Reeflux Bulb Review please?

[jawwad2004]

Ive been reading mixed reviews for these bulbs. I am thinking about getting the 12k bulbs. Currently I am running EVC 10k's. I dont like em and dont hate, somewhere in the middle. I get good growht, but the color of my corals are half asses. I will be running the bulbs on an EVC electronic ballast.
Any input would be very helpful!

-JK

 

[Zoous]

Go with the phoenix 14K. Put them on about 3 weeks ago and very nice. 250W DE.

 

[jawwad2004]

Dont the dual ended shine brighter? It might look different?

 

[jawwad2004]

Here is a pic of a tank under reeflux 12k bulbs

 

[spykes]

reeflux = the suxxxxxxxxx

 

[jawwad2004]

reeflux = the suxxxxxxxxx

ellaborate. . .

 

[stingnyc]

i also had the reeflux bulbs. they look great in the beginning, but the colors quickly change. i think they make the tank look really pink/ purple. another problem i had with them is that they don't show red color corals and fish well...

 

[prattreef]

Yes please do elaborate as I am running 3 250W. SE 10k's on Icecap ballasts and love them. I do supplement with actinics, but could easily live without them if I needed too. The color is great--- crisp white and the blues pop in a way that I have not seen on other non-blue bulbs. I have seen good growth and the PAR ratings are quite good too. I can't comment on the 12K lamps or the DE ones, but the 10k's far from suck. It is my impression that most folks who use them feel the same way too.

You may not like them, and that is fine, but I'd like to hear a bit more as to why? Mine are going on 6 months now.

Randy

 

[stingnyc]

my main problem with them is the quick color shift. i ran my reeflux 10k on a 250w magnetic hqi ballast. in the beginning they looked crisp white with a hint of blue. within 2 months they were not as bright and the color look pink/ purple. plus as i stated above i don't feel that the bulb complements red color corals and fish. i'm sure spykes can elaborate on his opinions of the bulb.

 

[prattreef]

So you were overdriving them on an HQI ballast. Perhaps they don't perform well in this regard. It certainly would account for the more rapid color shifting than I am experiencing. Ballasts seem play a big part with this bulb.

RD

 

[jawwad2004]

I mean, I saw the 10k's running on Tony's tank (from reef exotics) and it just looked amazing. I couldnt believe they were 10k's without any supplementation.

 

[stingnyc]

randy,

you are right about the ballast, but i feel the quality of the bulb is still sub-par. i have been running ab 10k for about 2 months now with absolutely no color shift or loss of brightness. when you hold both bulbs side by side you can easily see the quality difference between the two... also when i ran the bulbs side by side the ab 10k could have easily been 50% brighter then the reeflux.

this is just my opinion, i have never seen a reeflux bulb on a e-ballast. but for my application i feel ab 10k is the best. the only downside with the ab 10k's is that requires alot of atinic supplements.

 

[herman]

I was there the moment Steve changed the bulbs. He had both bulbs running at the same time. The difference in brightness alone was incredible. The AB must have been at least 50% brighter. As for the color the AB's were alot crisper!! The AB's get my vote....

 

[DEEPWATER]

I use to run Reeflux 10K 2x175w ..They where great ,Pure white bulbs ,I got sick of looking at white all the time ,then changed to reeflux 2x175w 12k with 2x125 uri ,and i love them


Colors is amazing
Also saw Yessongs tank who is runnind 250w reeflux bulb 12k ,,and that is the reason i got them.
But to each his own really .Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.What looks good to me may not look good for others
JMO
Currently using coralife ballast

 

[jawwad2004]

Sting, I was looking at your tank thread in your signature, and the color looks beautiful! Does it look EXACTLY like that in person? Also a lot of your corals look browned out? Is it directly related to the bulb? Or can something else cause that, or is that natural color of those corals?

 

[stingnyc]

Sting, I was looking at your tank thread in your signature, and the color looks beautiful! Does it look EXACTLY like that in person? Also a lot of your corals look browned out? Is it directly related to the bulb? Or can something else cause that, or is that natural color of those corals?

thanks, the colors look different in person. i don't know how to adjust my white balance properly. most of the corals that are browned out are fairly new i'm still waiting for them to color...

 

[ctxmonitor]

I haven't tried out too many bulb buy comparing the xm and the reeflux 10k, i vote for the reeflux. I am running it on icecap also and like the white crisp looked compare to the XM I had before. Been running it for about two months so I see if the 2 months color shift will occur or not.

What ballast will you be running with these new bulb?

 

[jawwad2004]

I haven't tried out too many bulb buy comparing the xm and the reeflux 10k, i vote for the reeflux. I am running it on icecap also and like the white crisp looked compare to the XM I had before. Been running it for about two months so I see if the 2 months color shift will occur or not.

What ballast will you be running with these new bulb?

They will be running on an EVC Tech electronic ballast

 

[reefman]

what is AB?

I was there the moment Steve changed the bulbs. He had both bulbs running at the same time. The difference in brightness alone was incredible. The AB must have been at least 50% brighter. As for the color the AB's were alot crisper!! The AB's get my vote....

The AB must have been at least 50% brighter. As for the color the AB's were alot crisper!! The AB's get my vote....

 

[Tim]

I just picked up 2 400w 10k reeflux bulbs from Tony and will be running them on coralview eletronic ballast. I will let you know how they look.....