250 watt HQI help

rawbomb · #1 08/21/2007, 10:31 PM

I just had one of my 2 14k hammys go out on me so its a good time to pick out a nice bulb. I like the 14k spectrum and i have a blueline 250watt hqi ballast. Currently i am undecided between the pheonix 14k, ushio 14k or the 12k or 13.5k megachromes. Anyone have any input as far as growth/color?

teen · #2 08/21/2007, 10:35 PM

there all good choices. i personally run the phoenix, but ive heard good things about both the ushio and megachrome. i will say that you definetly wont be dissapointed by the phoenix though.

Marko9 · #3 08/22/2007, 12:35 AM

I switched from the megachrome to the pheonix because they were too yellow. Here are some recent shots.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1190270

rawbomb · #4 08/22/2007, 07:14 AM

both are hqi ready bulbs correct?

Marko9 · #5 08/22/2007, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rawbomb
both are hqi ready bulbs correct?

yep

Wazzel · #6 08/22/2007, 11:58 AM

Mark

How do you like the growth on the pheonix? I am thinking of change from the 10k bulbs I have now to those.

Horace · #7 08/22/2007, 12:16 PM

Wazzel, go to sanjays site and plug in your ballast and bulb and compare the phoenix with that same ballast. If the PAR is similar, growth will be similar as well.

Marko9 · #8 08/22/2007, 12:24 PM

Wazzel- I think the growth is pretty good, but I think I am going to move to Helios next go around. I have seen a few set ups with them and the blue is really crisp.

Wazzel · #9 08/22/2007, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Horace
Wazzel, go to sanjays site and plug in your ballast and bulb and compare the phoenix with that same ballast. If the PAR is similar, growth will be similar as well.

I have done that and by the numbers it shows I am going to take a big hit. I currently use the XM 10k on a coralvue e-ballast. Looking for personal experience.

Wazzel · #10 08/22/2007, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marko9
Wazzel- I think the growth is pretty good, but I think I am going to move to Helios next go around. I have seen a few set ups with them and the blue is really crisp.

Would that be the 12.5k lamps?

Horace · #11 08/22/2007, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Wazzel
I have done that and by the numbers it shows I am going to take a big hit. I currently use the XM 10k on a coralvue e-ballast. Looking for personal experience.

Personal experience is relative....numbers are not. If your taking a "big hit", you will see less growth. Pretty simple

That being said, the difference is not going to be substantial. I still had pretty good growth with my Phoenix bulbs.

Marko9 · #12 08/22/2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Wazzel
Would that be the 12.5k lamps?

I meant Helios 20K

Wazzel · #13 08/22/2007, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Horace
Personal experience is relative....numbers are not. If your taking a "big hit", you will see less growth. Pretty simple

That being said, the difference is not going to be substantial. I still had pretty good growth with my Phoenix bulbs.

But number plus personal experience give you a better view. I know by the numbers I will get less growth. From personal experiences I will get if the better coloration is worth the decrease in growth rate or it the growth rate goes to near nothing. This has to be tempered with the fact that all tanks are slightly different and more goes into growth and color than just light color and par.

For me I would not mind a little less growth to get better looks. My tank as of last week

and the right half (sorry no FTS)

rawbomb

Sorry for the hijack

rawbomb · #14 08/22/2007, 01:16 PM

well the pheonix seems to be how i will go. the megachromes are yellow but very bright but they are also $$$. So im leaning towards pheonix.

rawbomb · #15 08/23/2007, 07:18 AM

anyone else have some insight into these bulbs?

Horace · #16 08/23/2007, 07:34 AM

I can tell you this, the growth on my tank was pretty damn substantial with the phoenix bulbs. I have never run 10k for a full year, but I can tell you that many of my colonies doubled or even trippled in size over the period of a year. Many 1" frags became small colonies of 2-3" across etc. Its very hard to quantify what good growth is, but I can tell you that I had some corals growing so fast (mainly digis) that they became a nucense. Another example is I had a Birds Nest go from a 1" frag to about 8" tall and 8" in diameter in about 1.5 years. The first half of that was using T5s. Give you a better idea? :P

Wazzel · #17 08/23/2007, 08:16 AM

Yes that is the kind of hand on input I was looking to get. Thanks.

RCS · #18 08/23/2007, 09:13 AM

I've only ever used the EVC and Phoenix bulbs (only had the HQI setup about 2 years now). The EVC were excellent for color, PAR was okay and growth was decent. The Phoenix are a lot brighter and less blue. The growth on most corals is faster with respect to my previous experiences. I have a couple frags that put on a base of 1/4" per week, and others that have grown up at over 1/2" per month.

rawbomb · #19 08/23/2007, 11:04 AM

Is the par diff Substantial enough between the 10k and 14k pheonix to make a big difference on the sps growth? will the hqi ballast even out some of the par difference?

RCS · #20 08/23/2007, 11:26 AM

A true HQI ballast will pump out a lot more juice than the electronic will. I use the EVC electronic ballasts as well, so I don't know how much of a PAR difference there would be between ballasts. From memory, the 10k have a lot of output...I would think more than the 14k Phoenix, but not substantially more.

In all honesty, we're probably talking fractions of an inch. You may get 1/2" of growth with the 10k vs. 3/8" growth with the 14k. The color is generally better (i.e. more appealing to most people) on the 14k than the 10k. I run mine without actinics.

There are a lot of other factors to consider as well for growth, not just light.

rawbomb · #21 08/23/2007, 11:36 AM

I know that light is only one part of a much bigger picture. I just basically want to try and make the best decision I can. As far as bio and prams everything else is in check but after comparing my old 14k to the used ( over 18MONTHS OLD ) megachromes and seeing how much brighter the lights were I decided that skimping on the bulbs was a really bad idea.

Horace · #22 08/23/2007, 11:37 AM

I honestly dont like the look of 10k....so no matter how much better the growth is, I will never again run 10k on my tank. If you were to compare most 14k to 10k I think you will find the growth difference is substantial... however the Phoenix puts out a hell of a lot more PAR than most 14k, and WAY more than 20k, which is what this bulb really is.

On an EVC ballast, this bulb looks very white though, and does look better with added actinic. However, I just gave my old bulbs to my buddy who has offbrand electronics and they look much bluer, and probably put out less par as well.

xtm · #23 08/23/2007, 11:39 AM

I have used the 10K and 14K Hamiltons. The 14K is very white with a hint of blue. I currently run a Phoenix 14K bulb and I noticed that when I first got it last month, it was really blue like a 20K, but if I look at it today it's almost pure crisp white.

I like the intensity though..

Go with Phoenix

rawbomb · #24 08/23/2007, 01:17 PM

looks like it Pheonix 14k for the win!

Wazzel · #25 08/23/2007, 01:25 PM

I may try the pheonix also. Bulb replacement month is October. For some reason I have a hard time swithching from what I have.