yellow spectrum of light the eye sees.. par (ppfd) is the measurement of photons.. visually dim doesn't neccessarily mean lower par.. and UV is measured at 400nm or less.. if you compare the spectrum of the Blueline and XM bulbs, you'll see the XM has a greater spike around the 400-410 range while both bulbs are 53 ppfd..

i don't really care what label the manufacture gives their bulbs, so long as i get the spectrum and par that i'm looking for..

 

[143gadgets]

I have been using the 250watt BlueLine 10k+ (14k bulb) and I love them. I get good growth and great color. I am due to change bulbs again and I plan on keeping them. I have them on IC ballasts. I don't think they are too dim. I have seen other peoples tanks that run 10k and those are brighter, but I don't thim that the Bluelines are dim.

 

[Jeffie]

I've been using the blueline 250w 10k + also and love the colors and growth I have been getting out of them....

 

[JB NY]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7251111#post7251111 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 143gadgets
I have been using the 250watt BlueLine 10k+ (14k bulb) and I love them. I get good growth and great color.

10K+ is a different bulb. That one is quite bright and is more in line with 10K lamps from other manufactures.

 

[Puffer Daddy]

by chance, you consider ab10k's (13k)?...I ran blueline 250's when I first got my tank...blue to say the least. I didnt care for them and switched. I love the ab's...crisp blue/white. Not near as blue as the BL's, but in that neck of the woods...

 

[user48953]

I'm looking for a bulb that will provide the most blue spectrum without having to worry about it shifting.. figure if it's too blue, i can also drop in ATI T5 Sun's or Aqua to yellow it up.. i'm really surprised not a lot of people are running the Blueline 10k; there's a ton running XM 20k which (i'm assuming) produce a similar color to the eye.

 

[JB NY]

Aquaconnect 14K produces the largest amount of blue spectrum (450nm) by a long shot.