SE or DE MH, which is the better bulb?

[Hog Head]

Trying to decide how to light my new tank. Which is better, SE or DE MH bulbs.

 

Gene

[Hog Head]

I am also having a hard time deciding on 150w, 175w or 250w fixtures. the tank is only 18" deep and I don't want to burn anything. Prebuilt hoods will have HO t-5 atinics built in where stand alone MH fixtures will not. Would I miss the atinic lighting if I went that way? New tank is a 100g AGA 72x18x18.

[CA2OR]

My tank is 17.5 inches deep and I am running a 250w. With pretty much all zoa's.

[Rick]

DE (Double Ended) bulbs are said to be equivalent to stepping up one level of wattage (I.E. 175w is close to the same as a 250w SE). DE bulbs also have a longer lifespan before it's necessary to change them.

 

My experience is that 175w DE is good for 18 - 21" deep as long as any SPS is in the top half of the tank. Things like mushrooms and xenia will do ok on the bottom. Zoas probably in the bottom half but not on the bottom. Note there are some exceptions (I have a Maze Coral that kept nice color at the bottom of 24" before I moved it higher and a Fungia that is doing well on the bottom)

 

My research indicates that 250w will reach down to 24" or so for soft corals with SPS in the top 2/3 or so of the tank. 400w should reach to the bottom of the same 24" tank even with some SPS down close to the bottom.

 

I currently have 175w DE lights that are over a 24" tank but it is not enough to keep SPS close to the bottom. Xenia and mushrooms survive on the bottom but they don't thrive. At 2/3 they do. My Zoas are half way down and do quite well there. SPS has to be in the top half. If I get another clam it will need to be in the top half as the bottom doesn't get enough light for them. (I'm not going to get one until I have stronger light) Needless to say I want to upgrade to at least 250w DE but would prefer to go with 400W so I can get clear to the bottom of the tank with almost anything. (Keep in mind I have a 24" tank which requires more to reach the bottom) It will require shading some of the soft corals though and carefully acclimating all of them to the brighter light.

 

For actinics you can always supplement the MH fixtures to add them (Maybe a couple of VHO bulbs). They are not absolutely necessary but do make it so that fluorescent colors pop out better. If you run a higher temperature bulb (15k, 20k) then you will also get the fluorescent colors popping out but not as much as the actinics do. I run 3 actinics, 2 96w PC at 460nm which give a nice blue color and one over driven ordinary fluorescent at 420nm which really pop out the fluorescent but are also a purple color. The combination of all 3 gives a nice color without turning the tank purple. (I run these for a couple of hours before and after the MH lights are on for more of a dawn and dusk effect)

 

One thing that the separate fixtures do not provide is the LED moonlights that most of the combination fixtures have. These lights supposedly give the tank a moonlight effect but IMO are more for you to be able to see into the tank at night. It is possible to add these as well which is what I plan to do if/when I switch to separate fixtures.

[downhill_biker]

I would recommend 175w or 250w. If you want a more focused beam DE seem to do better, and if you want a more spread out pattern SE will fit your needs better. I would say with a tank that size go with 250w phoenix 14k DE in a good reflector with an electronic ballast. This combo will give you 18 months between bulb changes, give you good color, and amazing PAR. The electronic ballast will push the bulbs great, and be better on electricity than some of it's magnetic cousins. You should be able to grow SPS throughout the tank top to bottom, with corals at the bottom still growing, but not at the rate of those at the top.

[dsoz]

Don't forget that for a 6 foot tank, you will probably need 2-3 of those lights to fit the length.

 

I have three light fixtures. over a 75g I have 6x54w T5HO TEK light. I can keep almost anything anywhere in the tank. I don't have a lot of actinic light, so the colors are not that great. Also, it is a very diffuse light so corals don't grow straight up like they do with MH light (like plants, they tend to grow towards the light). Also, there is no shimmer.

 

I have a 40b with a 8x39w T5 TEK light. Also plenty of ilght, I think it is even more light than my 75g tank. I have been keeping anemones on the bottom.

 

I have a 24g aquapod home for the summer. I am experimenting with a 150w DE pendant over it. IMO, it is too much light. The heat is unbearable. I need to float bottles of frozen water in the tank just to keep the temp lower than 80. Also, the MH has bleached out a bunch of corals, even with gradually getting them acclimated to the light. I do like the shimmer effect, but I only have a 10k bulb in there, and it needs some actinic to make it less yellow. I have heard that the phoenix 14k bulb is great, and gives good growth and color.

 

Good luck with your decision.

 

dsoz

[kilmca]

I currently use 250 watt DE 14k Phoenix bulbs with Icepcap ballasts and i'm very happy with the coloration of the light. I don't use actinic supplementation, i do run actinics but only before and after the MH are on for a dusk to dawn affect. I use this over my main display that is 24" deep and a frag tank that is 18" deep. I'm able to keep more corals lower in the frag tank where i'm not able to in the display. You will need 3 of these setups over a 72" tank. The nice thing about this setup is you could use them on a larger tank if you upgraded in the future. (laugh)

 

 

You have a ton of options to choose from for lights so good luck.

[Rugbyfish]

I currently use 250 watt DE 14k Phoenix bulbs with Icepcap ballasts and i'm very happy with the coloration of the light.

 

I run this same set up and I too, am very happy with the coloration (and the price of the bulbs).

[markdadof2]

I run 250w over my 24" cube and so far it is plenty of light (suppliminted with two t-5 lights as well). Currently I am running the bulb that came with the fixture - Hamilton 14k and the color is great. SPS corals towards the top are growing fast and zoanthids/mushrooms on the sand are doing great as well.

[Hog Head]

First of, thanks to all for replying. The only Prebuilt hood that I can find (still in production) running 250w MH is the Maristar unit with 3x250w MH and I believe 4x39w HO T5 bulbs. I could use the stand alone units like they have at Sunlight Supply and figure something out for actinic later. I priced the different options at Sunlight Supply using thier priceing and the hanging reflectors actually cost more. Are the SS reflectors good? Are there better ones out there?

[kilmca]

I use PFO mini pendants, first pic below, that i'm real happy with but they are no longer made. I believe the Icecap pendants, second pic below, are similar to the PFO's. I'm not sure how three of these pendants with ballasts and bulbs would compare in cost to the maristar. I'm sure there are other reflectors out there that are just as good if not better but those are the ones i'm familiar with.