give me your thoughts on best 250W metal halide bulb

[BobinCovington]

I currently have a 250W SE bulb from Pacific Garden Supply that I have been running for a few months (a Generic no name 14K). It seems ok for most of the sps corals in the tank, but the oregon blue is a light blue, so I suspect I may need more PAR?

I have heard from some of you that the Reeflux 10K plus 2 Geissman T5 plus Actinics might be the best combo for my tank for coral growth and good color (tank is 36 long x 20" wide x 22" deep). Another popular bulb I hear good things about is the Phoenix 14K or even the Helios 20K?.

I could use some "experienced reefer" input....I could use some good hearted feedback for bulb combos to get good growth and still have some blue to show off the green and blue corals too.

thanks everyone

 

[Myteemouse]

dont you have actanic T-5's for the "BLUE" in that neat hood of yours??

 

[BobinCovington]

Hi Adam,
Yes, I already have some actinics, but may switch to the geissman Actinic plus bulbs. Man you are quick to respond!! You know me...I want everything perfect.

 

[Myteemouse]

I understand!
I've been thinking and reseaching for my new tank for about 4 months now.
I should have water in it in about a month.
I ordered coralview 20000k se MH and have two T-5 tru blue supp... lights.
lumen bright reflectors. hamilton ballasts.

 

[Krish]

My favorite bulb by far was the Phoenix 14K. I tried that, XM 20K, Reeflux 12K and 10K XM

 

[Krish]

Oh...BTW, here's a great link. You can see how every bulb looks by simple changing the bulb on the tank in the interactive link

http://chrismorris.ca/250wcolour/

 

[Scooterman]

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36585&page=2

I used a 250W Reeflux with T5 actinic on this tank, the 10K would be much whiter. I do admit with 10L the sps seemed to do better & actually color up quicker but the look of the tank wasn't as blue. If you go back to the start you will see the original 10K's generic brand & yellowish, I've had Reeflux 10K's & they do look much better IMO.

 

[The Apprentice]

Bob do you run or have a HQI Ballest? For combos I run 2 Radium bulbs on the out side ends of my PFO fixture with Usiho 10 K in the center. I have had real good luck with it and I too have actinics in VHO not t-5
Good luck with your choice,don't forget to check your par value on a bulb check out this link:http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71
Drop down to the 250 watt bulb section..
HTH Jeff

 

[Herefishyfishy]

If you are already running supplemental actinics, no reason to waste any par on blue, I would recommend Reeflux 10K

 

[BobinCovington]

thanks guys, I knew I would get some good feedback

 

[boosted306]

XM 250 20000k looks the best on a reef IMO.

 

[Myteemouse]

thats what I'm running right now but it's not as bright of a bulb as the 12-14 k bulbs
seems kinda dim to me when I switched bulbs!

 

[TWallace]

I run Reeflux 12k SE on my 120. I like it ok, but I think I may want something a little more blue to bring out my greens more. I've heard the Coralvue 20k is nice and actually has good PAR for a 20k bulb. I also like the look of the Helios 20k, which I think is what Barrier Reef uses on their frag tank.

 

[dailydriven911]

I run Reeflux 12k SE on my 120. I like it ok, but I think I may want something a little more blue to bring out my greens more. I've heard the Coralvue 20k is nice and actually has good PAR for a 20k bulb. I also like the look of the Helios 20k, which I think is what Barrier Reef uses on their frag tank.

Yep if you want blue run the helios 20k. I had it on my setup and loved it. For growth I'd recommend the reeflux 10k with actinic supplement. Looked great on Herefishyfishy's tank.