Sph2sail September 28, 2003 Share September 28, 2003 I'll take any kind of 10K 250W MH bulb that is available for a reasonable fee. I have Coralife 10K bulbs right now. Don't like the really white color. Given that, I would really like to see what other bulbs look like before I buy two new ones. Anyone got a used/loaner so I can try them out? steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail September 28, 2003 Author Share September 28, 2003 Actually looking at the following as possible bulbs. Thoughts? Iwasaki 6500K 250W Nice price at $59.95ea Ushio 10K 250W Truer 10K at $86.95ea AB 10K 250W Moving up in price at $89.95ea Blueline 10K 250W Feels overpriced at $99.95ea Thoughts? s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatortailale September 28, 2003 Share September 28, 2003 I have used ushio, ab and maybe a blueline around you can test. I just got some 10 xm's to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kimo September 28, 2003 Share September 28, 2003 I'm going to try 2 of the 10K Coral Vue bulbs in the next week or two - Yo might want to look at them, rumor is they're brighter and bluer than the Ushios. Premium Aquatics has them for $54.00 So does inreef.com, bu I have never ordered from them. HTH, Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefMon September 28, 2003 Share September 28, 2003 I'll drop by with a used Iwasaki for you, but something tells me you aint gonna like the color, but your corals are gonna love the PAR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tgallo September 28, 2003 Share September 28, 2003 im not sure on what type of ballast you have, but iwasaki 65k is a really yellow bulb. the ushio is a white burning bulb, tends to wash out colors. the ab bulb is white also with a hint of blue. but if you want a really blue bulb, go with the blueline, it burns blue at first but in time will not burn as blue, they look nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium September 28, 2003 Share September 28, 2003 I am using XM 400W 20K, and love the color. Any one is welcome to come by and have a look. I got them from Hellolights. Here's the link. http://www.hellolights.com/400wxm20000k.html JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail September 28, 2003 Author Share September 28, 2003 JM, HelloLights seems to suggest that these bulbs require an eBallast. What are you running them on? I have standard M58 probe start ballasts (250W). s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tgallo September 28, 2003 Share September 28, 2003 it will work fine on your probe start ballast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium September 29, 2003 Share September 29, 2003 I run them on e-ballast, See link below. http://www.reeffanatic.com/cgi-bin/mas/category.cgi?item=MHBL_RF400E But they will work fine too with a M58 probe start as Tony said. Actually Tony and I tried and fired them up sucessfully with one of his M58 400W. JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail September 29, 2003 Author Share September 29, 2003 I managed to get loaner used bulbs from Gatortailale and Reefmon... Ushio 10000K Iwasaki 6500K AB 10000K If you ask me, right now I'm actually headed to the Iwasaki. Much brighter. Much more like true sunlight. Complements well with the PC ultra actinics. The Ushio is next in line. Somewhat more white, but much less apparent brightness. May be simply an older bulb (9 months on it). Still mucking around. Reefmon and I may try to take digital pics and share for all to see. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatortailale September 29, 2003 Share September 29, 2003 I put one of the 2 xm 10K's in running on blueline ballsts. WOW much brighter than the 13 month old ushio. Steve, come see the new bulbs before you buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 3, 2003 Author Share October 3, 2003 Some initial pictures to consider looking at... For these images, later afternoon sun coming in. On left is a Iwasaki 6500K. On right is a very old Ushio 10000K. Believe it or not, I'm more a naturalist. I'm leaning towards the Iwasaki, but it is up for discussion still. Let's just say the sun is an amazingly powerful light source. Clearly dominates whatever we put over our tanks. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest andrejka October 3, 2003 Share October 3, 2003 Steve, Could you try to take pictures of the tank after sunset with all lights in the room turned off? This should really help to appreciate tank light itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail October 4, 2003 Author Share October 4, 2003 Will post more than that shortly. Middle picture above captures the idea well, though. Key is to look at the shaded area vs. the sunlit area. It shows off the intensity difference and the color difference. To me, live, the color difference on the Iwasaki bulb (left side lamp) was minimal, whereas the Ushio on the right was whiter and bluer than the sunlight. