Time for new lights, recommendation please.

[ac7av]

I can see that my lights need replacement again. The one on the right is definitely drifting down in K and the corals on that side of the tank are not looking up to par. Here is what I currently have
3 X 250W de bulbs
20k on the sides and a 15k in the middle.
4 X 96 watt 50/50 pc bulbs that are 50 10k and 50 blue

I’m thinking I want to go back to 10 or 12 K 250W de bulbs and 50/50 pc bulbs that are 50 460nm and 50 420nm. I think that is the rating.

What I want is bright white with color. I don’t like it to be too blue

What do you think and what do you like?

 

[mcoomer]

I've seen these 14K Phoenix bulbs in a couple tanks now and really like the look. If you get into BRA and take a look at the little nano they have sitting next to the register you'll see what I mean. They've got a 150W bulb in there but same color temp as the 250. Looks very nice.

Mike

 

[NWDiver]

As Mike says, the phoenix 14s are really nice.
I just switched from 10k to XM 15k 250(DE). Very white with a little blue, I really like them so far because they are not REALLY blue.
I have no idea how well they do long term, but so far so good.
The coral seems to be happy, and my RBTA didn't move. I was rather worried it might.
You are welcome to swing by if you want to have a look.

-Todd

 

[fishoutofwater]

i have used several types of de bulbs and brands and I love the de pheonix bulbs. these have been my brand of choice for a while. i run 2x250w hqi and 4 t-5 and love the colors.

 

[ac7av]

Okay Pheonix it is.
Now since im not going to drive 200 mile round trip 3/4 of a day spent to some place in Seattle to buy them, what it a good price for this bulb that I should expect to pay and where to order them online? If the seller is not a sponsor of RF please PM the company, I don’t want to have any problems here.

Thanks

 

[J-Ranko]

I love the Phoenix myself, but I hear it can be very blue depending on the ballast--even bluer than the Radium 20,000K. My shines a strong white with a good amount of blue, but nothing like the "windex" look that some people complain about.

 

[tat2z_21]

This is where I always buy my bulbs. These guys are awesome. I would rather support locally but for the 120 dollars the store up here charges and the gas money and 80 dollars a piece for somewhere in Seattle this is the best bet.
Phoenix 250W 14,000K Metal Halide Lamp, Double Ended - AquaCave

 

[Krish]

Pheonix 14K here as well!! Favorite bulb I've owned to this day.

 

[ac7av]

Thanks tat for the link

So now to go with these bulbs what about the PC bulbs?

I here there is a really good 50/50 bulb that is like 460 / 430 nm or something like that but I cant find it. What is the brightest actinic color temp?

 

[tat2z_21]

I would convert your PC's to t5s. Really easy to do and would decrease the cost of replacement when it comes time. You could theoretically use the ballasts that are already included into you hood. You would just need to buy the end caps. The endcaps and the bulbs would still be cheaper then buying brand new PC's and you would have more lighting choices. If you need some help I can help you out.

96w PC bulb = Up to 65 dollars per bulb.
54w T-5 bulb= up to 24 dollars per bulb

 

[ac7av]

So what are the sizes of T5 bulbs? Do they make 6 foot T5's or do I have to run the same configuration with 4 3ft bulbs? Or is that 8 bulbs since they are only 54 watt?

 

[ac7av]

Okay so I did it now.
I ordered 3 of the Phoenix 14,000k bulbs.
Totally agents my grain but I did it. Im usually too cheep but I had an extra few bucks in my pocket.
I also ordered up 4 pc bulbs, the 420nm 03 bulbs.
Im just looking for all color this time and not to overly blue.
I looked at converting to T5s but its just too expensave and time consuming at this point. I woudl have to order 8 bulbs instead of 4 and the retro kits for 8 bulbs. Maybe in another tank life I will go T5 but not now.

 

[Wy Renegade]

I would convert your PC's to t5s. Really easy to do and would decrease the cost of replacement when it comes time. You could theoretically use the ballasts that are already included into you hood. You would just need to buy the end caps. The endcaps and the bulbs would still be cheaper then buying brand new PC's and you would have more lighting choices. If you need some help I can help you out.

96w PC bulb = Up to 65 dollars per bulb.
54w T-5 bulb= up to 24 dollars per bulb

Not to highjack the thread, but I would like to know more about this process. tat2z tried to PM but your PM box is full.

 

[tat2z_21]

Yeah sorry about that I cleared it out earlier. So shoot me a PM again and we can go from there.

 

[mcoomer]

Let us know what you think of the Phoenix lamps when they come in. I'm in need of a new lamp but keep delaying.

 

[ac7av]

Im sure anything will be better then what I am working with now. The 20ks are drifting badly they start out green and when up to temp look more yellow then the 10k pc lights. I don’t really have any experience with lights anyway. I just buy cheep. This will be the first set of hopefully quality bulbs I have ever purchased. Im hoping it will fix my problem with stony corals. They all die in less then a week when in my tank but the softies do good and the RBTA looks great. Heck I cant even grow purple coralline algae for some reason. I can sure grow the green coralline, go figure.

 

[BCT182]

+1 for Phoenix! They are the same lamps as the hamilton 14k SE bulbs. I just talked one of my buddies into them. He loves them. They have a slightly less blue than 20k, but are as bright as a 10k. They really jam!

Brett

 

[ac7av]

That’s good to here
Mine should be in Thursday, tomorrow and just in time too. One of my lights finally gave up and wont fire.

Open, Open, Open,

 

[ac7av]

I got the new lights in today. The super actinic #03, 420 nm pc bulbs are sick! These things are crazy bright and makes stuff look like the glow in the dark black light poster stuff. Crazy color!.
I will have to hold off a week or so for the phoenix bulbs to settle down before I really comment on them but new out of the box they are nearly as blue as the actinic bulbs at the moment.