Anyone switched from XM to Reeflux?

afishfanatic · #1 04/15/2007, 11:52 AM

It is time to replace my bulbs again, so I am conseidereing a change. I recently went to visit a another member of our local clubs tank and was very impressed with the color of the sps corals. I have been running 250W XM's for about 3 years and have been happy with them. I originally chose them because of the PAR and CCT. The Reeflux seems to be getting very popular so I looked at the specs on Sonjay's site and found that the 250 watt version is not very impressive, low PAR and high CCT. The member who's tank I visited is running 400W Reeflux that looked great without supplamentation. My concern with going with these bulbs is that even though I would be moving up from 250 to 400, the PAR still drops from 137 to 101. I would be spending a lot more in electricity and excess heat only to lose intensity. Is it worth it?

db_triggerfish · #2 04/15/2007, 12:08 PM

tagging along also trying to decide which 250w DE for me.

AZDesertRat · #3 04/15/2007, 12:44 PM

I switched from XM 250w 10K SE to Reeflux 10K recently. Overall I like the color but it took a few weeks to burn in and then adjusting the bulb nipple location to get the best colors. One bulb still appears a little more pink than the other but I am the only one who sees the difference.
Growth seems just as good as XM but my zoanthids on the back wall are still not acclimated yet, they shrunk up with the new bulbs.
I talked to David at Vue Technologies, Coralvue/Reeflux before making the switch as I intended to go with the 12K version but he convinced me it would be a big change in color from the XM 10K so I went with the 10K which is still much more blue than the XM. The 12K may have been more blue than I was looking for with my 2x140w Super Actinic supplementation.

afishfanatic · #4 04/15/2007, 01:24 PM

AZDesertRat,

What type of ballast are you using?

diciple · #5 04/15/2007, 01:56 PM

i have a 250de didnt like the pink in the bulb put it on frag tank,i belive these bulbs burn better on electric ballast.i use 20k/14k ushioplu 2 vho actinics.

AZDesertRat · #6 04/15/2007, 09:01 PM

I use Coralvue E ballasts.

Baalz · #7 04/16/2007, 09:34 AM

went from XM to Phoenix to now Reeflux 10k all 250de on mag ballast.

Even though i wasnt crazy about the pinkish hue from the Reeflux's. I will say my corals are coloring up much nicer under them.

Sango-chu · #8 04/20/2007, 03:20 AM

tagging on for a decision too

frank2926 · #9 04/20/2007, 07:14 AM

I went from xms after 4 years to ushios. Much nicer color . Par is pretty good as well. about to go on to my 3rd set of ushios. mag ballast. Tried reeflux for a couple of months before switching to ushios. I did not like the pinkish hue.

afishfanatic · #10 04/21/2007, 11:22 AM

Frank,

What setup are you using? SE or DE? Wattage? Which Ballast?

frank2926 · #11 04/21/2007, 11:36 AM

2 tar ballast and a bare cap and coil running SEs

pscheel · #12 04/21/2007, 02:00 PM

Sorry, for the mini hijack. Does anyone have the link for Sanjay's site?

FloatingFish · #13 04/21/2007, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pscheel
Sorry, for the mini hijack. Does anyone have the link for Sanjay's site?

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

cgh38 · #14 04/21/2007, 03:21 PM

I'm interested in the Reeflux 10k bulbs, I'm currently running dual 250w XM's with dual 96w actinics, the XM's are a bright white and a slight blue with the actinics on, I would like it to be bluer I wonder if I add the Reeflux with the pink hue plus the actinics blue I would achieve that.
I will be running them on IceCap ballasts.

Sango-chu · #15 04/21/2007, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cgh38
I'm interested in the Reeflux 10k bulbs, I'm currently running dual 250w XM's with dual 96w actinics, the XM's are a bright white and a slight blue with the actinics on, I would like it to be bluer I wonder if I add the Reeflux with the pink hue plus the actinics blue I would achieve that.
I will be running them on IceCap ballasts.

Just got a pretty good answer on another link on kinda the same thing. But you're running 2-250's....for me with 1-250 in the nmiddle of 2-175, I would not need my VHO. Here's the thread and the specific reply.....I recommend you go there and just tag along...GREAT advice...

MH 250 (x1) combo advice (thread). Below id the original thread from kfowler:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by kfowler
I'm not sure if Phoenix makes a SE bit their 14K DE has one of the higher PARs for a 14K. The color is a nice blue tint. You may not even need to run actinics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THAT IS GREAT!!!! I wouldbe saving close to 200w on my bill. Yes, the pull on from my tank has gotten to the point where I am watching it....sigh...I must be growing up
I will look into just changig the housing setting of my SE. It shouldn't be a problem since I am running it off an icecap 250MH electronic ballast right?

__________________
Lou

gabe3d · #16 04/21/2007, 08:58 PM

I've tried all of the XMs and i've never seen my corals come out as much as the Reeflux nor from any other MH bulbs. Tank overall appearance is not nearly as blue as a 14k or 15k bulb. In my redhouse under the 210 section you can see some pics with 14k hamilton and 10k reeflux. You'll notice that colors in reeflux are much more vibrant. I'm running 250 SE on an icecap ballast.

