I was wondering if anybody has had any experience with a specific brand of mogul base bulbs in the 20k 175&250w? I know some are partcial to phenoix,xm,coralview,reefoptics…I have asked this before on or and was told the 20$ special on ebay would be just as good as the rest. So that’s what I did,bought 3bulbs on ebay that are for this hobby.but my question is has anybody ever tested both bulbs to See if there is a differance?does anybody recommend anything special?
I have been running Phoinix bulbs and there great but want to go to a 20k saw Johns reeflux bulbs and there great. I have seen 20k xm but in 400 watts and they were also nice but the higher wattage over powered the tank.
I tried a cheap 20k bulb off of eBay and thought they were nice untill I compaired them to another 20k bulb and then they looked like a 14k . Name brands are more money but you get what you pay for and all the money that I put in my tank not risking a poor quality bulb .
Next Bulb I wanna try is a XM or get the Reeflux but I have HQI now in just about evverything and they seem to be little more pricey in most bulbs.
I never have, but I would like to see the differences for the ebay bulbs and the others. I do use ebay bulbs from a company in Philly that sell them on ebay. I never have any bad experience with them and like others they do need to be change every 6 month or so. By the way my corals are doing fine with those bulbs.
I don’t understand how bulbs could be that differant?if its rated at 14k then isn’t it a 14k?
J thats like saying all heaters or air conditioners are the same if its 16 seer its 16 seer or 96% theres a lot of knock off stuff out there. while the expensive bulbs look better i think A’s tank looks good. And your bulbs may be very old too
This is strictly my own opinion. If I have learned anything in this hobby, it is, if other people have try equipment out and the results are positive, then go with what makes you happy. With that being said, I agree totally with Bill. You get what you pay for. I remember buying something and later on saying to myself, self, I should have spent the extra money and got the better one. Personally, I only used Reeflux 14K and 20K bulbs and was very satisfied with them. Also, I changed them out once a year. This is a hobby where cheaping out, gets you nowhere.
Yeah no kidding… I was out of work all summer and of course my bulbs needed to be replaced right before I lost my job :-? I decided that “A 14k bulb is a 14k bulb” and ordered some off ebay. They were great for growth…of algae >:::
They’re crap and I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy. Spend the money on decent Phoenix bulbs and you won’t be disappointed.
You have to understand that the Kevin rating number is just sort of an average weight of spectrum of the bulb and the power peaks at various points. its not an exact measure. like for instance, the average of 2 and 8 added together is 5, and the average of 4 and 6 together is…5? and the average of 1 and 9 together is… again 5… think of those number as being spectrum peaks, and thats kind of how kelvin numbers can be misleading.
Now most respectable lamps are made with similar filaments and trace metals and gasses. they pretty much produce the same peak points, but can vary in amplitude or power, and may also have extraneous spectrum peaks that are good for algae, and do no good for coral. also its a matter of construction and purity, and how much trace elements and heavy metals they put in each bulb. all that affects how long the bulb will perform.
My favorite lamp spectrum site is always Sanjay Joshis data base of all the spectral plots he has done, testing various MH bulbs and ballast combos. you can compare bulbs and overlay their plots to compare the differences. most are similar with small differences, a few have some extra good peaks, and some lesser bulbs fall a bit short or off the mark.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting
compare bulbs and see. I too have tried some of those $20 bulbs, and they seem to shift color fast. theres a place in philly that sells them.
The two main blue light peaks that corals need are at 420 nm and 453 nm. Those are where their zooxanthalae are most efficient at producing carbs to feed the coral.
most bulbs above 10,000K have a primary peak at 455 nm. and very little at 420 nm. So I supplement the MH with 420 nm actinic VHO or T5 HO lamps.