400 watt mogul (SE) recommendations

[Anonymous]

I am using PFO standard 400 watt ballasts. I am considering two different PFO pendant options:

1) 1x 400 watt MH (mogul) and 2x 28 watt actinic PC's.

2) 1x 400 watt MH (mogul), no actinics.

I do not plan to supplement with any other lighting, and I don't know if the PC's will have any impact when coupled with a 400 watt halide.

I want the tank to have a pleasing, bluish appearence. Not yellow like Iwaki bulbs, and not stark white like Ushio 10K bulbs, the only other bulbs that I have any experience with. Intensity and performance with respect to coral growth, although important, is not critical since I don't plan to have many (if any) sps. Thus, I'm looking for a 400 watt mogul halide bulb that will fit the bill without supplemental actinics.

Any suggestions as to brand and temp of MH bulbs would be extremely welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Unarce]

I don't think the two PCs won't have much impact at all. Depending on the tank size, they'd be cool for night viewing.

For the standard ballast, the XM 20k will give you good bang for your buck. You won't need actinic at all with this bulb. It matches very with this ballast with a high PPFD rating.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. The customer rep at PFO was steering me towards the XM and Venture bulbs - says they work better with the standard (non-pulse) ballast that I have. But what he really wanted me to do was buy their LED lights, since PFO is getting out of the MH ballast business. Although he says they will continue to carry parts.

But I have not heard much about XM bulbs until your recommendation.

 

[Len]

Radiums give a good blue appearance.

 

[Anonymous]

I've read that Radiums need a pulse start ballast - mine is a probe start. On the other hand, the PFO guy told me the Ushios would work either, but I have been running those for years.

 

[Unarce]

If you had the M80, the Radium would be an excellent fit. It's not a good match, though, with your M59 ballast (PPFD 90).

The XM 20k seems tailor made for the M59 (PPFD 128). Some claim they get a full year, too.

A majority of Ushio/BLV brand bulbs are built for high-current/HQI ballast like the M80. An M59 would under-drive it. The Ushio 10k, for example, would only give you a PPFD of 123. Even less with the Ushio 20k (PPFD 109).

 

[Anonymous]

My PFO ballasts are the standard MH with probe type start, not the ones with pulse start. And I agree that, based on the limited research I have done, the 400 watt XM 20000K bulbs would seem to be a perfect match.

I have also decided that supplemental PC's are not really necessary because the XM 20K's should be fine without them. So why bother with the added cost and complexity that this will add to the system, as well as the noise from the fans.

So I going to go with 4x PFO pendants, each running a 400 watt XM 20K bulb.

Thanks to all for your help!

 

[Anonymous]

Just ordered the PFO pendants and XM bulbs from Premium Aquatics. The pendants were listed in the clearance section. But they forgot to list the reduced price on the website. So I pleased when they told me the pendants were actually $69 each, not the listed price of $109, which saved me $160.