MH Bulbs

[cbatkinson]

I'm in the process of upgrading my MH lights. Moving to an Icecap 250W MH Electronic Ballast and am looking for good DE bulb suggestions to pair with my actinic PC's. I'm thinking of going with the Phoenix 14k DE bulbs, but I actually like the bluish tint of the 20K bulbs. The only concern I have about the 20k's is that the tank might look too blue. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on bulbs and understand the difference in coral growth between 10k, 14k, and 20k.

 

Thanks.

[khalid]

I am currently running 4 Phoenix 14K's, 3 on aquamedic 250 magnetic ballast and 1 on Ice Cap 250 Electronic ballast and love the look of the bulb on all of them. They are a lot more blue than most 14K's.

[Nate]

I have a Current USA fixture with 2 250w HQI DE halides and 4 t5 actinics. I upgraded my halides from the stock 10k's to the Phoenix 14k's and it was the best decision I ever made. I love the bluish hue they give off. I have never had a 20k so I am not sure how they compare, nor do I know how they compare to other 14k's. I do know that I am in love with the spectrum they create.

[chucelli]

This is a hard question to reply to since color preference and perception is very subjective.

I can tell you for sure the 14k bulbs have peaks in the blue giving you a more bluish light. I can't tell you if the 20k will be too blue, but I can tell you that the 20k will look dimmer in comparison to bulbs of lower color temps.

I currently run 2 20k and 1 10k in the middle. When all three are on, the color is almost perfect for my preference.

In general the lower the temp, the more PAR you will be getting, hence better growth. PAR goes down when the color temp is either too high or too low. A 10k bulb of the same wattage will give you more PAR than a 20K of the same wattage. 14k in theory should give you more PAR than 20k but less than 10k.

Hope that helps.

Edited June 15, 2009 by chucelli

[reefhunter]

My opinion is go with RADIUMS... I have 250 Watt Radiums (20k) on new icecap ballasts if you want to see what it looks like.

 

I do miss the 10k growth through....

[cbatkinson]

I decided to go with the Phoenix 14Ks...UPS delivered them today and I must say that I'm very pleased....thanks to all who weighed in.