drummereef's 180g in-wall build

OK, I called Jeremy at PA. He said the SE Mogul 250 watt Phoenix should be run on the HQI setting on my Galaxy Select-a-Watt ballasts. He said they would be slightly more blue than the Radiums which might work well since I don't currently run actinics. That and for 3 of them it's 60 bucks cheaper. Hmmm, I'm leaning towards the Phoenix now... Decisions! :crazy1:
 
Suck it up & try them! Haha....worst case you bought 3 bulbs & get by for the next 9 mos on the bulbs. Maybe by then you will have another fish!:lol:

Again only reason I say try it if you are interested is you have very little corals and the bulb change at this point should make a big difference. Plus you have 3 250W MH's over you 180, so the little loss of PAR if any shouldn't matter much at this point.

But If you really like your radiums, just stick with them, an extra $60 every 9mos or so really isn't much overall, but hey $60 is $60 too!
 
110galreef said:
Suck it up & try them! Haha....worst case you bought 3 bulbs & get by for the next 9 mos on the bulbs. Maybe by then you will have another fish!:lol:

Again only reason I say try it if you are interested is you have very little corals and the bulb change at this point should make a big difference. Plus you have 3 250W MH's over you 180, so the little loss of PAR if any shouldn't matter much at this point.

But If you really like your radiums, just stick with them, an extra $60 every 9mos or so really isn't much overall, but hey $60 is $60 too!
Click to expand...

:lol: You're cracking me up. Haha! I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the Phoenix and give them a try. I can use the extra $$ for some fish right? :D
 
BOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :D

Actually this will be a great comparison. I'll continue to use radiums and you can use the phoenix. We can do some great coral comparisons.


SOOOOOOO....what this means is you need to send a frag of everything in your tank over and I'll send you of mine as well. Deal?
 
cromedogg33 said:
BOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :D

Actually this will be a great comparison. I'll continue to use radiums and you can use the phoenix. We can do some great coral comparisons.


SOOOOOOO....what this means is you need to send a frag of everything in your tank over and I'll send you of mine as well. Deal?
Click to expand...

:lol: This will be fun to compare. I'm excited to see the difference in color between the two. How does everyone recommend changing bulbs... One at a time over a few days or all 3 at once?
 
drummereef said:
:lol: This will be fun to compare. I'm excited to see the difference in color between the two. How does everyone recommend changing bulbs... One at a time over a few days or all 3 at once?
Click to expand...



Brett......I believe Jeremy at PA (my lighting guru) suggests simply changing all of them at once and don't bother fuses with reduced photo-period, etc.

BTW: I give you credit.....I can't seem to jump to the darside (no pun intended) regarding switching from Radiums. Just too many sps growers out there that have great success, especially many TOTM guys. But, Sanjay runs Ushiro's and GREAT results too.

Will follow your experiences very closely becuase I am due to a bulb change within the next month or so. Did a Google search and can get 250w Radiums for $70/ea. delivered.....if in stock:-).
 
tegee said:
Brett......I believe Jeremy at PA (my lighting guru) suggests simply changing all of them at once and don't bother fuses with reduced photo-period, etc.

BTW: I give you credit.....I can't seem to jump to the darside (no pun intended) regarding switching from Radiums. Just too many sps growers out there that have great success, especially many TOTM guys. But, Sanjay runs Ushiro's and GREAT results too.

Will follow your experiences very closely becuase I am due to a bulb change within the next month or so. Did a Google search and can get 250w Radiums for $70/ea. delivered.....if in stock:-).
Click to expand...

I went rogue on this one man. :D I've heard the Ushios are really nice too. Heck, Sunny runs XM's again so why not experiment right? Haha. Hopefully I'll have good results with them, time will tell. Thanks for the heads up on how to replace them too. ;)
 
I've ran 250 watt Radiums on HQI ballasts for years and like them a lot, but was wanting a change. The Radiums are a blue-gray compared to the Phoenix which are more of a blue color. The Phoenix are more appealing to the eye and don't require supplemental actinic to look nice. I am running them on HQI ballasts which is what they are spec'd to run on. Coral growth is fine and my SPS in that tank (few) are growing like weeds. I also put two Phoenix SE 250's over my 30x30x12 frag tank which is mainly acropora. I really like the change after running just Radiums for years and I like the fact that they are cheaper as well. I will test par at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 month marks to see where they are in that respect.
 
Come on guys...you are getting me all worked up.:fun4:

I am due for a bulb change very soon and this has just added to my confusion.:rolleyes:

Dave...you are saying that XM will, or are designed to work on an true magnetic HQI ballasts? Because I run the old fashion M80 ballast and this may be an option?

My only experience with XM bulbs was directly before my switch to Radiums and magnetic ballasts. I ran the XM 10k's on electronic CoralVue ballasts and it look waaay to yellow for my taste. But it would be great to go to a 14k bulb to generate more growth; if in fact the XM 14k has been Par then a 20k Radium.

Anyone's thoughts as it relates to Par/growth with the XM 14k's vs. the Radiums???

And here I thought I was on auto-pilot with my current configuartion.:mad2: Next thing you are going to tell me Brett is you are going to LED's...........TIA
 
110galreef said:
Keep the bulb info coming! I am due for new reflectors, balasts & bulbs!
Click to expand...

I'm starting to think the ballasts Brett chose to go with may be the best option if you are considering any different bulbs now and in the future.

I still use the old bluewave series magnetic ballasts from sunlight supply. I love them and are very reliable but I definately forced myself in a limited and normally expensive bulb combo.

The select a watt really allow changing out to just about any bulb. I'm still not 100% sold that those ballasts push radiums to spec that were designed to be run on m80 ballasts. But a sanjay type test would be needed to prove either way.
 
gary faulkner said:
Nobody using Reeflux 12K anymore?
Click to expand...


IMHO ReefLux bulbs are very overrated, especially for an SPS dominant tank. Good overall bulb for a mixed reef, but I did not like it once I switched to sps's. There is just too many other better bulbs to choose from.......hth.
 
tegee said:
IMHO ReefLux bulbs are very overrated, especially for an SPS dominant tank. Good overall bulb for a mixed reef, but I did not like it once I switched to sps's. There is just too many other better bulbs to choose from.......hth.
Click to expand...

I have 250W Coralview ballasts. What would you say are my best options for SPS? Let's not consider price.

TIA
 
Dave, you are the man! I'd love to see the PAR numbers as the bulbs age. Thank you!! :) When did you make the switch? I'm assuming it was recent since the frag tank just went up?

I'm a lighting noob so I'm just sitting back and taking notes. :reading: :D I will try and get a couple of comparison pics up for reference though... I just want my tank to look pretty. :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

sauceyreefOG
New (but old) Member - Hello!
Replies
10
Views
138
Reefing102
Reefing102
R
Is it aiptasia or maybe hydroids?
Replies
3
Views
176
griss
griss
N
Bristletooth chasing butterfly
Replies
1
Views
135
Reefing102
Reefing102
H
25 year old yellow tang dying :(
Replies
10
Views
414
sallypur
S
J
Clown interested in conch
Replies
3
Views
158
kfisc
kfisc
Back
Top