Which would you prefer?

[Unarce]

Hi everyone,

After about 6 months, my 400W Ushio 14k bulb went yellow on me. I considered just getting another one, but a friend convinced me to try the Helios 20k.

This is by far the bluest bulb I've ever used. The colors on some of the corals are spectacular, but the overall blue cast makes the darker colors just blend in.

I'm not quite sure which I like better.

Here's the tank in December with the Ushio 14k:

Here it is today under the Helios 20k:

Thanks for the input!


Karl

 

[brianbigoats]

Karl
I like the 20K really makes the colors pop Clam and Superman looks very bright

 

[miracles38]

I agree with Brian - I like the 20K.

 

[ThunderDog]

Karl I like the 20K also. Did you notice any change in coral growth?

 

[sltpro-07]

helios by far

 

[fishsoldseprtly]

Karl I run the 20K Helios and I have tried Radiums and all kinds of bulbs, I love these the most. I have sps that are just flippin changing colors on me, its nice.

 

[Pico1]

the helio look much brighter! I think it looks a TON better!

 

[jlfnjlf]

20K all the way...

 

[Corn]

20K's

 

[edwing206]

20K!20K!

 

[mpoletti]

20K--ditto. BTW Karl, Tank is looking really clean.

 

[maxdout]

20k Karl

 

[bkmorris]

i'm gonna go out on a limb and disagree with the crowd.... i actually prefer the less-blue look.

 

[xia]

It's unanimous! I told Karl that too, when I was at his house, but Karl's all about having things look real.

Maybe you should do the ushio with a little bit of actinics?

 

[dots]

Decided to do some Midnight Bowling with the rest of us I see

With the exposure on the camera and color variations in monitors, it is a guess what it "truly" looks like from our end.....but it appears to make them pop a bit more......how are the greens, my slimer literally glows.

however, comparing it to recent pics of mine.....it seems to be around the same hue and I think you should try them for a while....and see what it does for coloration.

Looks brighter by glance, how is PAR between the two; and what are you going for.....more "look" or "performance"?

Though, you have had some great pictures to make one drool with the Ushio, so perhaps they exibit a "true" representation of the coral. And the 14K has always given me suggestion of a deeper water depth while on your tank.....compared to the Helios which make me think of more of a shallower depth. But I tend to look at tanks as dynamic art sculptures and find the overall presentation and "feeling" of it as a gauge for subjective selections such as this.

 

[loup]

I vote for 20k, that would be my next bulb after I get some more growth. The helios I'd seen at Warren setup are awesome and yours look great from the pic Karl. Not to blue like most 20k i've seen.

 

[fishsoldseprtly]

Yea I dont prefer TOO blue and I use to be ANTI-20K until I actually saw more of the Radiums at Atlantis and from Eddies set ups and I went with the Radiums but for some reason they were too blue so I switched them out to Helios to see if there was a big difference and I love em.

 

[Justin74]

One of the things that distinguished your tank from alot of others I see Karl is the amount of red coraline you have on your substrate, really a flattering signature IMO. This really stands out with the ushio. As far as aquascape Ushio's hands down, it just shows more depth and a true color representation. But for coral presentation, it's obvious to me and I think everyone else that the Helios take the cake on that aspect and really just amplify most if not all the corals and critters in the tank.

-Justin

 

[Unarce]

Everyone,

Thank you for chiming in. I really appreciate your input. The overwhelming majority is obviously in favor of the 20k. It was several months ago, but the Ushio 14k photo may have been taken with a lower exposure setting. However, when I made the switch from Radium to Ushio last September, there wasn't much of a difference in brightness.

I really do like how blue bulbs bring out fluorescing pigments. My montipora seem to be most affected by this. I have fallen in love with the 'natural look' that Brooke and Xia touched upon, but I will keep the Helios on for the next 6 months. After that, I will jump back to an AC 14k, and then see which palette I prefer then.

Thanks again!

Karl

 

[rafael13]

Hey Karl
Do you still have the sohal, I don't see him on the 2 picture