Ebay MH bulbs

[lordofthereef]

Here is an image that I "stole" from an RC thread as a comparison. As you can see the sandbed itself has better values than almost anywhere in the tank in your example. That leads me to believe the data is either skewed in some way or these bulbs are crap (which, again, based on people's reviews doesn't seem to be accurate.)

 

[Vince]

Subscribed

 

[ironwill723]

Another update.... I ordered 3 more DE 250w 14ks for backup bulbs. They came in two days later. Also, I spoke with Art at LSE on a question I had about the bulbs. Emailing through the "contact the seller" on Ebay gets you a response the same day. These bulbs are a great value in my opinion.

 

[bguile]

Another update.... I ordered 3 more DE 250w 14ks for backup bulbs. They came in two days later. Also, I spoke with Art at LSE on a question I had about the bulbs. Emailing through the "contact the seller" on Ebay gets you a response the same day. These bulbs are a great value in my opinion.

Cool. Then maybe mine will show up today.

 

[Amoore311]

Here is an image that I "stole" from an RC thread as a comparison. As you can see the sandbed itself has better values than almost anywhere in the tank in your example. That leads me to believe the data is either skewed in some way or these bulbs are crap (which, again, based on people's reviews doesn't seem to be accurate.)

What are the dimensions of that tank? Doesn't look 2' high by the looks of it. Pictures can be deceiving though.


Also, if the test was done with the pumps off it will give much different results. I did not turn the pumps off for my test.

The meter is brand new, and was only used once... maybe twice before the test. My reflectors are just basic spyder reflectors.

For a true comparison it seems I would need some of the higher end bulbs to put into my fixture, and then retest with the same meter.


If anyone wants to send me over left over bulbs, or spares..... I can run them under my par meter and post another photo. Due to costs, I will obviously not be buying handfuls of $60-$80 Halide bulbs just for testing purposes lol. If that's something anyone wants me to do, just PM me and I'll get you my address. I can honestly even send the bulb back if you want lol, I'm just offering this up to the community as a way to get a true "test" of these par values against that of the leading manufacturers.

From a "looks only" standpoint. The bulbs are completely fine. The corals are growing fantastically under these bulbs.

 

[petrio]

i Got say i have gotten 3 of the plusrite 250 watts 14k double ended bulbs i use them in auqamedic pendants with m80 ( Magnetic) they are very brite but yellow for a 14k more then my Ushio 10k would love to see how the 20 k would work and how brite they are !! if any one had used this combination of bulb and ballast please give some info thank you

 

[prostaff]

I think it is probably the reflectors making the difference in the par readings, not the meter. I switched from a spyder type relector to the Lumenbright and almost tripled my readings at the bottom of the tank with the same bulb

 

[bhazard451]

Just got the 14k and 20k. Ran the 20k to test last night and it has a very nice blue/white hue. Its nicer looking than my odyssea 15k bulb, but isnt as bright. I'm going to let it burn in and see if it changes, def not as blue as I thought it would be.... running 250w de on electronic ballast

 

[bguile]

Ok. Received mine yesterday (2 days) in fine condition. Installed and took this first pic after allowing the bulb to burn for 30 min. On the left is my old (1yr+) Phoenix 14K and 14K Plusrite on the right.

While it's not as blue as the Phoenix I think it's ok (for my liking). I do have to say though that it appeared a little bluer later after taking this pic.

Ok..next pic is the 10K Plusrite vs. 14K Plusrite. 10K on left.

I set the white balance in the camera to sunlight so the colors are pretty close to exactly what I see but as you can see I dont see a whole lot of difference in the early going of these bulbs. The 10K's would definitely require actinic supplements. These are powered by 250W IceCap Eballasts.

I'll let them burn for about another week or so and evaluate again after the 100hr mark. :wave:

 

[bhazard451]

Here are pics of the 20k DE on an electronic ballast. I actually think a phoenix 14k might be more blue, but it still looks very nice, especially w actinics. Bulb has had 4 hours of runtime.

