Which 175watt Single ended MH bulb

[gixxer600]

I have a 37 gal cube that is 25" tall and i am looking for the best 175watt Mh bulb to put over the tank. I am thinking somewhere between 14-20K but not sure what bulb would be the best to go with. Something that gives the coral really good color but also has good par to be able to grow clams and sps. Thanks for all the help.

Mathew

 

[mufret]

Which ballast and reflector will you be using? That might make a difference as to which bulb will give you what you are looking for. My experience using IceCap and Blueline electronic ballasts: Iwasaki 14K is a great bulb for PAR. Has a nice white with bluish tint color. Coralvue Reeflux 12K is a little bluer and still good PAR. XM 20k is a bluer bulb and still gives decent PAR numbers.

 

[seedless reefer]

I am a fan of the Blueline 10K +.

Nice and blue and seems to give good color and growth in my tank.

 

[gixxer600]

Thanks for the help. as far as the ballast goes i am not sure what brand it is and the relector is a retrofit.

 

[weaglereefer]

Any ideas what's best with an M57 ballast? I'm planning to run 2 54w T5 ATI Blue+'s with Icecap reflectors available for actinic supplementation.

 

[steve]

Iwasaki 14k. With an ARO Electronic ballast.

 

[mufret]

Check this site to get an idea about the PAR that a ballast/bulb combo can produce:

 

[weaglereefer]

Cool, forgot about that one.

I'm trying to decide between the AB 13,000k, Iwasaki 15,000k, and those Calfo 14,000k.

 

[rbredding]

Here's a great article I read yesterday.. it's about 250's but it's got some great information