Brightest possible bulb??

[ouling]

I have 2X400w setup with some PCs driven on Icecap ballasts, one of the MHI needs to be changed. I'm going to go with 14000 bulbs, what is the brightest one out there? I know some 400W gets more power than others.

Experienced advice needed.

 

[dorian965]

i like hamilton 14k bulbs. nice color and pretty good on par. not the best par rating but as i recall, it was one of the higher readings on the last chart i ran across.

 

[mufret]

Are you needing SE or DE bulbs? Check out this sight:

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/">http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/</a>

You can plug in the ballast you are using and/or the color temp of the bulbyou are wanting to use and it will give you the info you're looking for. Hope that helps

 

[ouling]

there are actually DE 400w?? Thats something i want to see. I want the highest lux reading from a 400w SE lamp.

 

[mojo]

As dawgdude said, it depends on what you want. If you want the most useable light, go with a 5500K bulb. It'll be yellow, but you'll get some serious PAR. If you want to stick with 14kK, you'll have to make some compromises.

"Brightest" also depends on your ballasts and your reflectors - you can have a point source of light that may be brighter than a wide area, but that may not be what you're looking for.

Also check out:

http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm">http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm</a>

[IMG]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/feature.htm">http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/feature.htm</a>

[IMG]http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2004/feature1.htm">http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2004/feature1.htm</a>

Unfortunately, the only solution is to buy several brands of 14k 400w bulbs and see which one gives you the best PAR or the best look. Remember, the bluer the bulb, the less PAR you'll get - only you can decide if the tradeoff is worth it.

 

[jeep9783]

Ok this is really stupid n since i am not a complete newbie what is PAR-----Paramaters?

 

[siege]

I saw the tanks yesterday, looking forward to seeing the lights!

from http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm">Cnidarianreef</a>:
[B]PFO HQI[/B]
Lamp PAR Watts MaxWatts Amps MaxAmp
[IMG]http://www.cnidarianreef.com/graph_par.cfm?LID=Iwasaki"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Iwasaki</span></a> 950 355 384 3.02 4.79


WOW:eek: :eek:

A PFO ballast with Iwasaki lamp seems the be the way to go to get the most light out of a single bulb/ballast... Looking over the numbers, it doesn't look like it's possible to be any more efficient with multi-bulb setups... you'd need a b/b combination producing 425 PAR at 175 watts... I think I know what my next bulb setup will be.

 

[jeep9783]

Ok contrast to looks what is the best DE 250w bulb for growth not looks?

 

[ouling]

I know how the PAR and the kalvin ratings work. And those links doesn't compare 400W bulbs PAR on the same fixture. What I mean is: I'm looking for a 400W single ended bulb at 14000k that puts out the most PAR compared to other bulbs in the same fixture and ballast. BTW I use Icecap 400X2

 

[tsciarini]

note that 400w DE bulbs aren't all that you'd expect...

 

[justonemoretank]

tsciarini;47044 wrote: note that 400w DE bulbs aren't all that you'd expect...

Really Tony? They are not? Awwww... I was thinking about a few 400w DE MHs over my next "Dream Tank" Now you have me upset. :shout: :boo:

 

[tsciarini]

Some have actually been reported with lower PAR values than their SE counterparts... in addition, they're much more difficult to find.

 

[justonemoretank]

The 400w DEs sometimes have less PAR than the 400w SEs ???? Wow that is a shocker! I am going to have to read up on this. That is news to me.

 

[ouling]

So my 400w SE wins again?