sps lighting help

ZildjianDevil

ZildjianDevil

Member
hey guys,

I wanted to see what my best option of bulbs to go with for best sps growth and color.

as of now, i have three 250w Lumen Bright Mini MH pendants with T5 actinic for suppelments over my 180 gallon tank.

MH bulbs: 250w 20K SE. would like to know which kelvin bulbs i should get for my sps only tank with best growth and color.

i know 10K is a white light and fastest growth, and 14K is a little bit of a bluer light with still quick growth. and 20k is blue light and not as fast for growth.

this is all i heard, im not sure how true it is. but seeing that i am doing a 100% sps only tank, and want really great growth and color i'm not sure what to look for in bulbs.I've heard XM, Pheonix, and Ushio are quality bulb companies.

with all of your guys experience which do you guys prefer best for sps?

thanks,
-zildjian
 
Well, that's easy...

There is just one bulb on the market that has the unmatched performance with color and growth.

RADIUM BULB... that's right, you can't get more growth with almost any other 20K bulb (that is if the bulb is truly close to 20K)

Most of people on this forum will agree with me as Radium has quickly become the "industry standard" for fastest growth and best coloration of even most light demanding SPS corals.
 
Last edited:
I think it's around 20, but it's a great bulb. Great growth and a nice blue color.
 
Radium is both, company and bulb :)))

the bulb everyone is talking about is the 20000K 250W Mogul HQI bulb.

Best overall looks vs performance combination is at around 20000K

-Vitaliy
 
i see i see.. i'm looking for Single Ended 250w Metal Halide. is this still the best bulb for just sps growth and color? even though i need SE?

thanks,
-nick
 
Nick,

We've all ended up with same conclusion: this is the best bulb. Take it or leave it... :)

SE means Single Ended bulb, but you will need an HQI capable ballast to run it at full potential as it is an HQI bulb enclosed in a mogul body :))

-Vitaliy
 
Radium...but it is best when ran with a true HQI ballast, if you look at Sanjay's testing, the difference is significant.

Radium under M80 ballast has a ppfd of 85
Radium under electronic ballast has a ppfd of 66

Then look at other popular 20k bulbs
XM20k on electronic, ppfd of 53
CoralVue 20k on electronic, ppfd of 60

Because the Radum is designed to be ran by a HQI ballast, it is greatly under driven by most electronic ballasts. If you want greater growth then the 10K bulb is the way to go, but be prepared to supplement with actintics if you want some "pop" in the color. The Radium is the way to go if you want the 20K look and still get good growth.

The XM10K on electronic ballast has a ppfd of 115
 
^^^^+1.

The ballast will really matter when driving a Radium bulb. Put it on the wrong ballast and you'll burn the bulb out in six months...even when underdriving it. On a 250 hqi it will pull close to 333 watts per bulb. It's not really a true 250 watt bulb.
 
You could always grow out your corals with 10k and then after you're satisfied with how its' filled in color it up with a 20k bulb. I'm a Radium user, but if you didn't want to buy new ballasts you could switch to a XM 20k on an electronic ballast down the road. PAR isn't that great, but on an electronic ballast it will give you much more lifespan and has almost the exact same spectral plot in aesthetics as the Radium.

Find a bulb and ballast combinationon Sanjay's lighting guide that matches your setup and then hit the "plot" icon. Then scroll down and see the spectral plot of this combination to determine for yourself.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting
 
im not sure if this helps, but i have a three Icecap 660 electronic ballasts and i have 2 60" T5s 80w ATI actinic supplement bulbs. over my 180. im not sure how the 20k radiums would work with these ballasts...

i need a 250w Singe Ended bulb that would work best with my Icecap 660 Electronic Ballast. i don't want 20k because i've been reading that the growth rate sucks for sps. 10K 12K 14K is prob where i'll fall into because i have my t5 lights to bring that blue back into my tank.

once i figure out which of the 10K, 12K or 14K i will go with, i need to figure out which company... does pheonix 14K have good SE bulbs? or is it only 14K DE that everyone loves? i also heard Ushio is awesome as well. but im still undecided.

i basically want fast growth bulb, that look great when running with actinics. i don't care how ugly the mh bulb looks by itself.

any suggestions as of now with this information?
 
The 660 is a VHO Fluorescent ballast and you cannot hook up a MH bulb to it. You will need the correct MH ballast, reflector and socket to run MH. Are you sure the 3 IceCap ballasts are 660's?
 
sorry, the 660 is for my t5 supplements. i have 3 x Icecap Electronic Ballasts for 250w Metal Halide Lamps. which are connected to my 250w Lumen Bright Mini Pendants. sorry for the confusion.

heres some pics of my lighting while back.

IMG_2004.jpg

IMG_2008.jpg

IMG_2014.jpg

IMG_2019.jpg

IMG_2022.jpg

IMG_2090.jpg

IMG_2085.jpg

IMG_2087.jpg
 
Honestly, I would stay with 10K bulbs, I prefer XM but any will work. You will get the best PAR with them and the actintics will help with coloration but you could also swap out one of the actinitcs for a Blue + bulb to help with the color.
 
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