which bulb!?!?!

nemofish2217 · #1 03/09/2006, 11:30 PM

i am going to be getting the Lumenarc mini reflector for my almost perfect cube.... however, i because of the size of the reflector i will not be able to use supplemental lighting.... so, what would be a good bulb to go with to give me good color as well as help grow my sps? Should i go with something like the Coralvue reeflux 10k, 12k, Pheonix 14k, or Hamilton 14k? XM 20k is out of the picture..... i want some blue, but not overpowering....thanks for your thoughts.....

rwiecki · #2 03/09/2006, 11:33 PM

Will it be your sole light source?

nemofish2217 · #3 03/09/2006, 11:55 PM

yes, it will....the tank i sps only..( with one crocea

)

nemofish2217 · #4 03/10/2006, 12:14 AM

so im guessing all of the lighting guys went to bed?

rwiecki · #5 03/10/2006, 12:17 AM

No not yet but I am now the system is running very slow tonight. Will talk to you tomorrow.

Light out.

jent46bow · #6 03/10/2006, 12:47 AM

my vote is hamilton 14k...I like mine and they give fine colour without any supplimintation. I run actinics only in the morning and evening to save power.

nemofish2217 · #7 03/10/2006, 01:00 AM

hey, is the color too blue? i have heard that the phoenix's run a little whiter than the hammy's.... how is your growth as well? i had 20ks before and thought they were too blue and didnt show off the true colors of the corals...thats why i am a little hesitent towards 14k..what do you think?

nemofish2217 · #8 03/10/2006, 01:23 AM

jentbow, where ya at buddy?

nemofish2217 · #9 03/10/2006, 01:48 PM

i think its time to bump....any lighting guys available?

jasper24 · #10 03/10/2006, 01:51 PM

FWIW I love my Phoenix 14K. Plenty blue. Concerning growth I have nothing to compare it to.

nemofish2217 · #11 03/10/2006, 01:55 PM

do you get good growth? and does that bulb come in SE or just DE?

cwklinge · #12 03/10/2006, 02:02 PM

I've got the Reeflux 10k bulb and I'm very happy with it. I would say it's a very crisp white. If you want more blue I'd look at the reeflux 12k bulbs.

Weatherman · #13 03/10/2006, 02:35 PM

Check out this site.

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/index.htm

Then you can Search Performance Data by Ballast.

I have PFO Mini Pendants with 250-Watt PFO HQI ballast. Based on the performance (PPFD, CCT and Watts) data, 10,000K Ushio, 10,000K HIT (BLV) and 10,000K Geisemann would be good choices. Aqualine Buschke 10,000K would have also been a good choice, but the color is less blue.

nemofish2217 · #14 03/10/2006, 02:39 PM

yeah, i was looking at either the reeflux 10 or 12k, and im not so much worried about the blue, as i am worried that a 10 k un-supplemented will look yellow... does your 10k reeflux look yellow at all? and also, what ballast are you running to get the crisp white? how is your growth and color? sorry for so many questions....

cwklinge · #15 03/10/2006, 03:30 PM

I'm running them on Icecap ballast and I don't notice any yellow at all. As far as growth, I can't give you a lot of details because I've only been keeping SPS for a very short time. Sorry! in the SPS forum there is a whole thread on the bulb. You might want to check it out.

nemofish2217 · #16 03/10/2006, 03:47 PM

thanks.... are you just running them on a standard ice cap electronic ballast... i believe they are around 115.00 or so, right?

cwklinge · #17 03/10/2006, 05:20 PM

Correct

nemofish2217 · #18 03/10/2006, 08:40 PM

how much bluer is the 12k reeflux over the 10k anyone?

Jive Turkey · #19 03/11/2006, 01:07 AM

Are those dimensions right in your description? 25 x 18 x 25". L x W x H

nemofish2217 · #20 03/11/2006, 01:12 AM

yes... they are...why do you ask?

Jive Turkey · #21 03/11/2006, 10:48 PM

"i am going to be getting the Lumenarc mini reflector for my almost perfect cube."

I wondered if it was a 25L x 25W x 18H because of this statement. On a tank that tall a 250 will do well. But a 400w bulb may be needed on an SPS tank thats 25" tall. A blue-tinted 250w thats underdriven(200-225w) by an e-ballast won't cut it for the bottom 6-10" of the tank IMO. That would pretty much rule out having Crocea and Maxima clams down there, and certain SPS near the bottom may be dull in color.

nemofish2217 · #22 03/11/2006, 11:08 PM

that makes sense.... but yes the tank is, 25" tall. i am just worried about 1) heat and 2) power bill!!!
i would like to be able to run my halides for 8-10 hours daily, and im not sure i could do this with a 400 watter... my lowest coral is a bali green slimer colony and is about 7" from the bottom.....

would 400 watts fry my sps that are about only 7" from the surface of the water? If this is the way i need to go then i will, but i want to avoid a chiller.....

Zaphod · #23 03/11/2006, 11:50 PM

I just got a 10k reeflux today I like it a lot more than the XM 10k much nicer color. I am running it on a ice cap balast and it is my only lighting. You can see some pics I took today here.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=797988

it is burning in quite nicely.

Zaphod · #24 03/11/2006, 11:52 PM

I think usually if the bulb is yellow it is because there is a lot of organics in the water. When I was running XM 10k's on my old 55 it looked pretty yellow. After I upgraded to the 90 and really got it dialed in no more yellow.

nemofish2217 · #25 03/11/2006, 11:57 PM

are you happy with just the 250 watt? someone above suggested the 400 watt bulb... i would really like to stick with 250.... do your corals color up nicely even towards the bottom? does the 10k have a lot of blue? i was thinking about running the 12k since it would be just a bit bluer.....