What bulb is bluer, 250W XM 20k or 250W Ushio 20k?

agoutihead

Active member
I seen the 150W version of the 20K XM, and while it was blue, I know I've seen more blue.

I called salty critter and they said that the Ushio 20k is almost as blue as the Radium 20k.

Would you guys agree?
 
I just put two 150w 20K's in my fixture and I love them. The xm's are more expensive then most of the others. IMO they are the better of the bulbs. My 65 is nice and blue now!
 
You put what kind of 150 bulbs in?

Do bulbs get bluer as the wattage goes up?

ushios seem to be just expensive as the xm's, price really isnt a concern, as I am just looking for which one is bluer.

I want more blue than the average guy, but still want it clean and crisp.
 
I've used the XM20K, it's a "thin blue" appearance and slightly dim. One of the LFS here use the Ushio 20K and I'll describe it as strong, penetrating blue... it turns the sand blue, unlike the XM which turns the sand whitish-blue. I have no idea which one has more PAR though.
 
Hmm. See I dont want the blue to wash so much that it turns the water column and the sand blue like that...

But I think I want it bluer than the XM...

jeesh I dont know what I want now.
 
i run a 250w SE ushio blue in my tank (58g) and love it. i thought it might be too blue,but it colors everything up so well i cant get rid of it. it slightly tints the sand blue, but it is much more asthetically pleasing than the 10k i tried. i use a EVC ballast and lumenarc mini pendant.
i had a coralife 150w DE 20k bulb on my 20L a couple years ago that was a lot bluer. of course it had zero par, so i had toget rid of it.
check out my gallery for a pic of my tank with the 250w ushio blue. forgive the tank,it is brand new,n ot much alive in it yet. the background is painted blue, so take that into consideration.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12912132#post12912132 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by agoutihead
Hmm. See I dont want the blue to wash so much that it turns the water column and the sand blue like that...

But I think I want it bluer than the XM...

jeesh I dont know what I want now.


Well here's a pic of my 3 month old 180 with 2 250w DE MH 20k. The bulbs are XM.

P1010598.jpg
 
Thats exactly what I had was the 175 SE hamilton 14k and I loved it... but want more blue even from that.

So the ushios it is i think.
 
I run 3 250watt DE Ushio 20k bulbs on Blue Line ballasts and they really aren't blue at all. They are actually less blue than the Phoenix 14k's I ran prior. They actually have more of a purpleish tint to them. In fact, I don't think anything in my tank (including substrate) has a blue tint to it. I have noticed that I get better colors out of them than the Phoenix's, but they are a little less intense and less blue.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12912905#post12912905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Slakker
That looks quite a bit like my 175w Hamilton 14k, gohan.

You are right the left one is a hamilton, but this hamilton is 250W HQI 20k :D the right one is a PFO 250W HQI 20k. Unless a 250W bulb works with a 150w Ballast. I wonder what that would do!:eek1:
 
What about adding some T5 actinics if space allows. It would be a lot more controllable. More blue just turn on another T5 and vice versa.
 
Doesn't the ballast have a lot to do with the answer to this question? It seems that magnetic ballasts make bulbs run bluer than electronic ballasts. Or is it the other way around? Or am I just misinformed on this one?

I know the question is about 20k bulbs, but FWIW my Phoenix 14k HQI on magnetic ballast (I think!. It's an Aqua Medic unit) run super blue, almost too blue IMHO.
 
I'm looking for as blue as I can with out it washing out everything in the tanak.

where are you a chef at?

Good question about the magnectic vs. the electronic as far as making it blue.
 
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