Lighting Questions

[Pico1]

On my 55 gallon reef I have 2, 150w 14K halides in a sunpod (electronic ballast). I am ready to get some new bulbs in about a month. They are really not as blue as I like, but then again they are stock bulbs. I really like the color of 20K bulbs but don't want to risk losing par because of my sps which are all placed at the top of the tank. With my situation should I go with the XM 15K or 20K? Or should I go with another brand all togeather? Tell me what your thoughs are on what bulb I should get in my situation. I am new to halides and want to make the right decision before I shell out $150 in bulbs. Also I don't have any antics, just 12 white/12 blue LEDs.
-Jordan

 

[dots]

The pheonix 14k 150 DE are "bluer" than most. Many like them and have recommended them.

I got a pair for mine a couple of months ago, and thought that they were too blue, looked more like a 20k than a 14k IMO. It is said that even though they are a 14k they are shifted more that way.....

I balanced mine out by replacing one of my actinic PC with a full daylight and have balanced it out great.

I think that they are what you may be looking for.

 

[Pico1]

but do they have the par or high enough intensity of 14K for my sps?

 

[dots]

In general, 150's don't pack enough punch as it is.......

We both should have 250's

Since we have 150's we can keep SPS alive and it will grow, but slowly.

The PAR is best with a 10K......if PAR is what you are after, stick with the yellow 10Ks

The higher Kelvin ratings, in a nutshell, are more for looks.

Unfortunatly as you know the higher the K, the less PAR. Which may be lacking towards the bottom of the tank with 150's to begin with.

I have realized with 150's, you can't have it all....ie great growth, and cool colorization......face it, we ain't going to be frag farmers....

Since changing my bulbs from the 10k coralife to the 14k pheonix, I have noticed a slowing of growth, but nothing drastic.....I think water quality plays more into it than a switch from 10k to 14k. A 14K is a happy medium between the growth of a 10k and the cool blue of a 20k

I got mine at Marine Depot, you can check them there.

 

[Pico1]

very true. All my sps are placed as high as possible which should help. I'm not looking for super fast growth, just healthy, colorful corals. So which do you think is better, a pheonix 14K or an XM 15K? Thanks for all the help too BTW.

 

[dots]

I don't have experience with the XM 15K, in truth all are a little different and it is a little of a gamble.

This one here was my second choice after the Phoenix bulb:

13,000K Megachrome Marine HQI

I didn't get much info on that one, but looked promising.

Unfortunatly, the DE market is still new. The 150 market within the DE group is even smaller, and there are not a lot of choices in bulbs or experienced people that have had them....we are kinda in a 250 SE bulb world.....which is a different one at that.....Good Luck-Doug

Oh yeah, on second thought also, depending on your ballasts....they will determine on how the bulbs fire and look once going.....so honestly it is kinda comparing apples to oranges even on the same wattages.

I feel your pain, I went through it when looking for mine!!!

If your looking for some data, check out Sanjays site, but good luck on finding much on the 150's......

 

[Nu2SW]

Hey Dots, The coralife 10k, What type of bulbs were they vho,mh,pc's?

 

[Pico1]

I hear that whatever is german is the best quality. I guess we kind of see that with tunzies being such high quality and all the new innovations such as fuges coming from germany. Sanjay did not have info on the 150s.

 

[shilo_1]

It depends on what look you like too (PAR aside.)
Some people don't like bluer tanks, some do.

I had the 20k XM's and loved them - no need for actinics, but not too blue at all IMO.

 

[Justin74]

Have you thought of trying to supplement your halides instead, this will allow you to have the blue look with higher PAR that your seeking. This is what Im looking into as well, although Im not sure I really need it and ultimately it may be too much? But for you with SPS in the tank you should consider:
Keeping your 14k Then to achieve that blueer look with higher par supplement it with a T5 blue+(or actinic+ same bulb)and some Tek or Icecap reflectors it has a great PAR value and really pops reds,pinks, and yellows in your corals. They only need 2-2.5" width along the inside of your canopy.
Look at some of the pics members have posted, tfp has a great marine blue look going he also has some major this and thats but last I looked T5 blu+ were on the list. I love mine and its comforting knowing there paking some PAR too, way more than just a regular blue or true actinic supplement.

