questions on metal halide bulbs

[jeepcreep]

im looking at replacing my metal halides ( i need 3) i currently have corallife bulbs 175w double ended 15k...and i was wondering if anyone has a brand of bulbs they prefer..... im looking at the xm's..anyone have any dislikes with them...also if someone could give me a run through on the k ratings and their + and -'s ive read were some mix their k ratings with 15 and 20....i hear them 20k's put a nice blue tint....what corals grow under which k ratings( i also have 4 actinic flourescent bulbs)thanks for any help

 

[scsinet]

XM 15K lamps are IMO a very poor lamp. I ran them for one lamp cycle and the more I read about them throughout the year, the more I found I was not alone in experiencing very poor performance from them. Now I run Radium lamps, and am much happier with them.
Do you have an electronic or magnetic ballast? It matters because certain lamps only work with certain ballasts.
Corals will grow under any halide made for reef tank use. Usually, the Kelvin ratings range from 10,000 to 20,000. With the lower kelvin ratings, you experiencing more growth (and higher PAR), but with the higher kelvin ratings, you experience better coloration and lower PAR. I personally run 20K lamps because I'm not in any particular hurry for my corals to grow, I'd rather they look nice.
If you have actinic lamps, you are probably going to be best in the midrange rated lamps, the 12-15K range.

 

[gio28]

im getting this fixture that i found on craigslist that comes with a phoenix 14K...so i did some research on what it looks like and i really like the color it gives off and its supposed to be a great bulb.

 

[jeepcreep]

im assuming its an electronic ballast its an current outer orbit all in one...im fairly new to the mh's..when you change the k rating in bulbs will it effect different corals differently(i.e. will it be to strong for some or to weak for others)

 

[scsinet]

No. Kelvin ratings refer to color, not brightness or intensity.
The corals growth behavior may change over time, but it's not like you need to get them "used to" the change or anything.

 

[jeepcreep]

anybody else have bulbs they prefer over others?

 

[stanlalee]

What SCSInet said. I have 20k ushio's now which I like alot but I'll go Radiums next just to do something different. I also like the AB 13k for growth and color is not bad either if you like a whiter bulb (its not yellow). BTW if its DE its not 175w. I know Odyssea calls its 150w DE bulbs 175w but I wasn't aware coralife doing this. either way DE only come in 70w,150w,250w and 400w.

 

[nissan577]

yea. to me i have 2 phoenix 14k bulbs with 2 actinics 460nm and 420nm and the color is amazing! i love the blue crisp the phoenix give. i sometimes dont even run the actinic since the phoenix has a nice blue color. its really up to you. what color you want your tank to be and such