SE vs DE whats better?

[nyfynest22]

Ok i got some good advice from a great guy here and was wondering what everyone recommends and why. i have 3x se coralvue pendants was wondering if i should go with de pendants i heard they give a better par, what to do everyone ? and thanks in advance

 

[Reefs Creation]

Ok i got some good advice from a great guy here and was wondering what everyone recommends and why. i have 3x se coralvue pendants was wondering if i should go with de pendants i heard they give a better par, what to do everyone ? and thanks in advance

They do say de have better par than se, and that se bulbs doesnt last as long. I have both types of bulbs but different brands on different tanks, to me se bulbs are brighter to the eyes when they are not worn out yet. I actually like the color on sps that were grown under se bulbs better. but then its also about brand and color temperature of the bulb. I use ushio de, and XM se both 20k. Maybe someone else can give u better comparison details.

 

[nyfynest22]

Thanks reef anyone else?


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[Wes]

In most cases if you plan on keeping the same ballast DE bulbs put out less par than their SE counterparts.

The only time DE outperform SE are when they are fired on an HQI ballast. And they should because they are using alot more electricity. For example a 250w HQI ballast really burns the bulb at about 320watts.

Check out sanjays reeflighting info. Keep in mind when looking at DE data you must use shields on DE bulbs.

Also the part about SE bulbs not lasting as long as DE is completely false. It all depends on the bulb.
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[nyfynest22]

hmm great thanks wes.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

+1 with Wes. In this hobby it's hard to sift through the B.S. sometimes. DE bulbs are more focused where as the SE bulbs have a larger spread. With all the different manufacturers and colors of bulbs it's not so much comparing apples and oranges, you just have to compare bulbs with the understanding that there will be variance between them all depending on your specific setup.

 

[nyfynest22]

awesome thank you so much lfs and everyone involved with your opinions.

 

[petraio]

Yes I think the only Advantage is that the de Fixtures are smaller! I have 3 fixtures running on my 120 gallon with magnetic ballast and they suck up lots of eletricity! also se bulbs are a bit cheaper!