Rethinking my lighting

[nyvp]

I am running 4 Lumenarcs with Hamilton 14ks atm in my 120x36x30 tank. Hamilton 250W 14K SE Icecap 250W Elec 69 par 252watts 0.2738 efficiency
Its a mixed reef torches,softies,monties,rics,and now Ive started to add some SPS.
I love the color,look of the tank but I'm not happy with growth and coloring of some of corals.
Efficiency and wattage usage is important to me.
I've decided to upgrade to 400w and need some of your help.
Do I go
Radium 400W 20k on PFO 400W HQI which has a 147 par 471/w and 0.3121 efficiency
which will give me the best color
BLV 400W Nepturion 14K SE Blueline 400W Elec 140 par 386/w 0.3627 efficiency
which will give me twice the par that I have now with only 134 more watts
BLV 400W Nepturion 14K SE PFO 400W 214 par 547/w 122 5.24 0.3912
which has the most par and efficiency rating.
So here is my question will the blv which is also the Ushio bulb color up my tank better because of the added par (250w Hamilton is 69 par)
so first is Radium 20k with the pfo vs BLV on a blueline ballast. Same par rating 140 vs 147 but has a 85 watt difference and the bulbs lasting longer for not being overdriven. will the 20 color up my corals that much better because of the 14k vs the 20k?
The next question is the radium on pfo vs the BLV on PFO
Big diff on par 147 vs 214 but there is a 76w dif and 161/w diff vs the Blueline with the 14k's is it worth making that much of a wattage jump? It would be 295/w x4 fixtures more then I'm running now. That's 2304/w vs 1008/w that I'm running at the moment that's a big jump.
Do i just go with the Blueline and the BLV 14k and only add 536w ?
Do i go with the Radium 20k and Pfo for the color?
Do i need to go all out and do the BLV on pfo for that huge electric jump on a mixed reef?
Is there another option that you think I should go with?

( looking back on this thought process unless someone really sells me I don't think I need or want the last option on a mixed reef)

so any of your thought and real world experience would be appreciated.

 

[tentacles]

I have been considering a lot of the same lights for my upcoming tank as well, so I don't have a lot of experience with these bulbs yet, but I have done a fair amount of research. From what I have found, the ushio/blv 14k may not last much longer than the radium on HQI due to color shifting. I've seen posts by more than one person on rc and other forums have this problem. also, if you are looking for a similar color as the hamiltons, you probably won't get it from the ushio/blv bulb without supplementation, so figure more watts. You may also want to consider aquaconnects to use as stand alone bulbs.

 

[jeffbrig]

Joe, I can't comment much on the bulb selection - no experience with 400s, but I definitely think your tank will do well with the added intensity of 400w bulbs.

 

[gasman059]

Well Joe I run 400 20k xm's(#). In the past i've had Radiums and geismans. Def the better bulb is the Radium( color and I believe par-Dont quote me) but requires q 6months change(period), IMHO since u are running a mixed reef XM 20k bulbs are def the way to go -I run them now and I have to tell ya I'm not much of a light geek or conservationist but this bulbs are very crisp blue and last significantly longer than any other 20 I have used.(this last set I used for 10 months- No real significant eye catching diff with the new set.
Anyways I've only played with those two a while back.
Good luck- 400w is tha way to go IMHO- I believe Roger runs 400w

 

[eckrynock]

Re: Rethinking my lighting

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9958530#post9958530 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nyvp
Efficiency and wattage usage is important to me.

If that's the case, why would you go with HQIs? I agree, Radium's color on HQIs can't be touched but it comes with a hefty price tag. I have two EVC 400w elec. ballast running Reeflux 12k bulbs. Love the color. I want to try a Hammy 14k for comparison. Right now, I have a 12k Reeflux side by side with a 20k XM, same color, the XM is a little dimmer. I have this over my 55 temporary tank while I finish up my 90. The background on my 55 is blue while my 90 is black. It is hard to get a good idea of how blue these bulbs really are. I think if it was going to be long term against the blue background, I'd go back to 10k reeflux. Hopefully the 12ks against a black bkgrd will produce a very nice color. Good luck, lighting is probably my most and least favorite subject.

 

[nyvp]

I was wondering about what the color differnce in the corals would be with the 20k. the reason for the hqi is to get the same par as the 14k

 

[eckrynock]

14ks usually have the least par of any bulb. XM 20k and I'm pretty sure even Radiums have more par than Hammy 14ks.

 

[GMAX]

What about Reeflux 10Ks? I run them without any supplementation and the tank has both good color and good growth.

 

[john rochon]

none of the above. USHIO 14 K lmaps with a few actinics. best lamp I've try'd yet!

 

[eckrynock]

BLV is Ushio, right?

 

[nyvp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9962005#post9962005 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eckrynock
BLV is Ushio, right?

.
yes correct.

The point being I don't want to use actinic. That's the reason I'm going up to 400/w in the first place. If you figure in the cost of 8 fixtures/bulbs for my tank and the added cost of 770/w for them is the only reason I will go up from 250's.

 

[eckrynock]

With both the 20k XM and the Reeflux 12k, I still want actinics. Don't have them right now because I just got lumenarc minis but in my new hood, I will make room for actinics. My .02

 

[BreadmanMike]

My suggestion...

SE 14.5k Giesemann's or SE 14k Aquaconnects on either SLS Galaxy Electronics or PFO/SLS HQI ballasts. They are both HQI rated bulbs.

My next suggestion would be to drop down to three lumenarcs and see if you like it. I'm covering a 48x48 with two 400's in lumenarcs and two 2 bulb tek lights. I know your tank is 10' long, but I think it would look nice.

My camera skills aren't great, but you can see there is very good coverage with just the two halides.