First shot is w actinics, second is without

 

[bguile]

That's interesting b/c 20K should be 20K right? I've seen some 20K's that I think just are way too blue for me, but this one actually needs actinics to look "normal" to me. It'll be interesting to see what happens as they get more use to them.

 

[bhazard451]

That's interesting b/c 20K should be 20K right? I've seen some 20K's that I think just are way too blue for me, but this one actually needs actinics to look "normal" to me. It'll be interesting to see what happens as they get more use to them.

I think a lot of it has to do with the camera (and algae). It doesnt look as "green" in person. I think it does look better with the actinics though. I'll see how it is after a few weeks of use.

 

[GrampaDon]

bguile..... Thx n Plz do update after the 100hr

Im waiting for USPS to bring mine. Hopefully by sat.

 

[squidy3]

I have two pics. The first is my 45g (rock tank)with a Sunpod w/Sunpaq 150mh 14k bulb. The second is my 110g with Coralife fixture w/Plusrite 2x 150mh 20k. I just purchased the Plusrite bulbs about 2 weeks ago. I went with 20k for more blue so I wouldn't have to run my actinic pc's due to high temps. Anyways, like most everyone else, I have been more than pleased. My coral are thriving and my anemone's tentacles are more bubbled rather than stringy, lol. Just thought I would add my 2 cents. Great thread btw!

 

[reefnjunkie]

Well its been a while since I have posted to this, its been 3 months with the 20K plusrites and according to the par meter, they have lost a little less than 20% of the values they had at week one.

I'll never buy any other bulb as long as I am reefing-Take that you name brand blood suckers-LOL

Its like when Sears Robuck sold shotguns-they said Sears but were manufactured Remington with Remi's specs etc. I have heard the same holds true for ceretain television-Samsung has Sony guts or something like that and so on.

Basiclly a few mass producers selling there products to the retailers who stamp their brand name on them-

Smoke and mirrors-LOL

Plusrite for me-:bum:

 

[Vince]

Just for the heck of it I ordered 3 Plusrite 20k 400 watt SE bulbs to compare to the Radiums I am running. They came today and are installed. My first impression is they are less blue than the radiums but are a lot brighter. I will observe in the next few days how my corals react to the new bulbs and will post my findings. For less than the price of a single Radium I can get 3 Plusrites. I replace my radiums every 6 months. Even if I replace the Plusrites every 3 months I will still be way ahead.

 

[4G1v3N]

just received my plusrite's in the mail today i got 2 DE 150W 20K and one 400W SE 20K the are less blue than my xm 14K but allot brighter and IMO a great look. You can not beat the price.

 

[tangtang clown]

I just switched from VHOs to MHs and my 150w HQIs. I switched my my stock bulbs out with Plusrite 20k bulbs. I also just switched 2 of the 3 underpowered ballasts to a blue wave dual ballast and they are much brighter than the stock ballast. I have never owned a blue halide, but the 20k plusrites look bright with a blue tint, which is OK because I just received a 4x39w T5 retrofit kit. I will try to post some pics today.

 

[lordofthereef]

What are the dimensions of that tank? Doesn't look 2' high by the looks of it. Pictures can be deceiving though.


Also, if the test was done with the pumps off it will give much different results. I did not turn the pumps off for my test.

The meter is brand new, and was only used once... maybe twice before the test. My reflectors are just basic spyder reflectors.

For a true comparison it seems I would need some of the higher end bulbs to put into my fixture, and then retest with the same meter.

I am not sure if the flow was turned off or not. I would guess not because IMO it would simply be pointless to test your lighting NOT under the conditions that your tank is in. That said, I cannot confirm that flow was on or off. As far as height, I am not really sure that is relevant at all. The values at the TOP of your water levels is way lower than the TOP of this persons water level. That would not be effected by how tall the tank is. I am not saying your meter is bad, or that you tested improperly but others results I have seen are closer to that in my "borrowed" image than yours. Frankly yours are MUCH MUCH lower than any ratings I have seen on any other MH bulbs ever.

 

[CA1]

Hi,

I am looking to buy the 175 SE 14k plusrite metal halide bulbs. Does anyone have a link to the company or the e-bay site where they are sold? How do people who have them like them?

Thanks