Ushio's or XM's opinions please

CS · #1 07/12/2005, 11:57 AM

I am planning on switching out my SE 400 watt 10k coralvue bulb soon and want to upgrade to a better bulb. Right now I am running the bulb over my 58 SPS tank with 2-28 watt PC actinics for supps. I really like an even mix of color not to blue and not to white. From reading numerous other threads it seems like Ushios are one of the best and have a great PAR reading. But alot of people seem to stand by their XM's.

I was planning on getting either the 15k XM or the Ushio 10k. Please feel free to give the positives and negatives of each and any other suggestions on bulbs. Also do Ushios come in 14k or 15k?

I really want a bulb with a higher PAR reading and that produces better color.

Thanks for any help you all can offer.

Chris

griffey83 · #2 07/12/2005, 12:15 PM

I have the 10K Ushio and it is my favorite bulb so far. I actually just ordered two more bulbs yesterday. The lighting is very crisp and the life of the bulb is what I expected. The one down side is that they are one of the more expensive bulbs so it is well worth it to shop around and get the best price on them.

paulpp187 · #3 07/12/2005, 12:20 PM

the xm 15k haveless par than there 20k.

Ereefic · #4 07/12/2005, 12:25 PM

IME, 10k XM's are a little 'whiter' than the 10k Ushios. This is a comparison between 10k Ushio (175w) on PFO Magnetics to 10k XM (250w) on PFO Magnetics. Not the 400w info your looking for but may help none the less. Of course your ballast will have something to do with how your bulb will look too.

znut Reefer · #5 07/12/2005, 01:15 PM

I use the 400 Ushios on Blueline eballast along with the 20K EVC and very pleased with my colors. Also supplement with 4 160 VHO's.

griss · #6 07/12/2005, 01:49 PM

I am very happy with my 250 watt DE Ushios on IceCap ballasts. Very crisp blue/white light and very bright.

Creetin · #7 07/12/2005, 01:50 PM

I have no need to switch from my 10k xm's Price cant be beat, and i love the color.

CS · #8 07/12/2005, 01:51 PM

Thanks for the responses

griffey83: Do you use any supplementation, PC's, VHO's, or T5's?

griffey83 · #9 07/12/2005, 02:03 PM

I am actually in the process of switching from two 96 watt actinic PC's to two 110 watt VHO's. I was happy with the blue hugh given of by the PC's but I have come to the conclusion that in the long run VHO's are more durable, have a longer life and are cheaper bulb wise then PC's.

CS · #10 07/12/2005, 02:38 PM

So without a doubt the Ushio bulb is ten times better than my present bulb (10k CoralVue). I realize that price is a lot different when it comes to the XM and Ushio, but since I have only one bulb to replace it really wont kill me.

Is $99 bucks about average for an 400 watt Ushio 10k?

oddballs · #11 07/12/2005, 03:06 PM

i really like my blueline halides out of all ive seen i like the blue they create better than any other brands ive seen!!

Julio · #12 07/12/2005, 03:16 PM

XM all the way

znut Reefer · #13 07/12/2005, 03:41 PM

Check Ocean Encounter on the price. Thats where I buy mine. They have the best price online.

JAANDGC · #14 07/12/2005, 03:45 PM

I have the 400watt XM 15K's on my tank right now I love the color but hate the par. If I were to do it again I would stay with the 250watt XM 10Ks, smaller power bill and the par of the 250's blows the pants off the 400's.
Jerry

anthworks · #15 07/12/2005, 04:10 PM

I just switched my 250w's from a 10K Ushio to 15K XM and I think the XM is really blue? Do these bulbs turn more white after the burn for awhile?

Illusion · #16 07/13/2005, 12:22 AM

I have Ran Both Ushio and Xm... I used to be a real fan Of XM until I had a couple bulbs go bad and I had to fight with XM for a few months before they even did anything about it... The finally resolved it to my satisfaction however due to the Incident I bought Ushio 10k bulbs... Corals seem to look better with them and seem to color back up after going brown quicker... I have decided that Its better to spend the few Extra $$$ to get the Good stuff that when you have an Issue Its not a big huge Ordeal to get it fixed... I would say ushio all the way... Although As long as you dont have any issues with XM they are great as well... My friend and I both had the Same Identical issues with our XM bulbs... Xm replaced his no questions asked while they fought with me for months... Both bought about the same time too... Within a few days... I was an Avid XM user/supporter for the past 2-3yrs up until this point...

James

CS · #17 07/13/2005, 08:06 AM

Thanks James, that is good info to know. I feel the same way when it comes to spending a little extra $.

fishdoc11 · #18 07/13/2005, 08:16 AM

Another vote for Ushios. I also tried XM's once and had 2 out of 3 go bad within a month. I was able to return them with no problems though.

CS · #19 07/13/2005, 02:33 PM

Thanks Fishdoc11. I am really starting to lean towards the Ushios.

Ereefic · #20 07/13/2005, 02:58 PM

For those who have had problems with XM's, has it been recently or with the well documented problems when the bulbs first came out?

Kenfuzed · #21 07/13/2005, 03:10 PM

Quote:

I just switched my 250w's from a 10K Ushio to 15K XM and I think the XM is really blue? Do these bulbs turn more white after the burn for awhile?

My XM 15k's have burned in to a nice white. I noticed that they took slightly longer to burn in than the 10k bulbs I had and ran blue for 3 weeks. IMHO I like the overall output.

Creetin · #22 07/13/2005, 03:40 PM

I have went thru 8 xm's and never a problem. If i had to fight with whomever i would look elsewhere as well. I have seen ushio's and didnt see any differance in their tank other than the price its a nice bulb but not if i had to buy as many as i need. I replace 4 bulbs at a time so thats 200 dollars i am saving a pop. Xms have made a change recently with their bulbs. They did some tweeking.

CS · #23 07/13/2005, 04:22 PM

If I had a larger tank I would probably feel the same way, luckily I have my 125 set up as fresh for the time being.

fishdoc11 · #24 07/13/2005, 05:52 PM

Quote:

For those who have had problems with XM's, has it been recently or with the well documented problems when the bulbs first came out?

My problems were ~ a year ago.
From what I have seen they haven't changed the thin globe though which was the problem....I could be wrong

TwoValveKid · #25 07/13/2005, 05:56 PM

No problem with my 175W 10K xm's