175 Watt MH bulb suggestions...

[Miller]

Currently we are running a 175 watt Ushio 14K bulb over our display tank without actinics. On the Icecap ballast we are using to power the bulbs I would say the 14K Ushio is a nice white with very little blue. We are going to put two 24 inch actinics over the tank shortly and are concerned the tank will then be a little too blue for our personal taste.

With the light meter we were getting not so prime light, so we thought since we were adding the actinics that this would be a good time to move to a 10K bulb to increase the amount of light penetrating to the sand bed.

Looking for bulb suggestion for 175 watt 10K bulbs or other Kelvin rated bulbs that are not very blue that will give us more PAR then the Ushio 14K.

Thanks for reading!

 

[JayM]

barry, you're not going to get THAT much blue from 2 24 watt actinics. At least not enough to warrant a bulb change.

How sub-par (pun intended) was your light at the sand?

 

[Miller]

barry, you're not going to get THAT much blue from 2 24 watt actinics. At least not enough to warrant a bulb change.

How sub-par (pun intended) was your light at the sand?

LMAO!!!!!!!! I wondered if anybody would say that. Thanks for the chuckle Jay!!!!

With the Giesemann bulbs lite up today to see how they looked, they seemed pretty blue to me, but maybe that is because we have been actinic-less for a while.

My lights disgusted me.....
right under the water I was only getting 120
1/3 down the tank 80-90
2/3 down the tank 75
sand 60
This was with the bottom of the bulb 12.5 inches off the surface of the water. I am going to lower the reflector a couple of inches which is as low as I will be able to go with the PFO reflector and still easily be able to access the tank.


Our SPS have been growing and have nice color and the clams all seem very happy and have grown. Just thinking that with those low numbers if we could bump that up we could see some better growth and color in the SPS.

 

[Aquaman_68]

Currently we are running a 175 watt Ushio 14K bulb over our display tank without actinics. On the Icecap ballast we are using to power the bulbs I would say the 14K Ushio is a nice white with very little blue. We are going to put two 24 inch actinics over the tank shortly and are concerned the tank will then be a little too blue for our personal taste.

With the light meter we were getting not so prime light, so we thought since we were adding the actinics that this would be a good time to move to a 10K bulb to increase the amount of light penetrating to the sand bed.

Looking for bulb suggestion for 175 watt 10K bulbs or other Kelvin rated bulbs that are not very blue that will give us more PAR then the Ushio 14K.

Thanks for reading!

Iwasaki Eye!! 175 watt true 15K (not blue like most 15K) The par is upwards on most 250's on the market....There was alot of data on this bulb when reserched....It's an unbleiveable color & intesity.... (they aren't cheap to buy though...but are worth the extra cake....)

Do a search....I run them personally....love them & have had nothing but good comments from those who have seen them first hand.....

HTH,
B

 

[penguinsix]

^ that's what I would be running if I was running 175s. Might want to pick up a lumenarc reflector to get the most par out of your bulb.

 

[Miller]

Iwasaki Eye!! 175 watt true 15K (not blue like most 15K) The par is upwards on most 250's on the market....There was alot of data on this bulb when reserched....It's an unbleiveable color & intesity.... (they aren't cheap to buy though...but are worth the extra cake....)

Do a search....I run them personally....love them & have had nothing but good comments from those who have seen them first hand.....

HTH,
B

Thanks B, I will look into the bulb. I'd like to get something with more punch!

^ that's what I would be running if I was running 175s. Might want to pick up a lumenarc reflector to get the most par out of your bulb.

I'd love to use a better reflector like a Lumenarc....only problem is the mini's are 14.5 inches and my tank is 12.5 inches wide and the reflector would have to hang two inches out the back and then I wouldn't be able to run the actinics I just got.

 

[Aquaman_68]

NP barry...the bulb is incredible!!! Color is great!! (as well as the powerful par ratings)

 

[penguinsix]

I'd love to use a better reflector like a Lumenarc....only problem is the mini's are 14.5 inches and my tank is 12.5 inches wide and the reflector would have to hang two inches out the back and then I wouldn't be able to run the actinics I just got.

That means it's time to upgrade.

 

[jbishop]

Iwasaki Eye!! 175 watt true 15K (not blue like most 15K) The par is upwards on most 250's on the market....There was alot of data on this bulb when reserched....It's an unbleiveable color & intesity.... (they aren't cheap to buy though...but are worth the extra cake....)

Do a search....I run them personally....love them & have had nothing but good comments from those who have seen them first hand.....

HTH,
B

What would you recommend for a 250 fixture?

 

[Greg Hiller]

I agree that the 15K Iwaskis's are one of the best bulbs for a 175 W, they are way bright (how's that for a quantitative statement!?!). 10K XM's are also good, but sometimes you get a bad bulb....not consistent product quality.

 

[Cheetos]

I was using the 10K XMs and switched to the AB 13K which are just a little bluer than the XMs. The XMs are a little less expensive!

 

[Aquaman_68]

I agree that the 15K Iwaskis's are one of the best bulbs for a 175 W, they are way bright (how's that for a quantitative statement!?!). 10K XM's are also good, but sometimes you get a bad bulb....not consistent product quality.

Sounds like you been hanging out with the surfers, "dude"

 

[Aquaman_68]

What would you recommend for a 250 fixture?

moguls or DE

 

[Miller]

I agree that the 15K Iwaskis's are one of the best bulbs for a 175 W, they are way bright (how's that for a quantitative statement!?!). 10K XM's are also good, but sometimes you get a bad bulb....not consistent product quality.

I was using the 10K XMs and switched to the AB 13K which are just a little bluer than the XMs. The XMs are a little less expensive!

Thanks Greg and Mark.

I think we are going to give the Iwaski bulb a try....had the local shop put it on the list for the next order.

 

[jbishop]

moguls or DE

moguls, should have specified.

 

[penguinsix]

moguls, should have specified.

What type of ballast, and do you want high growth or nice colours?

 

[Aquaman_68]

moguls, should have specified.

Depending on how many bulbs your running will depend what I think is a good overall....The ushio 10K in a 250 watt is what I use on the ends of my tank...

It's the one I've found over the years to take the longest to shift in spectrum due to breakdown....AB's are nice at first...they yellow alot quicker IME...


HTH


BTW....you should come by & check out the 155 BF....(since you have the same) You may get alot of useful info.....

B

 

[jbishop]

Depending on how many bulbs your running will depend what I think is a good overall....The ushio 10K in a 250 watt is

BTW....you should come by & check out the 155 BF....(since you have the same) You may get alot of useful info.....

B

Thanks for the info. When do you want us by? We run 3 MH 175's on the end and a 250 in the middle.

 

[Aquaman_68]

Thanks for the info. When do you want us by? We run 3 MH 175's on the end and a 250 in the middle.

Let me figure out how my week is laying out....I run 250's on the ends a 400 in the middle & 3 175's across the tank.

 

[bigdog]

i run 2 one fifthy 10 ks and 2 39 watt t5s i find with out the t5s the 10ks look more yellow i want 2 run12k four more blue or darker t5s