175w MH bulbs

4jlong · #1 11/09/2007, 03:03 PM

can anyone recommend the best place to buy these locally? also what kelvin do you recommend? what was there was hamilton tech 175w 14,000K, the guy at my LFS is saying i should buy 10,000K. what do you guys think? thanks for the help-jason

Cozen89 · #2 11/09/2007, 03:17 PM

As far as the Kelvin rating goes, it's personal preferance. 10k will be more yellowish white while 20k will be more blue. 14k will land somewhere in between. 10k will also give you faster growth, but colors won't pop as much. I'd suggest if you go 10k, you should add some actinics to get some better color.

As for buying locally, you could try asking Chris at Aquatic Central to order anything you want, or check to see what Ocean Treasures has in stock. And for online, you can't go wrong with Reefgeek.com

DOTZ · #3 11/09/2007, 03:25 PM

hellolights dot com has good prices on MH bulbs and offer free shipping. I just got a 175 watt xm 10k and love it.

dswong01 · #4 11/09/2007, 03:32 PM

Try reeflux 10K they are bluer in color

4jlong · #5 11/09/2007, 04:34 PM

thanks for the replies! i'll let you know what i get.

oh by the way, i have 2 PC actinics...i'm not sure what the wattage is on them, should i change all the bulbs at once like the guy at my LFS says? i thought you weren't supposed to do that because it could shock the corals?

thanks again-jason

troutonmyline · #6 11/10/2007, 12:11 AM

I have a Hamilton 175 14K bulb and I'm not impressed. I don't know the par, but somehow it doesn't seem real bright, if that makes sense. I'd try one of the others suggested.

bookfish · #7 11/10/2007, 12:19 AM

I like XM 20k's as a stand alone bulb. You might try Pacific Garden Supply in San Rafael too.

undertai · #8 11/10/2007, 06:23 PM

try the iwakasi (check spelling)15k their have the highest par of any 175w bulb no matter if the are on electronic or magnetic ballast.

Cozen89 · #9 11/11/2007, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by undertai
try the iwakasi (check spelling)15k their have the highest par of any 175w bulb no matter if the are on electronic or magnetic ballast.

I've also heard nothing but great things about this bulb. Good suggestion.

4jlong · #10 12/01/2007, 08:07 PM

hey everyone, i wanted to let everyone know i bought the reeflux 175w 10,000k from hellolights.com and i love'em!! i was concerned because my old lights were 14,000k and i wasn't sure if i would like the new color spectrum, but it makes my tank look much more "real". weird description, i know but that's how it seems to me. also i wanted to thank everyone for their advice sorry it took me so long to get back but my computer is broken and i usually don't get much computer time at the office. thanks again-jason

Kinetic · #11 12/01/2007, 08:43 PM

I'd go with Iwasaki 15K any day! They have as much PAR as 250watt lamps with a magnetic ballast, more with electronic icecaps.

The color is a crisp white with a little tint of blue. Running it alone looks great, but with actinic/blue even better.

Here's mine with dual 175watt Iwasaki 15K and 2x54watt ATI Blue Plus T5's:

The T5's add very little to the blue color. When you first get these bulbs, they burn REALLY REALLY bright, but after awhile they will settle down a bit. I'm not sure why, maybe I just got used to them =)