New Hamilton MH Bulbs

[ronj]

i just got my new 250w Hamilton 14k bulbs...they are much shorter than my old MH bulbs...is that normal???? does anyone else have these bulbs??? do you like the color??? i had 1-14k, and 1-10k bulb over my tank..my corals seemed to color up alot more under the 14k bulb, so i bought 2 new ones..the old 14k needed replacing anyway...

 

[Krish]

I tried the 14K Hamilton and I have to say I liked the color of the Hamilton's over the 12K Reeflux and the 10K XM I tried. It had a nice blue tint to it that wasn't overkill

 

[ronj]

yeah, i tried the XM 10k..it was yellow..i have the Reeflux 10k now and it is a crisp white....my corals on the left side of my tank under the 14k have alot better coloring than the ones under the 10k

 

[Brenden]

I would take Krish's opinion with caution. After all he tried to find pink bulbs for his tank.

 

[trido]

i have the Reeflux 10k now and it is a crisp white....my corals on the left side of my tank under the 14k have alot better coloring than the ones under the 10k

Just something to think about. I love the color of my corals, and tank in general under 14K lights
Ive just ordered a pair of 10k reeflux to replace my 14k phoenix bulbs. Little did I know, after six months the par on my bulbs was dropping fast. Two weeks under 10XMs in my frag tank, getting iodine dips ever five days, my corals are looking much better than under the eight month old 14K without the stress of medicine and handling. Keep a close eye on things after the six month mark.

If you didnt know, the life expectancy of MH bulbs

• 20K = 6 Mo.
• 14K = 9 Mo
• 10K = 12Mo.

 

[morgan]

are u serious 6 months on a 20k i thought it would push 8 months to a year what the hell is my mate paying 120 for 6 months
how much is a solaris light hood

 

[ronj]

my 14k that i was using before today is at least 8-10 months old..the corals were really colored up...i will keep an eye on them...i still have 2 brand new Reeflux 10k's that i can switch back to if necessary

 

[trido]

are u serious 6 months on a 20k i thought it would push 8 months to a year what the hell is my mate paying 120 for 6 months
how much is a solaris light hood

All of my torts quit extending polyps after about six months on a 14K bulb. They still had great color and were slowly uncrusting and growing. Of course I didnt realize the lack of extension was due to bulbs until they started extending within a few days of being under a new (10K XM) bulb. That tells me that a phoenix 14K is something that I dont want to afford regardless of how much I like the color.
I believe the Solaris 48" 20K is around $2700 U.S.
Also, A friend of mine runs 20K 400W bulbs for near a year on his tank. All manufacturers are different. Some last longer than those guidelines, some less. IMO, the phoenix is less.

 

[sgwill122]

I am in the 9th month on my 14K hamiltons on icecap ballasts and everything blue is doing great including tenius, ora and oregon torts and a couple I am not sure of names, they are all positioned mid to upper level in a 24 inch deep tank. I have had a couple other corals fade on me badly and eventually some died, I am still not sure what the problem was, I am assuming too much light so moved from upper-mid level to the bottom but so far no recovery in color. My frogspawn also bleached out which I moved under some shade on the bottom and is now coloring up again. I am contemplating the reeflux 10K since I am already supplementing with T5's.

Trido do you prefer the look of the reeflux 10K and do you supplement? Or do you prefer the 14K coloring but went 10K for extended life and extra par? Anybody else running the reeflux 10K?

 

[burning2nd]

my current 14k's are blue....
not antinic blue but blueish

 

[Scooterman]

Why I want to get some sort of meter to be a better judge when to replace lamps, I want to get the most out of them but still replace when they drop off, which you can't see with your eyes, most of these lamps are designed for a long life like years not months but for our purpose just because it is bright two years doesn't mean the corals are getting the light they need.

 

[burning2nd]

thats true.....

but i wounder some times...

ive had a 400watt MH that i use to grow plants. cough cough. anyway now im useing it to cure rock..

to get to the point, at first the bulb will be super bright.. but i think it will drop off like you guys say 8-14 months later... and stay at that point for a few years..
i think the average life of a Mh bulb is 15-20 months....

the bulbs they have in parken lots and stuff.. are uselly 150's or 175's and will last 5-7 years.


when they dont turn on... there really really really shot.... oh oh! let me get htat pic of my 400 watt mh...

the ends are all burnt up and cracked... you can tell shes old... (8 years old)

 

[burning2nd]

wowt!

thats how ya get life outta a bulb

 

[burning2nd]

im gonna replace that with a 14k bulb soon... when i have the need to use this on a sump in the future

 

[trido]

Trido do you prefer the look of the reeflux 10K and do you supplement? Or do you prefer the 14K coloring but went 10K for extended life and extra par? Anybody else running the reeflux 10K?

I prefer the look of a bluer tank. I have 500w MH and 330w VHO actinic over an AGA 120. I am only using the reeflux 10k to get better life span out of my bulbs. The extra intensity of a 10K, for me is a bonus. I had great growth for the first six months under 14s. The reeflux 10K has a huge spike in the 460nm. range like the 14Ks on the market. IMO 10K XMs are too yellow. I did alot of asking around town and research spectral analysis on Sanjays web site before ordering the reeflux bulbs. If you've never looked. Here it is http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/select2lamp.php

Scooterman is right, the only real way to tell when a bulb needs to be replaced is a PAR (or LUX) meter. I forget which. You can get a meter for less than $100.

but i think it will drop off like you guys say 8-14 months later... and stay at that point for a few years..
i think the average life of a Mh bulb is 15-20 months....

When a bulb gets old not only does it lose its intensity, the color spectrum changes. This can potentialy cause algeas to grow better and definately not the corals. Alot of reefers run their bulbs for longer than the "Rule of Thumb" guidlelines above. The manufacturers claim their bulbs will last 15-20 months. Alot of experienced reefers disagree. In my case I am (was) running 14K 250s over an SPS dominated tank. Which is pushing the limits in the minds of alot of SPS keepers.
I found out the hard way that 14Ks need to be replaced often. I recently lost a blue tenius and my oregon blue tort is sick from old bulbs. In our hobby, it pays to keep new bulbs running .

 

[Scooterman]

Lux meters are cheaper & sere the purpose for determine when is the best time to replace, although a PAR (apogee) meter can be as or more useful but cost double for the very basic meters.

 

[ronj]

i just saw the new bulbs for the first time today...i really like the color of them!!! i am going to run them for around 8 months..if i like them and get good growth, i will buy some more....if not, i will go back to the 10k Reeflux bulbs

 

[Scooterman]

I was looking at the ppfd on the Hamilton 14k's & they were very weak, I guess depending on corals you keep would determine what would affect them, I know most people love the blue colors over the whites.

 

[ronj]

ppfd???? are these bulbs not good for my acro's???

 

[burning2nd]

ill just change them like underware... and then i know im good to go.


is a lux meter the messerment of lumes?