Opinions on EVC 10k's?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8088662#post8088662 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kip
i am finally happy with my lighting :)

Thankx Kip >>I might give it a try..I never had 10k bulbs.
they always looks yellowish to my eyes...Maybe with a ayears my vision got worth:))
 
i went from 250wab20kDEs to 250wp14ks to 400whqi radium 20ks to 250w xm10ks and then to 400w evc 10ks..... running the yellow batch of xms before the nice evc's eased the transition from the blue bulbs in the past
 
yeah... i think i just had a bad batch... but like i said, i went thru 6 bulbs.

sanjay's data shows around 11000k for CCT after 100hrs burn in... this is why i went to them.. that and the similar par to the overdriven 400w radiums... but i couldnt come anywhere close to 11000k except the 1st day... then day by day... more and more yellow. This was on m58 ballasts (still tested at ~11000k by sanj)

on the note of XM.. i have 150wXM10kDEs on m81 ballasts for my 75g softy/lps tank... those have served me well.

people have said with chinese bulbs it is just a crapshoot... something about quality control, etc that is all beyond me.

who knows.... maybe when it is time to replace the evc's over my tank... i may get a bad batch of those. Just getting 6 XMs in a row that burned in yellow left a bad taste in my mouth.
 
nope no bleaching ... i didnt adjust lamp height or photoperiod (mimic at your own risk :) )

in fact, i have some "sleepers" that are coloring up nicely under the 10ks
 
nawp :)

(that's lazy southern for "no")

i imagine it would look a lot like a radium on hqi
 
well..i think my only choice is evc-10k and actinics supl.
or i will still use radiums... i am affraid of too much yellow for my taste..
do u think 3x t-5 48w uv actinics wil washed out yellow?
 
i've no experience with t5's

i will offer this... my tank... 3x 400w EVC10ks and NO actinics in this shot

pic quality isnt the best.. i was just aiming to show the bulb color... and forgive the raggedness of my reef... i am in the process of removing corals to re-aquascape

FTS9-3-06400wEVC10k.jpg
 
Wow,Kip..u have a beatifull tank... i really like this pic...not too much yellow either....nice!!!
do u run this bulbs of HQi ballast?
 
thanks

ran on HQI.... i have in the past, but i dont currently(i have just about every ballast made from trying different lighting over the years)

these are on PFO magnetic pulse start ballasts... regular PFO magnetic will run them the same way. believe it or not, the pfo hqi actually underdrives the bulb a little by comparison.

mag/mag-pulse .... ppfd 204, CCT 8600, and 485w
mag hqi..................ppfd 173, CCT 8441, and 450w (still very good)
 
pretty much the same... i ran one on hqi and one on standard magnetic side by side and couldnt tell the diff
 
Great!!! At least i dont have to get a new ballast:))))

btw of the topic ,why do u wanna re-aquascape, ur tank looks aewsome
 
in that pic... about 8 colonies have been removed... i am trying to open up the tank for more room for corals to grow.

i have a coupla corals growing outta the water and i wanna reduce the 'scape height by half. i intend to reduce my stony load by about half too (dont know if i will be able to part with that many)
 
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