Which 20k MH lamp for zoas, XM or BLV (HIT)

[Reefer U.K.]

I am about to buy a 20k lamp for the zoa tank and was wondering if anyone could give me their opinion on these two lamps.
Anyone running either of these over their zoas? anyone used both lamps?
Any help or advice would be appreciated, i need to get this right as the XM bulbs are not cheap over here in the U.K. at £50 a shot, (i think they are half that price in the US).
The BLV is around £30 and the only other lamp that i considered was the 21 K Giessemann, but at £65 i could not justify the cost.
I am running a Arcadia 3 series, 150 W with 36 watts actinic,

cheers,

Pete.

 

[geoxman]

I would check either bulb with your ballast here and see which has more par. good luck
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

 

[scaast]

I run a 250w 20K XM HQI bulb and I LOVE it. All of my corals...including the zoas do VERY well.

 

[Reefer U.K.]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9192275#post9192275 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by geoxman
I would check either bulb with your ballast here and see which has more par. good luck
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

Thanks for the advice, it's appreciated.
I went to the site and did a comparison of the spectral plots, for the BLV and the XM lamps, the PPFD for the XM 20k was 23 and for the BLV 20k it was 28, does the PPFD refer to the par or am i missing something here?, any advice would be appreciated,

Pete.

 

[Reefer U.K.]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9194322#post9194322 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scaast
I run a 250w 20K XM HQI bulb and I LOVE it. All of my corals...including the zoas do VERY well.

Cheers scaast, thanks for the reply,

Pete.

 

[geoxman]

then go with the BLV it has better par and it is cheaper! Good luck

 

[Reefer U.K.]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9197047#post9197047 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by geoxman
then go with the BLV it has better par and it is cheaper! Good luck

Thanks mate,
much appreciated.