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14K MH, Ushio vs pheonix

The iwasakis aren't cheap because they didn't catch on. If they made the lamp in all sizes and got the volume up, we might have something.

XM is variable because it is made in china to lower standards.
 
Sometimes people get more hung up on PAR and forget that the spectrum is important too. Sometimes just adding some actinic to high par lamps will cause a color shift over a few weeks in the corals.
 
If you like the 14k ushios then you will like the aquamedic AB's even better. They are a tad less yellow that the 14k ushios providing we are talking about the DE versions. If you mix them with 4 UVL super actinic t-5s or 2 URI vho super actinics I think you will find that slight hint of blue your looking for.
 
John, I'm very currious to the PAR #'s for the Ushio 14's...I have Ushio 10k's (250w), driven by a M58, right now with no supplements and I love them, not to mention they are PAR monsters when I bought the set-up the bulbs were about 3 months old and i got PAR #'s of 225-300 on my sandbed:eek: in a 75 with them about 5" above water, I was getting 900's 6" below water mid tank directly under the bulbs......

and why do you say that the phoenix 14's have bad PAR? I actually tested a 250w phoenix 14k (3-4 months old) 8" from water level in a 40gall and the par was great, min of 200's on the very bottom....

...and when I switched from 150w XM 15k's (HORRIBLE PAR) to the 250w ushio 10ks I lowered the photo period from 10 to 5 hours and used eggcrate (3 layers), and everything still roasted I turned a tri-color and a garfs bonsai completely white, and the tri-color just now got the purple tips back and its been 3 months!!!! I actually had to remove all my SPS from the rocks to the sandbed and had to hide LPS under rock shelves, my tyree favia speciosa bleached bad so be carefull, I know the 14's have less PAR then the 10's but they are still strong.....Ushio's rock!!
 
"and why do you say that the phoenix 14's have bad PAR? I actually tested a 250w phoenix 14k (3-4 months old) 8" from water level in a 40gall and the par was great, min of 200's on the very bottom...."

It was just a relative statement. Pheonixs have OK PAR, but they can't touch a good 10K bulb. I was saying that the ushio 14s are somewhere in the middle.
 
It's been 6 days and I can clearly see a difference in growth with the few SPS that I do have.

Particularly the orange and purple monti caps going from flat color - to stretching color out to a almost white edge. Different texture also.

Granted it's new bulbs vs old ones, but WOW!
 
I felt the same way about those bulbs John. My SPS growth really took off.

I'm grabbing the light meter at the meeting this weekend (in theory) if you want to get a quick measurement.

Also, if you're going to the meeting, LMK....I owe you some Sams for my probe holder :D
 
i am not very sure about Megachrome is a re-package Ushio or BLV. I have Ushio 10K and 14K as well as BLV 10K. But none of them looks like Megachrome in terms of color. Which Ushio/BLV lamp is the same bulb as a megachrom?
 
Hey Jimmy Do you have any pics of when you had the phoenix's, and now the ushios for a comparison?
Thanks
 
2 x 250W DE Ushio with 2x110W VHO actinics.
 
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I don't think I have a pic of just the pheonixs, sorry :(

2x250W 14K pheonix + 1x150W 10Kushio +2x110WVHO actinic.
 
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what would anyone suggest for DE 400watt HQI...I have T5 ACTINICS running now.

You might want to start a seperate thread on that, you'll get more input that way.

FWIW last I heard, when you get into 400W MH your better off going with single ended lamps, but that may have changed.
 
I hope so ..since I already bought Ice Cap ballasts and Pendants...my SPS bulbs blew out within 2 months so I will never buy anything from them again(since after contacting the distributor and manufacturer I got no reply)
 
The Phoenex 14k has one of the highest PAR outputs among 14K bulbs at around 73 PPFD with the IceCap ballast. The Ushio 10K actually has less at 65 PPFD on the same ballast. Unfortunately Sanjay doesn't have the Ushio 14k on his site yet but I wonder if it puts out more PPFD than its 10k brother? You are correct about the Phoenex being low compared to a monster bulb like the XM 10k which is around 110 PPFD but none the less the Phoenex puts out a lot of PPFD considering its color temp.
 
Has anybody used the JBJ bulbs? This discussion is timely because I need to change the bulb in my JBJ nano cube. I was trying to determine whether or not to use the JBJ bulb or another brand. The nano cubes come with 14k HQI DE bulbs. Sorry if I hijacked the thread.
 
The Phoenex 14k has one of the highest PAR outputs among 14K bulbs at around 73 PPFD with the IceCap ballast. The Ushio 10K actually has less at 65 PPFD on the same ballast. Unfortunately Sanjay doesn't have the Ushio 14k on his site yet but I wonder if it puts out more PPFD than its 10k brother? You are correct about the Phoenex being low compared to a monster bulb like the XM 10k which is around 110 PPFD but none the less the Phoenex puts out a lot of PPFD considering its color temp.



That is an interesting / surprising point about the ushio 10K PPFD #'s. I have never run the DE version, or done any reading on them before. I wish sanjay would test the ushio 14Ks as they do appear to be quite bright. And yes, I agree, phoenix are quite strong for a blue looking "14K" bulb. One thing for sure, the ushio 14K and the pheonix 14K bulbs are very different.
 
Has anybody used the JBJ bulbs? This discussion is timely because I need to change the bulb in my JBJ nano cube. I was trying to determine whether or not to use the JBJ bulb or another brand. The nano cubes come with 14k HQI DE bulbs. Sorry if I hijacked the thread.

correct me if i'm wrong but the nano cube uses 70 watt bulbs. This limits you greatly as there only a handfull of bulbs in the 70 watt department. The aqualine 10k is great for sps, softies I would say its a tad to much. go with a 14k for softies. the astralux is more popular with nano's due to its fairly cheap price.
 
correct me if i'm wrong but the nano cube uses 70 watt bulbs. This limits you greatly as there only a handfull of bulbs in the 70 watt department. The aqualine 10k is great for sps, softies I would say its a tad to much. go with a 14k for softies. the astralux is more popular with nano's due to its fairly cheap price.


Sorry I forgot to mention the wattage. My JBJ uses a 150w bulb.
 
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