SE or DE 400w MH bulb

[baruchbl]

I use in my reef tank one single SE 400w MH bulb. I want to change it to 400 DE bulb.

My question is: Do the DE give more amount of light then the SE bulb?
Do the SE 400w MH bulb give the same amount of light then the DE 250w MH bulb?

 

[antonsemrad]

The answer to you ?'s is yes and no. It depends on the bulb and ballast. The DE bulbs might last longer, but this would depend on the ballast being the right type. (HQI) A 65K bulb would be brighter than a 20K bulb.

This is my take on it. Corals will adapt and grow well with any bulb/ballast mentioned on RC (even cheap PC's). The bulb choice is what YOU like. So I ask you, why change? If your unhappy with the color, just switch to a different bulb that you like. IMHO changing your equipment would be a waste of $$$$. How about this. Tell us what your using, what you want from it, and perhaps someone with more experience can point you in the right direction.

 

[baruchbl]

If i will change from SE to DE i will get more amount of light with the same billing of electricity. It will cost me $$$$ but just one time.

 

[antonsemrad]

The HQI ballats acually uses a little more electricity, thats why they are brighter. You will kill the bulb life by using the wrong bulb (DE) on the wrong ballest (not HQI), and vise vera. And remember, more light isn't always better. A 400 watt SE set up has many bulb choices and should be plenty bright for most, if not all applications. Like I said earlier, if you need more light, use a bulb with a higher k rating. If you notice, some of the best sps tanks on here use 400 watt 20k bulbs, but if they were to switch to say a 65k bulb, this would be too bright (at least at first). The corals would adapt and (mabe) grow faster, and might change colors to something the coral owner might not like as much. The 400 watt HQI bulbs are still somewhat new, and would be a fun choice for a new set up, but still isn't a "silver bullet". It is impossible for me to give advice without knowing your goals. What exactly are your trying to achieve with the DE set up?

 

[baruchbl]

Stronger light.

 

[panic]

DE is more like a spotlight. SE spreads. I have 3 reefs with SE and 2 with DE, and the SE in LAIII reflectors spread some nice light deep in the tank. Also, you have more of a choice on bulbs and better luck finding good prices when it is time to replace