Mogul vs. DE

[tizzo]

Anybody else have both and compared?
I HAD moguls but now HAVE DE's. For more reasons than one, I like the moguls better. I know the DE's are simply supposed to be what's inside of a mogul anyway, but IDK.
My corals colors aren't as vibrant as they used to be, the DE's don't spread over 2 feet so I have a lot of dark spots.
I'm using 10K, I will bump it up to 14's but still, if I had to do it over, I think I'd go back to moguls.

 

[bang guy]

There are fewer options with DE's and that's the only downfall I can see. The 10K DEs I've tried are a lot more yellow than I would expect. I just ordered a 15K to see how that looks.

 

[spanko]

I wonder if the difference has anything to do with the DE's needing the UV glass panel, and the Moguls' have the UV glass built in. Don't know about you guys but my Sunpod has a fairly thick pc. of glass protecting it from water splash and with the UV protection in it.

 

[tizzo]

Yeah Bang, mine is a lot more yellow also! My old set up was supplemented with VHO's and this one is PC's, I thought the PC's just weren't strong enough.
The glass is very thick, but I don't thin k it makes any matter. It appears that a lot of my corals are simply getting to much light or the wrong end of the spectrum.
I put some nice blue and purple corals high in my tank and they turned brown. My tank is 29 inches so I don't have much to play with.
I will also order the higher K's. Bang if you don't mind posting an update on the blueness of your 15K's. I was thinking of going with 14, but the higher the better without looking to blue.
I didn't even know they made 15 K's.
Sucks though, buying 3 new bulbs, when these ones are only 4 months old.

 

[groupergenius]

Hey Tizz, you've seen my stuff. (get yer mind out of the gutter)
I just replaced my SE reeflux 14k with aquaconnect 14k over the 75. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I can't believe how much whiter the aquaconnects are. Crisp, clear, pure white.
And yes, I think the SE spread more light than HQI.

 

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
http:///forum/post/2671995
Hey Tizz, you've seen my stuff. (get yer mind out of the gutter)
I just replaced my SE reeflux 14k with aquaconnect 14k over the 75. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I can't believe how much whiter the aquaconnects are. Crisp, clear, pure white.
And yes, I think the SE spread more light than HQI.
Heck yeah I seen your stuff! I posted pics in the aquarium!!

Now I hafta see your stuff again to see the diff. It's wierd how they are supposed to be the same in coverage, but they aren't, huh?

 

[fishy pa guy]

I have the complaint about my 2X250 DE Coralife fixture. I will never go with the DE setup's again after I have used both.
I exchanged the 10K bulbs in mine with 20K and also 15K and they still don't spread the light like a Mogul. I think the length of the bulb and size of the bulb make the difference. I used XM bulbs in both styles and they are way better in the mogul. The XM SE bulbs are also longer than most other bulbs.

 

[chilwil84]

you have to have comparable reflectors to judge spread. the small reflectors that come in the coralife and oother brands will never spread the light out the way an old fashioned spider reflector let alone a lumenbright or lumen arc. the small reflectors also create hot spots that can over illuminate directly under them and bleach the color out of them. they make de versions of lumenarcs and lumen brights that will blow away any small 4 sided coralife style reflector.

 

[reefraff]

Used to be the DE's had an advantage because of the geometry, it was possible to make a lot better reflector for a DE than a SE. Since the Lumenarc, Lumenbright etc. hit the market the DE's main advantage now is you can get better light with a smaller reflector than a SE.
The 250 DE lamps can be a royal PITA to take out.

 

[jrthomas40]

i am thinking about changing to SE/mogul...i have been using DE since i put MH on my tank because at the time i had a smaller canopy and mogul wouldnt fit....but the color of my coral does not make me happy and i have been using 14k...which are all nice color and growth is good but coral color is not there everything seems to be brown and now that i have changed bulbs all my color has pretty much washed out even reducing the photoperiod after installation to half

 

[bang guy]

OK, I just swapped the 10K DE for a 14K Phoenix (sorry, thought it was 15K).
It's definately not 14K (yet). It is very white though with just a touch of blue. The corals a fluorescing very well so there must be a spike in the mid 400's spectrum and it must be a rather large spike.
It's very bright, I need to put the lux meter on it because it makes the 14K SE next to it look dim. So dim that the Phoenix bulb looks like a spotlight.

 

[jrthomas40]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2673480
OK, I just swapped the 10K DE for a 14K Phoenix (sorry, thought it was 15K).
It's definately not 14K (yet). It is very white though with just a touch of blue. The corals a fluorescing very well so there must be a spike in the mid 400's spectrum and it must be a rather large spike.
It's very bright, I need to put the lux meter on it because it makes the 14K SE next to it look dim. So dim that the Phoenix bulb looks like a spotlight.
do your corals look like they dont like the light?? mine have all closed up and look p'oed and it has been a month and i changed from 15k to 14k

 

[spanko]

Bang, Get a pic of it now. Then in about 100 hours take another pic and compare them. I think you will find it does not look as bright as first and highlights the reds in the tank more. That is what i found with my 20k Radium.
Here is the picture the day it was installed.

And here after 108 hours of "burn in" time.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
http:///forum/post/2673632
do your corals look like they dont like the light?? mine have all closed up and look p'oed and it has been a month and i changed from 15k to 14k
Let me give everything a few days. it's not uncommon for corals to be irritated when switching from a low PAR bulb to a high PAR bulb. Have you looked at Sanjay Joshi's Lighting pages to see the light output of the different bulbs?

 

[jrthomas40]

yeah i have looked at it but it does not include the bulbs i bought nor the ballast i own...and my bulbs have been in since the 6th of june from xm 15k to SPS 14k so burn in period should be over having dropped the light period from 8 to 5 and up 1hour per week since installation
just looked up my ballast and that article again, i am running an M80 but still the bulbs arent

 

[chilwil84]

bang guy u runnin a magnetic ballast (m80)cause phoenix tend to run whiter on the magnetic and more blue with the electronic ballasts.

 

[bang guy]

Yep, Magnetic HQI.

 

[chilwil84]

thats the white look they look almost like 20k with the electronic ballasts. you def get better par the way your running them

 

[jrthomas40]

i guess we kinda got away from the OP...a little bit...my fault i may have hijacked a littel ....at the same time i like to go in a LFS and see the tanks and none here have DE but there tanks always look better than mine

 

[jrthomas40]

Originally Posted by chilwil84
http:///forum/post/2673853
thats the white look they look almost like 20k with the electronic ballasts. you def get better par the way your running them
so do you think a 20k would actually look more like a 14k with a M80 ballast?