Hey - people running 400 se halides only

[panic]

What bulbs are you running - brand and color - and why

I run 3 Reeflux 12k in LAIII, and dig the color enough. I just wish the corals would be a bit more florescent. I don't think sps really need actinics. My growth is about the same without VHO superactinics in the new tank (2 mo old)

here's a pic:

 

[jelwyoming]

I just bought 2x400 SE EVC 10k bulbs to go with a set of EVC electronic ballast because of the PAR values. Pretty nice output for the money.

 

[ZURCSREEF]

15k XM 400's, with mag PFO ballast, for a 15k it burns pretty white, but still fluoroscents my sps and the rest of my corals very nicely... definately a bulb I will keep using...

 

[zapata41]

i run a pair of 400w SE radiums on the new style icecap e ballast and a xm 20k 400w SE on a m57 ballast. all in LAIII reflectors. i chose the combo so i didnt hav eto run actinics, color is great and growth is better.

Tim

 

[stank]

I run two 400w se hamilton 14k off new style icecaps and LAIIIs. I like the color, not too blue, not too white. Get good growth also.

 

[panic]

I've been hearing alot of good reports about the Hamilton 14k and the XM 20k. Are the Radiums still more blue than the XM 20k?

 

[RokleM]

I have two 400w Radium's. They are super bright. They don't honestly seem that "blue" to me.

I also have two 400w Hamilton 14K's I'll swap out a couple of times here in the coming week to see which I like better.

LumenMax2's on an HQI ballast running at about 17" over the tank

Note, this is my first large tank, first try with SPS, and first MH setup.

The colors in the picture are pretty close color wise on my monitors:

 

[beeker]

17 inches off the water surface? thats kindof high most people keep their MH lights at most 10 inches off the water.

 

[ricks]

I'm running (6) 400watt Radiums on PFO HQI's. With (4) 160 atinic VHO's. And (4) 96 watt 10K PC's. I can grow sps on the bottom of my 36' deep tank.. To bad I can't reach the bottom..

 

[RokleM]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7785002#post7785002 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beeker
17 inches off the water surface? thats kindof high most people keep their MH lights at most 10 inches off the water.

I may be new, but that's a pretty generalized/vague statement. Although it might be true, it isn't exactly "correct".

The below is based on what I've read/seen, so granted I might be wrong.

The Radium's have an extremely high PAR, and are burning out SPS in spots where they replaced Hamilton's and others. I have at least one local member that has experienced that issue I saw in person. That however isn't the reason for the height, but important to keep in mind when dealing with the Radium.

This is my first MH setup, and this is a brand new setup (tank has only been up for a month or so). My SPS frags were doing well under a 175MH light in the sump. I'm still working on the mounting system for the LumenMax2's. As well, the 180 I have is 6'. I can't remember the exact numbers (have it written down at home), but the LumenMax2's have a 2x2' area at about 10", and 3x3" at about 17". This give me good coverage acrorss the entire tank currently. They will likely be around 14-15" once I'm done, which will give me a little more area in the middle for softies and very less light intense corals. All those reasons are why they are currently at the appox 17" height. The rocks near the top of the tank (base/dry rock, partially white) are almost blinding the light is so bright.

 

[beeker]

well i have a 175w iwaski 14k on my 20 gallon that is rated at around 93 PAR i think on my ballast and i have it 7 inches from the water surface, i have no experience with radium bulbs i just saw that you had them mounted 17 inches up...i wouldn't think it would be a problem if you lowered them to around 10 inches...but i guess you can always lower them a little bit a week once you get more SPS and see how the growth and stuff is.

 

[Znut Reefer]

I'm using the 400 Reeflux 10K and the EVS 14K 400's. I have nice colors and growth. I haven't decided yet, but may change the 14K's out later to 12K Reeflux or go with the 20K's next. All are running on e-ballasts with the LAIII reflectors.

 

[Eric Boerner]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7785281#post7785281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RokleM
The Radium's have an extremely high PAR

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but....

Radiums have an extremely LOW PAR...

Their best claim to fame is how blue they are. More flourencing without the need of actinics. They were the best 20k bulbs on the market, till the XM 20k's came out.

But in terms of raw PAR, they're at the bottom of the list.

Now if you were talking about XM 10k's, then I would agree that you may want to keep them higher than the 'avg' hieght, since XM 10k's put out 3 times the PAR a Radium does, and overdrives the ballast resulting in 7 degrees more than the Radium.

 

[Eric Boerner]

x2 400 watt XM 20k's that have been burned for 9 months. Yeah I have to replace em. Only using 2 since the tank will be set up as island colonies when Im done. This is week 2 after a full tank move. Note the hair algae came with the rock. Im erradicating it promptly. Hoods are staggered, Anemone shoal (left side) is at 12" and the future SPS reef head (right side) is at 8". Lamp heat is not an issue where Im at. Tank stays a constant 77-78 even when the lights are on.

 

[Snausages01]

2x400 watt Iwasakis (6.5K) with a pair of 110 watt actinics.

 

[Stoney Mahony]

2 x 400w XM 20K's 3 months old on sunlight supply ballasts., I like the color, no need for actinics

Good color in the corals too:

 

[RokleM]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7787938#post7787938 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Eric Boerner
Radiums have an extremely LOW PAR...

That's not what I had read/heard. Where was that information? Where they running on a HQI ballast?

Again, I'm kind of new to MH, so just throwing some things out there.

 

[dgasmd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7788572#post7788572 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RokleM
That's not what I had read/heard. Where was that information? Where they running on a HQI ballast?

Here you go. Look up any bulb/ballast combo you want. I have used radiums in the past and they are nice to look at, but everything turns monochromatic over time. Plus, they are one of the most inefficient bulbs in the market.

I ran Ushio 10K for 2 years by themselves and things did color up extremely nicely and grew extremely well. Actinic do add something to the colors that no MH does. However, the only one that "needs" it is me and not the corals.

 

[Big E]

You're right RokleM.............as far as 400w 20k's go, Radiums with the HQI ballast are at the top for par.

Btw, I'm running 2 400w XM's.... one on an m-59 magnetic ballast & one off an e-ballast. No other supplentation. I like the e-ballast colors better. I'm also using the LM3 reflectors which make a huge difference.

 

[Eric Boerner]

I dont want to sound like the guy who just wants to be argumentative, but Radiums, in general aren't at the top of the PAR list for MH lamps. On an a 250 WATT HQI ballast, they put out 395 PAR. But, a XM 10k on a 250 WATT HQI will out blast a Radium at 835 PAR. Thats a 2 to 1 ratio, or... 2 radium bulbs in each shroud to produce the same PAR. So, you would want to have them closer to the water, if your tank could stand the heat they put out.

Sanjay's conclusions are great, but in general are a touch oudated. The was another test that was done here more recently with the newer bulbs/ballasts on the market:

http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm