Bulb reccomendation

[GarrettCurl]

I have a current outer orbit 72" fixture over my aga 180 reef, thanks to James btw. I am replacing the three 250 mh bulbs and am looking for some recommendations on color and places to purchase. I was thinking 20K's from reefcentral. They run about 75 ea. I'm new to the hobby and could use any input/advice.

 

[Engloid]

I have three 250w 20k's in my fixture, over a 220g tank. It gives plenty of light. When I first put the fixture on my 125g, the bulbs weren't but about a month old. The light was very blue and I wasn't that crazy about it. As I've had them a little longer, they have whitened up a bit. I typically like lights that are natural looking. Many like the actenic look that makes some corals "pop" but IMO, it makes many others darker.

When it comes time to replace mine, I may go with something like a 14k.

BTW, you're welcome to come by sometime and see what they look like.

 

[Spongie]

If they are double ended I would suggest the HexArc 14K bulbs not too blue/purple not too white. If they are Mogul base I would suggest the XM 20Ks. They are expensive but you get what you pay for most of the time.

 

[Engloid]

If they are double ended I would suggest the HexArc 14K bulbs not too blue/purple not too white. If they are Mogul base I would suggest the XM 20Ks. They are expensive but you get what you pay for most of the time.

Why is your reccomendation different based on the bulb type? Is it an availability thing?

BTW, mine are double ended XM 20k's.

 

[GarrettCurl]

14Ks it is I went to Aquatic Marine the other day and got the same recommendation.

 

[cee]

The AquaMaxx bulbs are susposed to be close in spectrum to the Radiums (the ONLY bulb worth considering, IMO, and I've tried almost all of them). They're a lot cheaper. Sanjay did a comparison. Radiums are best but need to be over-driven at the 250 W level by an HQI ballast. TBA has a good price on the AquaMaxx 14k and I just bought a 400 W version.

 

[GarrettCurl]

Just purchased the Aquamaxx 14Ks from marinedepot. I cant wait to see how they turn out.