Switch to T5s??

it has nothing to do with the price of the bulbs. it's the false claims made by manufacturers and the so called scientists that back them for free product or plain cash.
 
Rob, those 250 radiums are SE and considered HQI right? How long did they lasting for you and how would you describe their color? I am thinking about going with these because I can still use my light hood and just change the ballasts if they are SE.
 
they are single end mogul base. well they are a nice white heavier blue. not fake looking like xm's and some other 20k. I would guess seeing others 14,15 and 20k bulbs that they might fall around 17-18k ? just a guess. some say too blue but I thought they were awesome. hqi ballasts burn them out faster. ice caps burn them in 5-6 months. I do not know how long they last with pulse start ballasts I think 9-12 months? I can't remember exactly. they were a little more pleasing to my eye on pulse start ballasts also.
 
I'm swithching out 14 K Phoenix DE bulbs (150W) every six months and 2-130 W PC Actinics every 8 months or so. I love the look of the phoenix bulbs and recommend them, but I still want to push the envelope on color, so I'm looking for that last little push. I feed my corals regualarly on Cyclopeeze, DTs, oyster eggs, liquid life, etc. 2-3 times a week and I feed my fish well. I do 15 gallon changes each week. Any suggestions?
 
JMO - Everyone sees colors differently and their tastes in the colors they like are very different. I'm an artist and I deal with this every day. If you ask 10 reefers what bulbs/types etc would they select - 10 different answers. Some like a bluer look, some like more sunlight appearance. Opinions are good to get the basics but then the testing begins on your tank and what you're tastes are in accordance with what you keep. The thing about lighting is everyone has their opinion and there's so much information on the net that it makes your head spin. I just selected a 250 MH with 10000k HQI Ushio and 2 T5's 1-UVL Super Actinic; 1-ATI Blue Plus. Some would like it and some will say it looks bad, I just figured I'll have to put them in and see.
 
I pretty much agree with reeartist. there is too much info good and bad. you already made your mind up as far as I can tell. you love the look and recommend them. if I was you I would take my own advice. colors come with stability as much as bulb color. keep doing what you are doing and things may improve. if I could take my own advice my tank would be crazy looking. I have made change after change with mostly poor results. if I would have just done what I did before without changing I would have been much better off.
I have a great example of this and how life works for some people. I play fantasy hockey and have for years. I picked a great team before the season started and I figure I am a shoe in to win the whole thing. well 15 out of 20 of the players I picked started off in a slump. a month went by and I was almost in last place. I started making trades because if I get too far behind I will never catch up. since I made the trades almost everyone of them have been on fire and have caught up to the new players season totals. some have passed up my new guys. which means my points still suck and If I go back and add up all the actual points from my original players I would easily be in the top 5. I sit at 900 something place out of just over 2000. I could go on and on about things I shouldn't do but I am thinking most people don't want to hear it.
I do not like the 10k look of ushios because to my eye there is too much yellow. ab's to me are too pink like some nasty uri's . just me I like the radiums the best and 14k next to them. the t5's I am running are just a little more white than the radiums when the entire tank is running. very pleasing to my eye. then there are the newer aquascience t5 bulbs that I don't see around here yet. supposed to use the same bulb in all points of the tank. no more actinic and blue and blue plus and 6500k. one bulb does it all. I think it's aquascience I may be mistaken on the name.
 
Yea I know what you're saying and to that I must add robthorn, we've seen lots of advertising slicks that indicate the best in the world - do they hold up? I'm really not sure what I've purchased is something that I'm going to like, but I had to start somewhere. It's funny that you see a yellow with the ushios 10k and a few other people that I've talked to see very white crisp. It's really funny how our eyes perceives color. Once I get them I'll let you know what I see - I think the subject is fascinating.
 
yeah before you judge the bulbs color let them burn in. at least 10 full days then stand back and say ok this is what I think. it will change color through the life of the bulb. most of them do. bulb appearance will also depend on algea on the back glass or if it's clean and reflective. black or blue background. clear back ground. way too many factors. another thing about iwan is his blue back ground on his tank. I have black so I see colors against that. I don't even bother to understand it. I try to remember what I like and thats it.
 
after 10 or so years of it the fun gets lost in the b.s. the manufacturers and retailers give you. I do not mean everyone that's for sure. there are some very good honest people out there in this hobby and business. it's the bad ones that make the impressions and I remember.
 
I hear ya robthorn and you learn VERY fast who to trust and not to trust. You sound like a person that really likes the technical side and that's the way I am. Unfortunately we are the ones that normally find out if the product works or not. We have to remember the old saying 'Burn me once, shame on you, Burn me twice, shame on me'. For some reason I have to keep it in my pocket and read it every once in a while :D .
 
I am currently running 250w Radiums with PFO HQI electronic ballasts, I am very happy with the color. Also supplement with T5's, mostly for when the MH's aren't on. I highly recommend that you see the bulb color for yourself, as has already been said it's very subjective.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8894741#post8894741 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wsurf4me
I am currently running 250w Radiums with PFO HQI electronic ballasts, I am very happy with the color. Also supplement with T5's, mostly for when the MH's aren't on. I highly recommend that you see the bulb color for yourself, as has already been said it's very subjective.
Click to expand...

i was very impressed with his tank.

i have tried xm 10ks and did not like. all the colors were washed out.
i am running 14ks by catalina and love them. they just have a hint of blue. they are supposebly rated for 20,000 hours. ive had them for almost 8 months and they are still bright. and no algae so im veryy happy with the results
 
I switched out my T5's for 250 watt MH's, I selected the XM10K bulb with IceCap Ballasts. I must say after about a month my corals are going nuts, there is more growth and coloration in them then I ever saw under the T5's and my electric bill dropped 90.00 a month, go figure. Taller hood I guess and better ventilation so the chiller runs less.

Then again I also switched salts, from IO to Tropic Marin Pro Reef. Probably a combination of things that helped.

JME
 
I think it would be very interesting if we could get true color photos of tanks with different lighting combinations. I know each computer is different but you would be comparing with the difference added. One camera same settings same background etc. Just a thought - but it would have to be very controlled. But then, what is visually pleasing to us is it the best for our livestock - that is the reason we are doing this.
 
Yea Warnberg, when you have two variables it's really hard to say which one had more influence - New salt or new lighting. I have a 75G tank now and everything is under VHO's. I'm in the middle getting my 65G tank up and running and it will have 1-250W 10K HQI Ushio with 2-39W T5 1-UVL Super Actinic; 1-ATI Blue Plus bulbs. I'm going to transfer some of my corals to the 65G - it will be very interesting to watch their progress in the coming months.
 
Your welcome, it was a major part of my MH lighting selection. Biggest thing I see is with some bulbs the PAR output really drops off.
 
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