Holly Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 In Feb I have to replace my bulbs and I have a question. I have 3 250W Ushios now, 10K. I was thinking of going up to 14K or 20K temp color. Should I do that or stick with 10K? My tank is 24"deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 What kind of bulbs, DE or SE? I loved the color of the 14k hamilton bulbs. If you have DE, the phoenix 14k bulbs are the best out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 i second the vote for phoenix 14k's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I like the 14-15k range the best to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I use XM the 15k they are very nice, but in 8 months they will tone down to closer to 10k but will be white, not yellow. I am going with XM 20k on the new tank 400wt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I had the Ushio 10k and never had good growth, switched to the Phoenix 14k and it took off like crazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 I have SE. My corals are all doing great and seem to be growing a little, so maybe if I move up to some good SE 14Ks, they'll really take off. Since I can't get the Pheonix DE, what do you recommend for SE in the 14-15 range? I change my MHs every 9 months (T5s every 6 months), so if it depreciates at 9m, that's OK I wish I'd gone ahead and put in ballasts for 400W bulbs instead of 250W. I have plenty of wattage (7+/gallon) but I don't think the quantity of light on the bottom is as high as I'd like... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm This site has bulb comparisions. The Iwasaki rated best in PAR for IceCap ballasts (which I have) but it's 6500K, which I don't want. The best above 10K for IceCap (according to this site) is the AquaLine Buske 13K. It's single-ended, and I found it on EBay for $110. http://cgi.ebay.com/10K-400-Watt-Aqualine-Metal-Halide-Bulb-Brand-New_W0QQitemZ4304882362QQcmdZViewItem I like the looks (tank pics) of the AquaConnect 14K, CoralVue 15K (SE is 14K), and Hamilton 14K. Then I found several blogs that said that the XM SE 250W 15K bulbs were THE BEST SE. Too much info! UGH (scratch) Do you know anything about these bulbs? I'm leaning towards the Buske or XM rightnow, based on what I've been reading... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Ushio is making a nice 20k bulb. I think the 14k Hamiltons are great too. You may look into Radiums also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbrownies Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I vote for the 10K XM, they have very high par and I have always had nice growth under them the 15 and 20k bulbs do have nice colors, but you really sacrifice lumens and par in going to a nice color Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippin61 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 i have a couple reeflux 10k's i can sell ya :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 Well, it's definitely a 10K. I'm gonna get Hamilton I think My lighting is three 250W SE MHs for a 24"deep tank. I kinda wish I'd just gone ahead and gotten 400ballasts instead of 250. I think for the right light to reach the sand, I need to stick with 10 or 11K. I have sixteen 36" T5s pure actinics. Unfortunately, even with all these bulbs, it's not very crisp. The tank lighting is very bright white, and the color on my corals isn't as bright as I'd like it. I can't quite figure out how 16 T5s can be too little actinic lighting! (scratch) That's 624W of actinics!! Many of those T5s have varying brightnesses, even though we got them at once, they're all the same brand, and they were supposedly all brand new. I suspect that they were used when they were sold to us as new. One of them was dead within a week. We got soaked with our first tank (no pun intended(laugh)), but at least I've learned a lot from it. Should I get 400W bulbs so they're underrun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 you don't want to run 400 MH on a 250 ballast... don't do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 OK thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbrownies Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Check with sknoch78 he had some 400 watt bare ballasts that he was selling around 35-40 bucks. If you are handy at all, mounting the ballasts and getting them set up would be a sinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powdertang05 Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 if you want growth and you have actinics go with the xm 10's they are crisp white no yellow now if you dont care about growth and you just want pretty colors then a 15 range is best so you do get some growth but not much. if you want super color go with the 20k's you get low low growth but with that mh and actinics it will be color pop everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 I had the ushio 10k for a while & switched to a 15k. I love the 15k!!!. Cuda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 24, 2007 Author Share Posted January 24, 2007 Growth! I want what's best for the inhabitants. That's why I decided on 10K. I can get Aqualine or XM from the places I called (neither can get Hamiltons). Think I'll prob get XM. I got home today and one of my MHs was out. I knew it was getting to that time (notable drop in lumens), but I didn't think they'd actually burn out before Feb. Hasn't even been 6m yet. Maybe my photoperiod's too long: T5s from 8-8 and the MHs from 10-6. Should I shorten? How many hrs do you guys run yours? I think I'll go with what I have right now ballast-wise and see what kind of output I get from new bulbs. The original bulbs put in by the LFS were generic 250W 10K bulbs. I can't even find a name anywhere on the bulb. I'm sure the LFS put the cheapest thing it could find to maximize profit. Being a newbie, I didn't know there was any difference from one MH to another. DOH! I've learned a lot of valuable lessons from this first set-up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 25, 2007 Author Share Posted January 25, 2007 I ordered the XM 10000Ks. It should be here in 2 days. Will 2 days with no light be detrimental to my corals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alterego Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 where did you order these from? I'm looking for some also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Nahh you will be okay. You still have one bulb right? I wouldnt worry. Worse things happen when peoples lights go out. Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 replace the one that has blown, then the other in about 3 days, lower spectrum shock. also, replace when the will be on the longest (at night, when there out) to help in burn in, in the mornin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 25, 2007 Author Share Posted January 25, 2007 Marine Depot $65. http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lighting_metal_halide_bulbs.asp?CartId= I love MD, even though their prices are par, never great. Every time I order from them, they literally process and ship within an hour or two. Today, I ordered the bulbs after 4pm and by 4:40, I received the email confirmation that they'd already SHIPPED it. :eek: Everything shows up right on time, wrapped carefully, and in great shape. You can't get service like that everywhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted January 25, 2007 Author Share Posted January 25, 2007 I have 2 bulbs left out of 3--the middle and right bulb. I was going to move the middle bulb to the left to disperse the light more evenly but my capricornis & montiporas are right under the middle light, so I hesitated to take the light off of them. I won't sweat it, if you don't think 2 days is a big deal. I gave the tank a little swirl of cyclopeeze tonight, to tide everyone over (hungry) Thanks! I was worried about my toadstool in the shade... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nu2reef-n Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 You should check prices locally, before you buy online. A couple of months back, I purchased an XM 10K bulb from a local store for $64.00. I just called around and got the best price, installed the bulb that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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