Which 14000k 250w MH is 'less blue'?

[westwind77]

I currently have the 14000k AquaMaxx 250w MH mogul Base bulbs in my light, swapped out the original 10000k a while back. It is time to change them again. The AquaMaxx bulbs seem to be very 'blue', and I have read people saying they seem to be closer to 20000k's.
Anyway, my question is, I am looking at replacing them with:
1) Hamilton 14000k
2) German Ushio 14000k
3) Phoenix 14000k
Which of those 3 is the least 'blue'?
I personally love the blue hue of my current lights but it does drive my wife crazy how it lights up the living room with that same color. I still would like to keep an ice blue hue but not as strong (hue not watts) as my current lights.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[nikesb]

the aquamaxx is REALLY close to a radium 20k according to spectrum charts. out of those, i would say that the ushio is least blue. What is your ballast?
before people start chiming in saying that they love the pheonix 14k, i'll say that IMO, the pheonix 14k is bluer than the radium20k, therefore its bluer than the aquamaxx
It really depends on your ballast

 

[westwind77]

Thanks for the responce and information. The lighting system is the Coralife Aqualight Elite 48", 2x250w MH & 2 96w CF. It came with 2 'standard' magnetic ballasts (not sure the make/model). I did consider swithcing over to the electronic/digital ballasts but have not made the decision yet. I can pull the detail on the ballasts when I get home today, unless you were just wondering the mag vs elec.

 

[nikesb]

no thats enough information. I was curious as to what kind of ballasts, but since its a fixture i already know which ballast they are. different ballast put out different colors sometimes, in your case, they wouldnt make a difference

 

[westwind77]

Thanks again, looks like I will be going with the Ushio's. I did find this PDF on their site with interesting details, charts, etc.
http://www.ushio.com/files/specs/Aqualite.pdf
I am no expert in reading them, but it does not seem like the 14k is too far off from the 10k. The 20k's numbers have a big jump. I just hated the 'stock' 10k bulbs that were in there, hopefully this will be a nice balance between the orginals and the AquaMaxx's.

 

[meowzer]

I hated my ushios.....they looked yellow to me.....I went with the Phoenix 14K and just love them
NIKE

 

[westwind77]

I called an 'on-line' retailer (no names) to discuss the bulbs. They confirmed the AquaMaxx was almost a 20k with the blue hut and they said the Ushio was very white (the rep I spoke to was actually running those in his system). If I wanted something in the middle he recommended the XM's or the Hamilton's. Any feed back on those 2 would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[meowzer]

I have no experience with XM, BUT also had Hamiltons (came with light) I hated them too....YUCKY YELLOW

 

[nikesb]

actually, i was reading past this thread too fast when i responded earlier. I somehow confused ushio for reeflux. the ushio bulb sucks, its more like 10k. LOL
i still sand behind my comments about pheonix 14k, Its BLUE and washes out tons of colors.
may i suggest the Reeflux 12k. it probably has the most pop out of any of the lower kelvin bulbs. great growth as well

not my tank, but the left side is XM10k and the right side is Reeflux 12k. Great colors for a 12k bulb!

 

[westwind77]

Follow up:
I went with the Hamilton 250w 14000k's and did the install yesterday, very happy! They are not anywhere near as blue as the AquaMaxx, and they seem a LOT brighter in the tank. My wife & and a couple friends commented how much better than tank looks with the new lights. At that time I also replaced the 96w CF 420's. They were original with the light (coralife) and replaced with with the Current USA one's, again very happy. The new CF lights look a lot brighter as well, and a little less purple than the original Coralife's.
Thanks to everyone who help direct me to my purchases!