good price on decent MH Bulbs

[BIGGUN]

These look nice in person.

175 watt

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46314&item=4353136444&rd=1

250 watt

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46314&item=4353139067&rd=1

Kevin

 

[SnowManSnow]

IMO most any kind of MH bulb under 20K will need an actinic supplimentation. I have 20k 250w and I would like even more blue. I'd be careful about purchasing them untill you can see them in person demonstrated as a friends, lfs, or somthing.

Just a word of caution

B>

 

[Anonymous]

And you should know who makes the bulbs since if you have problems with them, the retailer may send you to the manufacturer for recompense. There is no manufacturer listed that I could see on those adds.

There are several varietys of MH bulbs out there that are proving to have terrible track records. I am not going to mention names right now, because most of my information is second hand and you should find out for yourself, but be careful!

 

[BIGGUN]

Ok The bulbs are manufactured for an agrocultural company that is thinking of getting into a wider range of specialized lighting (reef).
They said they're just starting out and want to get response to their bulbs.

Kevin

 

[Juck]

Go peddle your bulbs someplace else,,, the 'For Sale' forum might be a good place.

 

[BIGGUN]

8O 8O 8O :idea: :lol:

I know the plus brands have developed a bad name due to yellow color.
What is the best bulb for the price on the market?

Everyones opinion will probably be different but I guess by best I mean keeps its color thru the life of the bulb and has good color (what they advertise it at) from the start.

Kevin

 

[Unarce]

IMO, you shouldn't skimp when it comes to metal halides. If "you get what you pay for" could apply to only one thing in this hobby, it's bulbs. For example, the cheap Hamilton bulbs appear to have a 50% failure rate.

Take these Phoenix 14K's (pictured) from Asia that everyone got excited about, and sell for around $60. They look exactly like the popular AquaConnects in the beginning, but does not maintain it nearly as long.

It's all about build quality! :wink:

 

[BIGGUN]

don't the Iwasaki's maintain their PAR the best thru the life of the bulb?
Or is that another brand.

Kevin

 

[Unarce]

PAR is only half the story. Maintaining color in the proper photosynthetic spectrum is key for a quality bulb. Iwasaki's 6500K spectrum need to be used with heavy actinic supplementation to get this affect.

 

[K9coral]

Get em' Juck!

 

[BIGGUN]

I thought that's what par was?

Photosynthesis Available Radiation.

Is it the 6500's that hold the longest, or all the Iwasakis?

Kevin

 

[Unarce]

Sorry I wasn't more specific. The wavelengths that are measured under PAR are of course photosynthetic light. It's just utilized differently. Plants, trees, grass, etc., utilize lower kelvin light (like daylight, which is around 5000K). Corals, on the otherhand, utilize more of the blue spectrum, which is able to penetrate far deeper through seawater.

 

[BIGGUN]

So what bulbs seem to hold there Color and PAR values best?

Kevin

 

[Unarce]

Brands like Ushio, Aqualine, AquaConnect, Giessemann, Arcadia, to name a few.

 

[BIGGUN]

I thought that there was one that lasted unusually long.

Thanks for the input,
Kevin

 

[SnowManSnow]

I'm gonna TRY the aqualine blueline 20k next time i need a replacement me needs more blue