I'm looking at changing the color of my halide from a standard Coralife 10,000K bulb to a nice CRISP blue bulb that brings out the fluorescence in my corals, etc. I don't want a white bulb with a tinge of blue, I'm looking for something on the bluer side. I've looked at the 20,000K and 14,000K bulbs and have never seen either in person. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations? Please let me know.
Best BLUE 150W metal halide HQI bulb
- Thread starter fyrefysh
- Start date
BLue line is more white, Pheonix would be more blue than Hamilton ( I think?).
If you want awsome coral growth AND actnic glow but not over bearing, go with hamilton 14k.
I have used them for 4 years now. The brand and kelvin not the SAME bulbs LOL!!
If you want awsome coral growth AND actnic glow but not over bearing, go with hamilton 14k.
I have used them for 4 years now. The brand and kelvin not the SAME bulbs LOL!!
If there's one thing I hate about Phoenix, it's that they don't make mogul-based bulbs :x The color is nearly identical (depending on ballast) to the expensive AquaConnect 14K. Run a search, and you'll find glowing reviews on the Phoenix bulbs (from those that like blue of course).
I'm not too familiar with Blueline bulbs, but they do seem to have a quality product line.
Hamilton's seem to be the hit or miss brand. From what I've read, the only bulbs that have a higher failure rate than Hammy's are the ones that come free with Odyssea or Catalina fixtures. The manufacturer and actual kelvin rating is inconsistent from bulb to bulb. They are cheap, though.
FragMaster's got an amazing 4 year streak with them. You should take him to Vegas.
HTH
I'm not too familiar with Blueline bulbs, but they do seem to have a quality product line.
Hamilton's seem to be the hit or miss brand. From what I've read, the only bulbs that have a higher failure rate than Hammy's are the ones that come free with Odyssea or Catalina fixtures. The manufacturer and actual kelvin rating is inconsistent from bulb to bulb. They are cheap, though.
FragMaster's got an amazing 4 year streak with them. You should take him to Vegas.
HTH
I just replaced my 250 hamilton 14k's with phoenix 14k's and there is a huge difference. To my eyes, the phoenix are more blue (though they are still new and may still be burning in), and they are much brighter. I would recommend the phoenix for what you are looking for. To answer your other question, 20,000K bulbs should be bluer than 14,000K. The problem with this is there is a lot of variation between brands and bulbs, and also variation between ballasts. So, some 14k bulbs may actually be bluer than some 20k bulbs. But in theory, 20K are bluer. HTH
Sanjay did an a bunch of testing on the 150W DE bulbs. I'd look through these as well.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... ature2.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... review.htm
HTH
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... ature2.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... review.htm
HTH
When I replaced mine I noticed that about 3 days after first using them the intensity went way up and all my corals shriveled away from the light. I just raised the bulbs higher, and slowly acclimated. I have had the bulbs for a month now and still havent lowered them all the way, but I have good coloration and growth already because these are so much brighter than the hamiltons i had before. So to answer your question, it will take a few weeks for the bulbs to burn in to their true color, but it only takes a couple days for them to reach a high intensity, so be prepared for it. HTH
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