250W, D.E. 15K HQI Bulb brands

[cwugigi]

I currently am running 2 250W HQI bulbs, and 4 65W actinics. I wanted to purchase some of the HQI bulbs in advance, so that I'm not left without when one burns up. The fixture came with Odyssea bulbs, but I hear that's a pretty cheap brand. 1, does the brand make a large difference, and 2, if so what brands are recommended? I was trying to find a place that I could buy several bulbs at a discounted price if anyone knows of such a place! Thanks for the info!!

 

[cwugigi]

I am not keeping corals yet (the tank has been running for a little over a month). I've been putting fish in on the weekends. I set it up with a cleanup crew, then the next weekend went for 2 ocellaris (sp?), then a starfish (part of the added cleanup crew), then last weekend a coral beauty. Hopefully the corals will be coming soon. I think I'm leaning towards the "crisp blue" more than the whiter look, but I don't really know the difference! I'll check out these brands, thanks for the info!

 

[cwugigi]

Also, I've been thinking of purchasing a RO DI system. Any recommendations on a good one to purchase, and what I should look for in a system? And what price I should be below, or else I'm getting ripped off (I am always concerned about that as a newb) Thanks again!

 

[johnr2604]

dawgdude;215402 wrote: Yes, brand makes a huge difference. A cheaper bulb will not put out as much par, will have a spectral shift earlier and will not be as consistent in the color from bulb to bulb. What corals are you keeping? I would look at a Phoenix 14k if you want a crisp blue with some actinic or an ushio 14k if you want a whiter look. I did ALOT of research on 250w HQIs so Ill be glad to help.

Agreed the pheonix 14k is hard to beat.

 

[rhodan]

Where is the best place to purchase HQI bulbs?

 

[nickskains]

As Dawg said, Sam at Aquabuys has just as good prices as most of the online retailers with no waiting if he's got it in stock. Nice guy too.