Suggest a 175 Mh Bulb

[sleepy]

Hi all, it looks like I'm going to be setting up my MH (about time). I'm shopping around for a bulb. So far i have only looked at hellolights and the two that caught my eye are :

175W 14,000K - HAMILTON
http://hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=513

and

175W 14,000K - Ushio
http://hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1412

The Ushio notes: We highly recommend a Pulse Start (ANSI M137) or Hellolights 150/175W ARO Electronic ballast for this lamp. An ANSI M57 ballast may not start the lamp or burn it properly.

I dont know what ballast i have but i Imagine its pre-civil war era- so should this stop me from getting an Ushio bulb?

I thought 14k sounded good because this is a display tank- I want good output but i also want a nice blue tint. What do you guys think?

Ps. any fairly new used 175 bulbs for sale out there? LMK

 

[APISTOBORELLI]

I'd go with a 14K. I have a 20K on my 58 with no actinics and love the way it looks.

 

[JohnK]

With the standard ballast the Hamilton is a safe bet, but the Ushio would most likely be a gamble as Hellolights said. Some european bulbs will fire OK on the standard ballasts and some won't. I know I had a 175 ushio 10 K a while back and it did not fire consistently on a standard ballast.

The hamilton should be fine on the standard ballast though. Only drawback is it's PAR #'s are a little weak on standard magnetic.

 

[penguinsix]

Iwasaki 175W 15K

 

[sleepy]

What makes Iwasaki 175W 15K Better than 175W 14,000K - HAMILTON? I Have no idea how to tell, I'm just shopping by brand names that I hear most often.

Ok. I have done some research: Iwasaki 175W 15K Seems to be a BEastly bulb- and i will probably be getting one. Do i need to supplement actinic? Hellolights. says you could go either way. What do you guys think?

 

[smcnally]

What makes Iwasaki 175W 15K Better than 175W 14,000K - HAMILTON? I Have no idea how to tell, I'm just shopping by brand names that I hear most often.

Ok. I have done some research: Iwasaki 175W 15K Seems to be a BEastly bulb- and i will probably be getting one. Do i need to supplement actinic? Hellolights. says you could go either way. What do you guys think?

The Iwasaki has MUCH better PAR. I run them and really like them. I also suppliment actinic and recommend it.

 

[marco67]

I just switched out to the EYEs (Iwasaki) on one tank I take care of and I really like the color.

In this tank we run 96w PC o3s, but I'd aggree that you couls go either way on it.

FWIW
If you did go with some O3 I would suggest the VHO as steve said. Much better floresence (sp?) than the PCs.

 

[sleepy]

I am not able to supplement any other form of lighting because this is a hanging reflector. Nobody has yet said if they have any experience running this bulb with no additional lighting. LMK. I have also heard that it is impossible to take pictures under 15k? huh?

 

[reefinghabit]

i would go with aqualine buscke but im hearing good reports apout the lux or par reading on xm

 

[SteveDola]

14k aqua connect -- like them verymuch.

 

[sleepy]

Now Im confused and dont know what to get. Will the tank look nice with a Iwasaki 175W 15K with no actinic or T5? I would like it to be astheticly pleasing as well as good output. Thanks Guys

 

[reefinghabit]

aqualine buschke are 10000 but they measure it at 13k crisp white color very nice. good coral growth. or you can go with ushio or xm