cheap MH lights?

[pbyrmartin]

Dakota9;105028 wrote: I'm running a cheap Ebay bulb on my tank.

I bought the bulbs after the "Where's the PAR Meter" thread I started. I'm new to MH lighting and don't know the look of various bulbs, since I already was using a 10K, I purchased a cheap 14K and 20K from ebay, with shipping, both bulbs only cost a total of 24 bucks. I was going to use them just to see which color </em>of light I prefered and buiy a more expensive bulb in the same kelvin rating, but once I screwed the 20K in, I've really liked it and just left it. I would still like a PAR meter to see what my clam is getting along the lines of PAR in the bottom of my tank, but not terribly concerned as my tank is supplimented with a lot of natural sun in the winter time, another reason for the 20K as it counteracts the washed out yellow of the natural sunlight.

do you have any sps, if you do how are they doing as far as growth and color
what wattage are your bulbs

 

[dakota9]

I only have 4 different sps

A brown/blue tip frag that I got for free at a meeting
greenish/brown monti cap (frag from another member)
A brilliant Purple monti that hitchhiked on a piece of live rock

They are all supposed to be brown, they didn't turn that way. I don't have any colorful sps, which had a lot to do with deciding to give the cheaper bulbs a try. I'll post here if I notice a color difference in the coming weeks, as its too early to tell right now if the bulb will affect any color change in the corals.

 

[roland jacques]

From what Ive read there are some good cheap bulbs on ebay but it seems like a lot of mixed reviews. I here some folks get Phoenix bulbs for around $20 on ebay which i like. Some found the $10 lamps worked good.

If you like me and have limited $$$ id try them. I think my limited money is better invested in getting the best reflector i can afford.

relative link

 

[skriz]

Roland Jacques;105100 wrote: From what Ive read there are some good cheap bulbs on ebay but it seems like a lot of mixed reviews. I here some folks get Phoenix bulbs for around $20 on ebay which i like. Some found the $10 lamps worked good.

If you like me and have limited $$$ id try them. I think my limited money is better invested in getting the best reflector i can afford.

relative link

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=924715&perpage=25&highlight=ebay%20cheap%20bulbs&pagenumber=20">http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=924715&perpage=25&highlight=ebay%20cheap%20bulbs&pagenumber=20</a>[/QUOTE]

I agree 100%. The reflector will have a more dramatic effect on par than the bulb. Just look at Sanjay's data...

now as long as somebody doesnt hold onto the par meter for a couple of months again, we may get a chance to test some stuff out.

 

[ericmcj31]

what do you guys think of these??

http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a>

It says has CRI of 85--What does that mean??

 

[skriz]

ericmcj31;105298 wrote: what do you guys think of these??

http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a>

It says has CRI of 85--What does that mean??[/QUOTE]

people have been quite happy with the greatdel bulbs. there is a massive thread on rc about it. at $10, they're worth a shot. 10k will be quite white to yellow though, so if you are wanting a more blue look, you'll need supps or move up to a higher kelvin bulb.

 

[ericmcj31]

what would you suggest?? I am already running 4-96 watt PC bulbs that are the actinic 03

 

[ericmcj31]

would you suggest the 14K or the 20 K with my setup?

 

[dannybradley]

ericmcj31;105298 wrote: what do you guys think of these??

http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a>

It says has CRI of 85--What does that mean??[/QUOTE]


CRI is 'The Color Rendering Index' It is a measure of the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects being lit by the source. Basically, if an object is blue, it means how much under that source it actually resembles that shade of blue. 100 is as high as it goes. The CRI is not equal to useful light, however. I believe the comparison is to what the object looks like in natural sunlight.

 

[dakota9]

Last night I was up late PMing, and noticed my timer on my actinics has been malfunctioning, as they switched on a 2am.(I thought they came on at 5;30) so I just turned them completely off until I could reset the timer by the light of day. This morning I slept late, and the cheap MH bulb was already lit when I woke up. This is the first time I've seen the bulb w/o actinic supplimentation. It puts out a beautiful light all on its own, I think I prefer no actinics at all because this is the best the tank has ever been illuminated, asthetically anyway, as I still don't know what te PAR level is.

 

[skriz]

ericmcj31;105303 wrote: what would you suggest?? I am already running 4-96 watt PC bulbs that are the actinic 03

If all your bulbs are 03, then I would definately go with 20K. It will be the bluest bulb, but will also have to lowest par.

If you are goign to continue to use the pc's as supplement, then you can go with the 10K or 14K. The 10K will have the best par out of the bunch. the 14k should have a little more blue tint that the 10k.

I've run the XM 10k with vho and pc supplements..color looked good. I have switched to the 14k bulbs (ushio) to get more blue.

 

[linda lee]

what do you guys think of these??

http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">http://cgi.ebay.com/150-W-10K-HQI-DE-Metal-Halide-Aquarium-Bulb-Lamp-Reef_W0QQitemZ120189452402QQihZ002QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a>
quote]

One note to add about [B]greatdel[/B]. He says his items are located in the United States, but most of them are shipped from Hong Kong. It took almost 3 weeks for me to get a refractometer from this seller.

 

[ericmcj31]

I'm in no hurry, but I certainly hope it doesn't take 3 weeks. :boo: I ordered 3 of the 10K and 3 of the 14K--I thought the 20's wouldnt give enough light for what I think I need.

 

[skriz]

ericmcj31;106254 wrote: I'm in no hurry, but I certainly hope it doesn't take 3 weeks. :boo: I ordered 3 of the 10K and 3 of the 14K--I thought the 20's wouldnt give enough light for what I think I need.

these should have more par than the 20k's and since you have the pc's to use a supps, you should be in great shape.

SHipping from hong kong should only take 7-10 days. anything else is just procrastinating from the seller.

 

[ericmcj31]

Lights finally arrived today--exactly two weeks from buying them--and linda, you were right--they do say they're in USA, but actually ship from hong kong-even had a US customs sticker on them. They look great right now (to me), but I'm no lighting expert. Got the 10K's in right now. I only got 2 of the 14K's and need a 3rd, I emailed him/her about the mistake in shipping.

 

[gordob]

What about the HQI MH bulbs from Aquatraders (ODYSSEA brand)? I bought the 36" fixture with the 250W MH about 6 months ago, and have had great results from it (aside from the 10K bulb being too yellow for me, but I think that's because it's 10K). My corals have all grown...including my SPS, and have actually shown colors that I hadn't seen on them before. I don't know the PAR rating on their fixtures or bulbs. Has anyone else tested them? Their bulbs are not as cheap as Ebay, but they're only $30, so that would definitely be cheaper than the big money bulbs. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Brad

 

[skriz]

from what I've read on the odussea bulbs is that they are not too bad if used with a good ballast. The stock odyssea ballasts are garbage and put out much less power than they ought to and the bulbs need.

 

[gordob]

As far as the ballasts for the Odyssea.....is that the old ballasts, or the new ones? I know they had a really bad reputation in the past, but I have read where that is turning around. My fixture seems to be well built. I don't know about the ballast. I have no prior MH experience though, so I don't have anything to compare it to.

- Brad