XM vs. Ushio bulbs.

[Fire Dude]

Howdy,

It's time to change the bulbs in my Hamilton 2x175w fixture. I have Hamilton 10K bulbs now and my ballast is a probe start. I am looking at the XM or Ushio 10K bulbs and I was wondering if anyone who may have used both could tell me which they liked better and why. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[Ti]

XM wins

 

[2crazyreefers]

I have used both and will be sticking with xm's.

 

[Fire Dude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6939414#post6939414 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 2crazyreefers
I have used both and will be sticking with xm's.

Thanks for the feedback. Can you tell me why you like the XMs better?

 

[Zoom]

you can go with the Iwasakis 14K 175W it is better bulb,it has higher par ,and the color of the bulb is white is can be. as for the Ushio 10K 175W i had hard time starting this bulb on a probe start ballast.

 

[Paulairduck]

I agree ushios dont always start

I agree ushios dont always start

I have a hard time getting ushios to fire also. I have heard a lot of bad stuff about xm, but I use them and love them. I noticed that the ushios 10k are very bright but they dont always start???

 

[Zoom]

the Ushios will start every time with a pulse start ballast or a electronic ballast and is good durable bulb.
But the Iwasakis will blow them all away.

 

[Fire Dude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6939928#post6939928 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zoom
you can go with the Iwasakis 14K 175W it is better bulb,it has higher par ,and the color of the bulb is white is can be.

Are these bulbs actually available yet? Where can I get them?

 

[RGibson]

Ice Cap has the bulbs

 

[Zoom]

You can get them at http://www.premiumaquatics.com/

 

[RGibson]

Steve the cost of the Iwaski 175 watt bulb is a little high $89.95 at premiumaquatics. What do you think?

 

[Entropy]

The Iwasaki is definately worth it! I replaced my XM's recently and I love them! Brighter, more par, better color. The price is a bit steep compared to the XM's, but worth it IMO!

 

[Entropy]

I got mine here by the way: http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ for $69, but I think their prices went up. They are $76 now I think.

 

[RGibson]

Rich could you show a pic of your tank so i could see the color of the bulb.

 

[phishlet]

I have run 250 watt Ushio and XM 10k lamps. I'm not a big XM fan because the color just seems washed out. The intensity is there but that's where it ends for me. The Ushio is a higher quality built lamp for sure. The color is more on the yellow side of white in my opinion but I still prefer the color of corals under the Ushio over the XM lamp.

I've seen picks of that Ushio 14k lamp and they look great. I wish there was a 250 watt version.

 

[Fire Dude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6954049#post6954049 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Entropy
The Iwasaki is definately worth it! I replaced my XM's recently and I love them! Brighter, more par, better color. The price is a bit steep compared to the XM's, but worth it IMO!

What kind of ballast are you running the Iwasakis on (probe, pulse, electronic)?

 

[Zoom]

iwasakis run the best on a IC ballast but the regular ballast run them just as good but a little lower in par.

 

[Entropy]

I am running them on a PFO magnetic because that is what I had. In the tests they did my ballast was the lowest rated of them all and the bulbs are still brighter than the XM's (which was rated highest on my ballast if I remember right).

 

[Entropy]

I haven't been able to get a pic of the tank recently (busy), but I did take a few pics.

Iwasaki Aqua2 closeup

Iwasaki Aqua2 bulb

10k XM

Iwasaki Aqua2 Box

10xm vs Iwasaki Aqua2