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelg November 9, 2003 Share November 9, 2003 Giving this one a bump as several people were trying new bulbs. How do you like what you have switched to ???? Coral-vue's?? Dr. Mac's bulbs??? XM's??? I ask because I need to order a new bulb this month, and figure I might as well try something other than expensive Ushio bulbs. I will move this thread over to an appropriate group after some resonces are in, as there ended up being no selling/trading here, but a lot of bulb discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kimo November 10, 2003 Share November 10, 2003 I have the 250W CoralVue 10K bulbs and I love them! They emit a BRIGHT white light, and I think they're more of an 11-12K bulb because they are a little blue. Perfect combination, IMHO. They make Ushios look a little yellow. I've had them for about 2-3 months now and I have had no problems so far. Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail November 12, 2003 Author Share November 12, 2003 I went old school traditional: Iwasaki 6500K Eye 250W MH mogule bulbs That said, I added HelloLights 96W Actinic 03 PC bulbs just recently. I must say that overall the color balance is a bit yellow, but the 03's really whiten it up. Unbelievable polyp extension on my torch, anchor and frogspawns. Excellent growth in my sps's. Yes, some things are more brown, but things are Very healthy. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltwayBandit November 13, 2003 Share November 13, 2003 If you want to look at an XM 20K I have a couple of extras that I could loan you. I have 2 NIB, 1 with 1 month and 1 with 3 months on it. Just for future refrence. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelg November 18, 2003 Share November 18, 2003 I came across this today on the coralvue bulbs. http://www.coralvue.com/parvalues.htm I think I will give a 400W 10K a shot. Now I just need to find somewhere that has them in stock! I'd like to order from tridacnareef.com as I'd like to get one of their rotifer reactors as well. Waiting to hear back from them. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelg November 18, 2003 Share November 18, 2003 I moved this to the general discussion as this topic evolved into a good discussion of light bulb options and had no selling/trading involved in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelg November 18, 2003 Share November 18, 2003 Hopefully Dr. Mac is following this thread as I'd like to know if he has any par data on the bulbs he is offering. Might be another good option. With the current surgence in bulbs being offered, hopefully the days of $100+ for a light bulb will be gone- thus making halides the lighting of choice (which for me they always have been, but I still don't like spending that much on a light bulb with decent coloration to it). Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail November 18, 2003 Author Share November 18, 2003 I continue to view this tank in concert with sunlight at various times. When you look at these photos, it amazes me how much closer to sunlight the Iwasaki w/Actinic 03 bulbs is coming. The light is much more natural and there is a less obvious "blue white" from the lighting system that is over powered by the light of the sun. Much more closely aligned. Prior photos show a REAL difference between the sunlit areas and the artificial lighting. Much more difficult to see the transition areas now. W/out the Actinic 03 bulbs, the Iwasakis are way to yellow. With them (as opposed to the old Coralife Ultra Actinics I used to run), the color is quite balanced and whitens up nicely to enhance the look of the tank. I'm very impressed with polyp extension and how the tank is looking in response to these lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller7 November 21, 2003 Share November 21, 2003 Michael, Have you checked with "Saltshop"-Justin on RC? He only sells the CoralVue bulbs and may have some info on availability http://www.diyreef.com/shop....b33f67d fwiw: I am running/toying with XM20K on 400wt eballasts and supplementing with IceCap10k 150wtDE running off M81's. After the XM's go south, I'll flip the color cycles to save $$$ on the electric bill and keep the house cooler next summer :P Pics by Thanksgiving.....I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltwayBandit December 1, 2003 Share December 1, 2003 Sph, Have you fired up the 20k that I loaned you last week yet? I'm curious to see what it looks like. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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