Ice Cap MH Bulbs

[oldreefer76]

Just curious if any one else is running these bulbs? We were set to get the used Ushio 10k from Funkyman and my research backed up by Sean at Salty found that they would fire on m57 ballast's but there life would be short so after talking to him we decided to try the Ice Cap 14k, our first impression after firing them up was they were kinda yellow, but as they burn in they are a very crisp white and hopefully will have a slight blue to them, the par seems to be amazing also

 

[EYESEEU]

Could be your water quality making it look yellow. here's a real helpful link for MH's

http://www.aquarium-lighting-guide.com/metal_halide_ansi

 

[oldreefer76]

Water quality is good, the lights are burning in a crisp white, as I stated , they started out yellow and are now a crisp white, my ? was if any one else was using these bulbs for in put on there performance, and if no one else has used them I guess I will be the first to post results

 

[Old Crusty]

true test for water quality is put 3 gallon in a white 5 gallon bucket and that will tell you how good your water really is, surprisingly the larger percentage of the time your water will be yellow in the bucket. go ahead try it you will be surprised..

 

[EYESEEU]

The reason I asked about water quality pics posted on 2/12/08
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1316206
seem to show hair algae growing all over the LR caught my attention. During the first hours, intensity of the light may fluctuate somewhat, which is normal. However after it reaches 100 hours of "burn in" time, it will continue to burn evenly for the remainder of it's life (with normal aging reduction).
It may take the bulb 10-15 minutes to come to full brightness. Hope you find this information clears things up. Will you be using a LUX light meter for testing purposes to gauge performance?

 

[CleveYank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12155822#post12155822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Old Crusty
true test for water quality is put 3 gallon in a white 5 gallon bucket and that will tell you how good your water really is, surprisingly the larger percentage of the time your water will be yellow in the bucket. go ahead try it you will be surprised..

This 101 tip is a good one, but I just use that to affirm my need for a water change (notice this as I am performing one).

If you get out the bucket to test for yellow tint...might as well do your 10% water change while you are there.

For A Quick Check.
I use piece of paper with 3 phrases printed in 12 font in blue, green and yellow taped to the side of tank with the print side in. These lines will be altered if there is yellow tinting in the tank when viewed through the 4-foot length of my tanks. Red also works too, but the red fades faster and changes the color perception to a negative factor. At least with the HP standard inkjet that is.


As to your bulb choice. Since it's not listed on Sanjays comparison engine. That's a repost in the lighting or general reef discussion posting to get a larger sample. I found that out when I asked about the 15K Iwasaki 175's to get a from the horse's mouth vote. I even got a few replies and some PM's with photos showing the bulb over various setup sizes.

 

[oldreefer76]

We do 10 to 20% changes weekly, using white buckets, run lignite carbon 24/7 changed out bi-weekly and GFO changed out every 7 to 10 days, water is usually very clear in the bucket. The light spill over onto our white walls is where we are getting the color from, 1 is currently turning more white with a hint of blue and the yellow is fading into a more white on the second. I did post the question in both lighting and reef forum with no replies and threads get burried quickly in both, so I guess we are kinda the guinea pigs on these bulbs and will keep track of the progression as they burn in and coral response in terms of growth and coloration also, and post at a later time