Calling Phoenix owners

[BeanAnimal]

You can lead a horse to water...

Neal, last I checked, sand was not blue

 

[BeanAnimal]

Again, it should be noted that we are ALL seeing something rather different depending on our monitor technology (CRT, LCD, etc) and the color settings (RGB settings, color temperature) and the settings of the browser, video card and opperating system.

In any case, please look at the 3 images below. Does the original look "true to life" now? Again notice the BLUE sand. Now look at your tank under actinics, does the sand look THAT blue? Of course not

 

[Victoria]

Neal
Are you just going to have Mhs or are you going to add T5s or pc's with it? You can adjust the color you see with the type of pc you use too. Here is a picture of my nano before I up graded it. The light is a current USA Outer orbit 150mh Phoenix 14k / x2 65 watt pc's one 03 actinic and one 71k. IMO I fine this color a nice blend. The color is very close to what I see with my eye.

Can't wait to see your tank with the new blubs.

 

[BeanAnimal]

try this one:

Your blues and green were oversaturated in the photo you posted. Likely due to the wrong white balance setting on the camera Take a look at the clownfish stripes and magfloat in the two different photos. Just a slight white balance adjustment makes the photo and color rendering look VERY different.

Which photo is correct? But wait! What about the color temperature setting on your monitor? Have you tried that yet?

 

[Victoria]

Bean
Either way I think the tank looks great. I was just giving Neal a shot of what I had in use. With what ever camara I had. The worst that can happen is he buys the Phoenix 14ks and does'nt like them and starts another thread asking what 20k look like.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Nobody said the tank didn't look great.

The point (as has been since my first post) was that the photographs are not very good at helping people see what a particular bulb or bulb combination looks like.

I am not sure why this is so hard for people to swallow. Each and every time this is pointed out in a thread, a certain number of people poke their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge that it is indeed useless to try and discern a bulbs color rendering from a photograph posted on the internet.

If he starts another thread asking for what 20Ks look like, then he didn't learn anything

 

[Tater11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13349669#post13349669 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
How long has that tank been setup tater?

thank you it's been up for 2 1/2 yrs.sorry i have a really crappy camera.the tank doesnt look near that blue in person.

 

[Tater11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13351279#post13351279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NealNano
Thanks for the pic Tater11 nice blue white colors on the lights. Very nice tank as well. I cant wait to get my NEW PHOENIX BULBS !!!!!!!

thank you we really like them i've tried a couple different bulbs.xm15k didnt get good growth imo.aqualine 10k which came with the fixture way to yellow for me.

 

[NealNano]

Bean man you are a downer. I got what I was looking for out of this thread that is all that matters to me.
Very nice tank Victoria. I will be sure to post some pics soon as I get the new bulbs. Hope they get here early this week as I understand HelloLights.com is very good about fast shipping.
I just found a great LFS store by my house. Been there for a year and I never knew it. I should have been able to smell the salt water from my house. Yes thats right, hello my name is Neal and I am addicted to reefs. Anyway, they stock a very good supply of ORA frags!! I was so happy then sad as I realize I am broke. I did have them order me an ORA Red Planet acro I may have found a new favorite LFS.

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13354964#post13354964 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NealNano
Bean man you are a downer. I got what I was looking for out of this thread that is all that matters to me.

Why is that Neal? Does learning something new have to be that depressing? I provided factual information in a very kind manner and you took offense to it, if not flat out refused to ackowledge it.

You asked for advice in an open forum. You thought that advice should be in the form of photos. I simply pointed out that the advice you sought was in the wrong form with regard to the decision you were trying to make. I provided many clear examples in hopes of helping you and others learn a little more about color and photographs.

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13354485#post13354485 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tater11
thank you it's been up for 2 1/2 yrs.sorry i have a really crappy camera.the tank doesnt look near that blue in person.

Not a problem at all Tater. Your picture actually helped to illustrate the very simple point that photos can not be relied on to discern the color rendering of a lightbulb

It may not be the fact that it is a "crappy" camera as much as it is that the camera and software have no way to easily deal with the blue light. Your eye and brain know what to use a white reference, the camera does not. I took some of the blue out, and that helped it a lot.

 

[NealNano]

Ok I am done with this thread there are some poeple with a very negative attitude here. Thanks to all who posted their pics all your tanks look great. Everything looks nice and healthy. you helped me to make up my mind on which bulbs to buy. I will still post a pic with my new bulbs since people have asked me to do so.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Neal, I am puzzled, you appear to be the only person with the negative attitude. I have been nothing but kind to you and attempted to be helpful. I even took the time to post examples to help you and others gain a better understanding of what you were looking at. I even commented on the bulbs you had in question. Good grief.

 

[NealNano]

I know Bean and I thanked you for for info. You still posted negitive coments after. I just feel it was uncalled for, I got what I hoped out of this. That was possitive feed back on the Phoenix bulbs. People like to post pics so I asked for pics, I figured this might get more replies. It seemed to work out well. Thanks for the help no hard feelings

 

[NealNano]

Ok my bulbs will be here tomorrow. Should I raise my lights up as they are close to the water, to acclimate the corals to the new lights? I could also use some eggcrate to defuse some of the light? Or should I not worry about it?

 

[BeanAnimal]

I would rase the lights and then lower them over the next 7 - 10 days or so. Even if it ends up being LESS light, it will not harm the corals. You can also change 1 bulb at a time. You will SEE the difference (even though what you see does not always corrolate to PAR difference). When I went from XM20K to the Phoenix 14K, the side by side difference was staggering. The XM20K looked like a dim moonlight.

 

[NealNano]

Thanks Bean.

 

[NealNano]

Ok I got the new bulbs and here is the pic as promised. I dont know if you can tell the difference. I like these bulbs so far they are a nice bright blue. Blue like the 20ks but brighter. I will have to see if they are still this blue after they burn in.
<a href="http://s473.photobucket.com/albums/rr93/intenseneal/?action=view&current=fts9-17.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr93/intenseneal/fts9-17.jpg" border="0" alt="fts 9/17/08 w/ phoenix"></a>

 

[carlso63]

Looking good Neal



And basically, the 20K ends up looking a little "bluer" and a lot "duller" compared to the Pheonix... you won't regret the switch and your corals will be happier for it!

 

[scaryperson27]

BeanAnimal, can you show us how we can help closely replicate the colors to real life? I know some programs have Auto-Balance features... How accurately do they nail it? I understand nothing is perfect. Maybe that'll help reply to peoples objections or misconceptions.

Thanks,
Mike