HTH

Sango-chu · #17 04/22/2007, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gabe3d
I've tried all of the XMs and i've never seen my corals come out as much as the Reeflux nor from any other MH bulbs. Tank overall appearance is not nearly as blue as a 14k or 15k bulb. In my redhouse under the 210 section you can see some pics with 14k hamilton and 10k reeflux. You'll notice that colors in reeflux are much more vibrant. I'm running 250 SE on an icecap ballast.

HTH

REDHOUSE IS GRREAT!!! I am running 1-250 in the middle of 2-175's. Do you recommend that I use 2-reeflux 175 10k's and a hamilton 250-14k in the center...

(You know there's something wrong when we can understand this crypted writting)

The0wn4g3 · #18 04/22/2007, 01:08 AM

The Coralvue Reeflux 250W 10000k and the XM 250W 15000k look very similar according to Sanjay's tests.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005...ux250W-10K.gif
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005...-xm400W15K.gif

The XM looks to be bluer than the Reeflux.

gabe3d · #19 04/22/2007, 01:35 AM

They look nothing alike nor does the plot. Here is a spectral plot comparing the two with the ballast that drives them best.

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.c...&Submit=Submit

gabe3d · #20 04/22/2007, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by landi35
REDHOUSE IS GRREAT!!! I am running 1-250 in the middle of 2-175's. Do you recommend that I use 2-reeflux 175 10k's and a hamilton 250-14k in the center...

(You know there's something wrong when we can understand this crypted writting)

I have yet to run a combination that has a brigher bulb in the middle, so it is hard for me to give a first hand experience tip. However if i was to try a light combo then i'll probably just go all reeflux 10k for both the 175 and 250. I just think that having a different color bulb in hte middle might make things look kinda funny.

hehe, very true!

The0wn4g3 · #21 04/22/2007, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gabe3d
They look nothing alike nor does the plot. Here is a spectral plot comparing the two with the ballast that drives them best.

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.c...&Submit=Submit

Oh really? Apparently we are looking at totally different graphs.

10,000K -
XM
Reeflux

XM Looks better and has higher PPFD

XM 15,000k compared to the Reeflux 120,000k

Much less PPFD for both bulbs. VERY similar spectral patterns.

XM 20,000k compared to the Reeflux 15,000k

XM has higher PPFD, larger and more concentrated spike at 440-460nm.

Maybe it's just me, but XM appears to be the better bulb.

(All of these graphs are of each bulb running on its optimum ballast, so results will vary of course.)

gabe3d · #22 04/22/2007, 02:08 AM

You originally said that 250W reeflux 10k look the same as 250W XM 15k, which is what I pointed is not the case. I didn't mention anything about any other bulbs or anything about PPFD.

On a side note the 10 comparison you are doing is the wrong bulb you are comparing an XM 10k with a Coravlue 10k (not the same as Reeflux 10k). Furthermore more blue doesn't mean better bulb.

Quote:

Originally posted by The0wn4g3
Oh really? Apparently we are looking at totally different graphs.

10,000K -
XM
Reeflux

XM Looks better and has higher PPFD

XM 15,000k compared to the Reeflux 120,000k

Much less PPFD for both bulbs. VERY similar spectral patterns.

XM 20,000k compared to the Reeflux 15,000k

XM has higher PPFD, larger and more concentrated spike at 440-460nm.

Maybe it's just me, but XM appears to be the better bulb.

(All of these graphs are of each bulb running on its optimum ballast, so results will vary of course.)

The0wn4g3 · #23 04/22/2007, 02:31 AM

I really don't want this to turn into an arguement or anything, so let's just keep it at a discussion =)
I'm trying to list as many options for the OP as I can.

Did you even click on those links in my first post? The coralvue and XM ARE quite similar. PPFD wise they are very close, but the coralvue has a spike at ~540nm and ~590nm which the XM does not have. This should cause the coralvue to be more white, whereas the XM should be bluer.
I included the other bulbs in my post because with optimal ballasts the XM's do perform better, sometimes only by a small margin.
You may not have said anything about PPFD, but you did include a link that was a spectral analysis including PPFD. And I know bluer isn't always better. I never said that. I was just pointing out, the XM's seem to run bluer, so if you have actinics running also, the reeflux may be the better option. Obviously, that graph is not using the best ballast for each bulb because both the XM and coralvue performed better in the graphs I found.
From the graphs I've seen, the Reeflux bulbs have less PPFD than the Coralvues.
I guess what I'm trying to point out is that the Reeflux 12000 appears to be lower quality than the CoralVue 12000 which appears to be lesser quality than the XM 20000k
I

But then again, that's all just assuming they are running on the best ballast for each. The XM's also look to run an average of $14 more than the Reeflux, must keep that in mind, also.

gabe3d · #24 04/22/2007, 02:48 AM

Not trying to argue either just want to make sure that people get beneficial information from here.

I actually did click the links in your first post and it compared the wrong bulb from the XM side. It is a link to a 400W XM 15k and the other is a 250W Reeflux 10k. The ballast i used for showing hte 250W XM 15k is the same one you used (magnatek m58). I can't comment on the Reeflux 12k since i have never used one before.

Sango-chu · #25 04/22/2007, 08:46 AM

Thanks guys, good to know that we're all passionate about this great hobby

Will keep you posted.