Metal halide experts (Kip,golfish)

tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
I am ready to order new bulbs for a standard PFO 250W ballast. I am now running ushio 10K bulbs. I like the bulb but it is a little yellow for my taste. I was thinking of using XM 10K bulbs because i have read they have a high PAR rating, plus they look a little more "white" to me.
golfish, Kip, what is your feelings on XM bulbs. Good, bad, should i maybe take a look at another brand.
Thanks in advance.
 
robchuck

robchuck

Active Member
Coralvue makes a 10,000K bulb that runs a lot like the XM (good PAR and whiter than a Ushio), and it's cheap too!
 
tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
I run two 110W Super Actinic 03 VHO bulbs, but I would still like a little less yellow without going to a 13K or higher bulb.
 
tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
I was looking at the Coralvue bulbs, they look nice, thats why im kinda unsure which bulb I would like better now.
Its funny I had my mind made up on XM but now that its time to lay down the money, Im rethinking it all over again.
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member

Originally posted by Tanksalot
I was looking at the Coralvue bulbs, they look nice, thats why im kinda unsure which bulb I would like better now.
Its funny I had my mind made up on XM but now that its time to lay down the money, Im rethinking it all over again.
I am running the XM and like them very much. Highly recomend.
 
tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
Thanks for the replys,
skilos1 have you seen a XM in person, and do you know off the top of your head what the coralvue 10k's PAR ratting is? Im gonna see if I can find out in the meantime.
Also would you happen to know how much PAR is lost going from a 10K to a 14K?
Thanks again.
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member
I haven't seen the XM's in action. I have used the 20K CV bulbs on my HQI ballast. The color was great but the bulbs didn't last very long so I went back to the Radiums.
Trying the XM's wouldn't hurt.
 
tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
Thanks for the reply golfish I will try the XM's because from what I have seen they look more blueish white to me (for a 10K bulb), plus from the data I have seen the PAR rating is very high.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
I like the 10k XM's and they are whiter than Ushios. I recently switched from 400w 10k ushios to XM's and do not regret it a bit.
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member
CV did send us (me and Skilos) out two new bulbs to replace the POS bulbs we had. I did start to use them but "The Guy" at CV told meus he didn't recommend using his bulbs on the HQI ballast so I stopped.
I like em but I need something a little more reliable. When my Radiums die out I may try em again...maybe:confused:
 
tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
I was judging the XM’s by pictures and I agree its hard to tell. I like the price of the CV bulbs. I have seen 20K XM’s in action but that’s too blue for me. Ill sleep on it and decide in the morning.
Once again thanks for your input it is much appreciated.
 
rkm

rkm

Member
I have 2 250 10k venture MH's. It's been since Nov. I am thinking they may need to be replaced. I must say these are my first MH bulb. I remember these being very bright when I first got them. They were also more blue than white. Actually they were very blue at first and burned it to a white/light blue color. I bought 2 small 24w T-5's to suppliment the blues better for morning and afternoon.
Anyone had these bulbs and switched? I would like to try something new. I would like to know what would work better for with my 2 small T-5's
Just thought I would give an idea on another type of bulb. It may be a junk bulb for all I know. I haven't done very much research on blubs yet.
 
tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
Ok, I looked at some numbers so I got some more questions for you guys, Here is the PAR ratings for each bulb on my ballast,
1.XM 10K612
2.CV 10K330
3.CV 12K194
4.CV 15K247
I know you guys keep sps so you can probably clear this up for me. For example if I look at the XM with a PAR rating of 612 and then look at the CV with a PAR rating of 330, if I look at just the numbers it’s a huge difference. My question is would my corals notice that much of a PAR difference? I am asking because you guys keep very “light needy” coral’s. (SPS) I have noticed that a lot of people with sps tanks use 20K bulbs. Wouldn’t 20K bulbs have a lower PAR rating than say 10K bulbs? I know using 20K bulbs you don’t get the fastest growth but you get better color. But am I wrong to assume that a higher PAR means brighter, or more intense light, thus producing better growth?
 
tanksalot

tanksalot

Member
I thought the numbers seemed low but I Don’t have that much experience with metal halides,(but im trying to learn) looking at that test is what made me decide on XM, but looking at the pictures, and I know its hard to tell looking at pictures, I like the looks of the CV 12K. Thats why I wanted your guys input, you have much more experience and I know you wouldnt steer me wrong.
 
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