best bulb for best PAR?

[boxfishpooalot]

Which metal halide bulb for 400watt has the best par, color does not matter.

Thanks!

 

[ferventforager]

You could check out the "250 Watt metal halide testing" on http://www.cnidarianreef.com/ to get an idea. I think that most bulbs that come in 175, 250, and 400 have PAR values to scale.

 

[MiddletonMark]

I'd guess the Iwasaki would, but many people dislike the color.

As stated above, check Sanjay Joshi's articles in www.advancedaquarist.com

 

[grim]

Not only is the PAR great, but you can get a good two years out of it..

Iwasaki 6.5k 400w

It's the breakfast of champions.

grim

 

[boxfishpooalot]

why do hqi bulbs have signifigantly higher par than a normal bulb?

 

[MiddletonMark]

Partly as they're sometimes tested without the UV shield glass.
Sometimes because they often have very efficient reflectors.

They may put out more too, I'm unsure about that. Then again, don't see that many uses for light past a certain point, but that's me.

 

[Lpsfanatic338]

H.Q.I. do put out more par

 

[musty baby]

references?

Here try this one on for size:

H.Q.I. do NOT put out more par

Prove me wrong and the original poster will be really, really happy

 

[Ti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6575453#post6575453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ryansholl
references?

Here try this one on for size:

H.Q.I. do NOT put out more par

Prove me wrong and the original poster will be really, really happy

Very true.
Just cause a bulb is HQI, that doesn't mean it puts out more

 

[brians_224]

Whats a good par or ppfd value to shoot for? I assume the higher the better, but I want to balance that with a bluer bulb.

Do you know if Sanjay Joshi's articles have pic sof the bulbs being driven by the different ballasts?

 

[ReeferAl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6575519#post6575519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brians_224
Do you know if Sanjay Joshi's articles have pic sof the bulbs being driven by the different ballasts?

Your best bet for pictures of the different lights is this thread . It is only SE 250 watt bulbs and doesn't include "all" the bulbs out there.

Allen

 

[ferventforager]

On thing to remember when looking at PAR or PPFD is that peoples number seem to vary a lot. This may be caused by the measuring device and the distance from teh light.

 

[dascharisma]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6575453#post6575453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ryansholl
references?

Here try this one on for size:

H.Q.I. do NOT put out more par

Prove me wrong and the original poster will be really, really happy

Just go to the link posted above. http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm Compare the same bulb on a standard pfo ballast and a pfo hqi ballast. You will see that the par is greater on the hqi ballast. An hqi ballast "overdrives" the bulb and makes the bulb put out more par.

Brad

 

[mwood]

Re: best bulb for best PAR?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6572752#post6572752 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boxfishpooalot
Which metal halide bulb for 400watt has the best par, color does not matter.

Thanks!

Color has got to matter. I'm currently swaping out ballasts and am forced to run Iwasaki's only over my tank for a week. I'm sure I have good par, but I'd give anything for some blue right now. XM10k's have just as good par as Iwasaki's and don't have the yellow, if you get a good bulb.

Marcus

 

[ferventforager]

What is the deal with xm 10k's? I have heard some come blue and some come more white/yellow. I just bought one (250w se) and it started too yellow fo rmy taste but has whitened up a bit.

 

[mwood]

I've read they have quality issues. If I go with xm10k's, I'll buy extras and count on a bad bulb or two.