250w SE bulb choices ...

[Ray039]

So now that I'm back to my metal halides, I'm trying to find just the right bulbs that will provide good growth and be pleasing to the eye.

I had the 250w 20K XM bulbs in and they look amazing. Very blue/purple which I like. Problem is growth is next to nothing.

I now have the Aqualine 10K bulbs in and they don't look as good to me. The growth is pheonominal but they are pretty yellow to my eyes. These bulbs are pretty pricey too.

I want a bulb that is a little softer to the look (bluer) and offers a pretty solid growth rate for the corals. 15K's maybe?

Suggestions and opinions are very welcomed.

TIA ...

 

[prattreef]

I like the Reeflux 10K run on Icecap ballasts.

 

[Ray039]

I was looking at the Reeflux 14K. They're priced pretty reasonably too.

 

[prattreef]

You mean the 12K? They are very blue, very pretty and very dim. Good for LPS etc. but not for SPS.

 

[House of Laughter]

Ray - i agree with PR - alot of people use the hamiltons which give good growth, but, IMO are not a very good bulb.

If you want growth - use the XM 10k, that will make growth like crazy. and supplement.

House

 

[jhale]

I use xm10K's on icecap ballasts with fuana marin actinic T5's for supplements I like the combo

it gives a 12K look with the par of XM's

 

[jackson6745]

Ray, What ballasts are you using?

My favorite 250w combo is 10k XM's on IC ballasts w/3-4 T5 or VHO actinics. Color and intensity is awesome.

Randy do you have the 250w 10k reeflux? Do they still have a pink hue to them? I ran the 400w 10k and I liked them but the 250w's that I saw in parson and in pics just didn't look the same.

 

[Ray039]

I use the Hamilton ballasts with Aqualine 10K's.

 

[prattreef]

Rich,

I do use the 10K's and they are not pink like they used to be, but still not as nice as the 400's. They tend to photograph pinker than they look to my eye in person. Corals love them.

Ray, I'm not sure what kind of ballast the Hamilton is and ballasts clearly make a difference in bulb performance/appearance.

 

[kimoyo]

You mean the 12K? They are very blue, very pretty and very dim. Good for LPS etc. but not for SPS.

I've seen several very nice sps tanks using reeflux 12k bulbs. When I saw them at kasei's house in person they looked really nice.

There's been a few threads about 12k bulbs and taking pics with them. Here's the thread that got my interest really peaked with using them with sps.

 

[Wes]

Rich,

I do use the 10K's and they are not pink like they used to be, but still not as nice as the 400's. They tend to photograph pinker than they look to my eye in person. Corals love them.

I use the 250w reeflux 10k's and i don't think they look pink. at least not enough pink to bother me. I read somewhere that you positioning the nipples in the 12 o'clock position helps w/ the pink hue problem as well..

 

[kimoyo]

Here's a few pics from the tank in that thread.

Same tank, different thread

no lighting supplementation and no picture post processing from what they say.

 

[Wes]

yeah i saw that thread...tank is insane! just goes to show PAR isn't the end all be all

 

[crox99]

Those colors are outstanding!!!

 

[prattreef]

Those are 400 watt lamps in those pictures run on unknown ballasts. I thought we were talking about 250W lamps? IME you cannot make any assumptions between lamps as you change wattage, ballast, or socket type... even more so with the Reeflux lamps --they seem to vary drastically. The 250 W SE`Reeflux 12K's I used were very blue and very dim producing pretty but unatural coloration and poor growth rates. After switching back to the 10K everything is much happier.
Kasei likes the 12KDE I think--I've never seen or tried them--but the DE 10K are horrible. Go figure.

 

[jackson6745]

I was just about to say the same thing. 400w is a BIG difference from 250w. 250w reeflux 12k are VERY dim. Looks like VHO actinics to me
Kasei is a bad reefer. Who cares what he likes