-Justin

 

[Fragmented]

Give Steve at Coral Reef Eco-Systems a call. He can help you figure out what is best for your situation and keep your budget in mind. (707) 869-4100 He had a booth at the WMC with a large selection of bulbs.

 

[dots]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7494940#post7494940 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nu2SW
Hey Dots, The coralife 10k, What type of bulbs were they vho,mh,pc's?

These are 150 watt Metal Halide bulbs that we are refering to.




The trend seems to be to use supplementation when the PAR wouldn't have enough punch because of a deep tank, or lower wattage bulbs such as these.

I notiice most do not need to worry about supplementation when using, say a 400w bulb, because it is already so intense and can afford a loss in PAR in order to shift the color preference, and the higher K bulbs they are using have enough blue in the spectrum not to worry about any more.

Justin does have a good point, and that is how I was able to fine tune the color to my desire on my setup.....you may want to sitck with a Ushiro 10k bulb and supplement the heck out of it with some PC of T5 actinics. As you may be finding out, there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

 

[Pico1]

I don't really have room to put antics as my lighting set-up is kinda funky. I cut a square out of my existing canopy just big enough for the halide and moonlights, but small enough for it to rest on top. If anyone knows where I can find a canopy for a standard 55 that is big enough to hold haides and has doors in the front and is under $250, PLEASE let me know.

[/IMG]

 

[Justin74]

It looks like you can attach them just fine under your current canopy, it would just be under instead of over it like your halides, which IMO even better , or is there some funky seperation underneath that Im not seeng?

-Justin

 

[Pico1]

You can see that the front half flips up for maintanance.

[/IMG]

 

[dots]

I was thinking of upgrading my lights to 250's as it is.....I have a 48" Aqualife Pro set up with the 2/96w PCs, 2-150w MHs and the moonlights.....great set up and am completly happy with it, though I am getting more heavily into the SPS and don't want to chance losing them.......make me an offer on this 6 month old set up so I can upgrade without taking a huge loss and we can all win!!

 

[Pico1]

The problem is it doesn't work with my canopy.

 

[Reefugee]

Just following this thread because I need to get new bulbs, and I am looking at 14K bulbs as well.

I have a 120G (48"x24"x24") with dual 250w MH with IceCap ballasts and Lumenarc mini's (with AC). I previously had XM10K, and the tank was really bright but the color was "blah". I recently got a pair of old Hamilton 14K (thanks Huy) - and the color in my tank has really come out. The light doesn't seem quite as bright to the eyes - but the coloration is great! Arlan had Hamilton 14K and XM 14K next to each other - and both bulb looked alike to my eyes. BTW - I do plan on supplementing my MH with some T5 actinics.

Jordan - you should be able to buy a canopy for a lot less than $250. I am almost with building my canopy - just waiting for the polyurethane to dry. The total cost was maybe $100 (not including some wood I salvaged from old bed frames). Since my tank is 24" deep, the front 8" opens up and flip onto the back. My MH slides back out of the way so that I have room to work on the tank if need be. It has an open top to allow for heat to escape. Anyway - I will post pictures of it in the next couple of days.

Minh

 

[Pico1]

Thanks. Steve said that he could probally help me build a hood if I gave him a design so I'm workin on it.

 

[dots]

Yeah, a hood with a retrofit would give you the most options. Personally, I hate trying to reach around them and had an eclipse on my first tank and was very limited in my options......I would rather have the enclosed lighting systems from now on, even though they are more expensive....

Am I the only one that thinks this?

I love not having to open up a hood all the time and enjoy reaching the bottom of the tank while standing on the ground