good, better, best DE MH lamps?

[wbrown]

I bought a Coralife aqualight pro 48" on 2/28/09, and am noticing the MH's already going 'green'. Color is just off, and some of the softies aren't opening like they did with my other fixture.
I never dug into the Kelvin rating stuff before, bright always seemed good enough for me, now I want bright and suitable for the investment in corals I have.
I'd love to see the recommendations and consensus on DE 250W MH lamps, I'd like to get a pair as a backup (shelf filler) and the top of the line for the DT.
My requirement is simply to find a vendor that will ship as Augusta is a pretty serious drive for 'just' some lamps.

If anyone can shed some light on the 'laymans' differences in 10K, 14K, and 20K that would be appreciated too.
Please list manufacturer, brand, and if available part numbers.

 

[ericmcj31]

Phoenix 14K's is what I run and like them--everyone raves about them-I'd say they are prob. ranked best...

 

[ericmcj31]

if you used the 20K's would you think that actinic supplementation would still be neccessary?

 

[wbrown]

Now I'm thinking the 14K may look better, but will the 10K have better or nominal growth?
The Chinese 10K's that came with the fixture looked good for a week or so, and now look more 'green', my colt and leathers aren't opening quite as much now as they were just a week ago. I find it odd that I can actually see the degradation in light of a relatively short time.
With the two 96w actinics on, the color is there, but the corals don't open as much as my PC fixture.
I'm doing a day-long experiment, I have my PC fixture back on the tank to see what if any difference there is.

 

[parsonsaj]

Not to hijack this thread... but I am also being proactive and trying to figure out which 250W DE bulbs to use to replace the el-cheapo ones that are coming with the chinese fixture I will be getting this week.

I currently am running Phoenix 14K bulbs on my 150w fixture, and I like the look of those but wish it was a little brighter.

Does anyone know anything about the Reeflux 12K bulbs? I have seen mixed reports regarding those.

 

[skriz]

Don't worry about coral growth. Who cares if your coral grows 1" more per year, if you don't enjoy looking at the tank? Your corals will grow' beit under 10kk, 14kk or 20kk. What's more important is you go with a quality bulb (not a Chinese knock-off) and a colour you like to look at.

 

[kernelpanic]

Don't believe those 10k, 14, and 20k designations either. A Pheonix "14k" is bluer than some "20k" bulbs.

Try the color charts, spectral data and performance data here:

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

Best is to see the bulb in action.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

It is not uncommon for the chinese made bulbs to color shift in a short time. They are just not made to the same quality of the other bulbs. Phoenix 14K is a great bulb.

Raj is right, what good is coral growth if you can not stand looking at your tank. If you were running a frag tank, I would tell you to go with a 6500K bulb, your corals will grow like mad but the water would look so yellow, you would think a 10 year-old boy peed in it. 20K is great for color but many people just do not like how blue it is ALL the time. 14K or 15K gives the best of both worlds in most cases.

To confuse things a bit more though, not all "14K" bulbs are 14K. Once tested, many are 11-13K. The Phoenix is pretty true to color though.

I wish I could remember the site, but there is a site out there that has pictures of the same tank under different lights. That way you can "see" the difference between the bulbs.

 

[wbrown]

Interesting about the 6500K, I have a 70, and a couple 400W fixtures with the 6500's already in them., and I have a yet to be setup frag tank...
Time to go set up a frag tank.:thumbs:
I'll do some more research before I toss down a couple hundred bucks. I am more interested in fast growth ATM, I can run more or different lights to suit my viewing.
I've been changing up my photo period since I got the new fixture, trying to adjust to keep diatoms in check. I do have some corals that appear to need to acclimate to the higher intensity too, so I need to just program my timers instead of flipping switches when the mood strikes.