Metal Halide Bulb Question

[superhero]

Hey guys... I have the aqualight pro (72") with the 3 150 watt metal halides currently over my 150 and the time is rapidly approaching to replace my bulbs. Now the question i have is... Can i use any brand of bulbs with the ballasts that come with the aqualight pro or must i use the coralife bulbs that originally came with the system... I only ask because these bulbs are very cheap compared to other brands and my guess is that they are not the best quality... I was looking at the Ushio brand and the Phoenix brand... lets hear what you guys think... and what brands that are compatible with my fixture that you think are the best...
-Tony
P.S. Also i currently have 10k bulbs and was thinking about getting 14k this time, besides the light being more on the bluer side (i think), what are the differences between 10k and 14 or 20k?

Thank you!

 

[t316]

Technology has come a long way. You can use any brand that will fit your fixture. As far as wattage, I upgraded as well, from 10K to 20K. As long as your fixture is able to handle the wattage, no harm done there. You can expect more heat though.

 

[t316]

By the way...love the avatar. You are an old timer that still has the motion avatar. They won't allow that anymore

 

[9supratt4]

the 10k, 14k, & 20k....that isn't the wattage....that is the color spectrum of the bulb. The higher the more of the blue spectrum is visible. I am unsure though if there are any benefits of going with bluer bulbs.
I am tagging along on this one as I need to replace the my bulbs in the same fixture.

 

[spanko]

Are these double ended bulbs or mogul (screw in) bulbs?
The lower the kelvin rating the yellower the color to the eye. The lower kelvin will give you the most growth potential where the higher kelvin will give you the most color with moderate growth. Here is a comparison I did with a 14k Phoenix against a 20k Radium. I still run the Radiums and love the color and growth I get in my 29 biocube. They are 150 watts.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/323790/radium-hqi-bulbs

 

[superhero]

Tanks T316 haha i went to change my avatar to a different motion one a while back but it wouldn't let me so i am lucky i kept this bad boy... and as for the bulbs, they are double ended and now that i know i can get any brand... what would you recommend for the 14k? I really liked that thread you made spanko about your 20k bulbs but I'm to nervous to make the jump from 10 to 20 so I'm gonna go with the 14 this time and maybe the 20 next time... So all in all what is the best brand you would recommend? Phoenix? and how do i know if i need the HQI bulbs?
thanks guys
-tony

 

[superhero]

And Spanko as long as we are talking about avatars... I LOVE YOURS! haha

 

[globaldesigns]

I have the same light, as all ballasts are different, bulbs will also reacte differently due to the ballasts... Believe me, this is true, for example, I bought Phoenix 250W 14K bulbs and they flickered quite often. I just replaced last month with Ushio 250W, and now they run perfectly, and I think the light output on them to be even nicer than other bulbs.
My LFS was talking to a tech once, and they stated that ColarChrome (Geisshmen) or Ushio, both German made, are the best and they find that these 2 brands work well with mostly all ballasts.
Just my 2 cents, but I hope it helps.

 

[spanko]

HQI are double ended. You will like the 14k Phoenix. A good bulb. I wanted some more color in my coral so I went with the 20k Radium. More expensive but a beautiful lamp. Normally you would get more blue in the 20k over the 14k but as you can see in the thread not really the case with the Radium.