Anything close to the color of Phoenix 14K in SE?

[Anonymous]

I'm still debating the whole "stick with SE or switch to DE" on my metal halides. I'm covering a 30"x30" area with one lamp (right now, a 400W SE in LAIII). I hear SEs have better coverage, but I really like to look of the DE 14Ks. Does anyone know of SE bulbs (either 250W or 400W....may downgrade to 250W), that look like the Phoenix lamps? I really want something a bit whiter then my current XM 20K, but still have plenty of blue (like I said, the Phoenix and Hami DEs seem to be pretty close). Thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Len]

Chris, the Aquaconnect 14K looks exactly the same. The DE Aquaconnect and DE Phoenix are probably the same bulbs and thus have the same spectral graph. The SE version looks very similar. The catch is .... they are really really expensive and hard to find. Aquaristics.com has them, but they are about $150-160 per bulb for 400W. Your only saving grace is you only need one bulb

 

[Len]

BTW, the PAR on the AC is terrific ... just like the Phoenix. My corals did well under the AC.

 

[Unarce]

There's a difference between the 250W and 400W version of the AquaConnects, so don't buy yet until you know which one you'd prefer. The 250W is more in line with the Phoenix, which is pretty much the 20k look. The 400W is a bit whiter, like a true 12k bulb. The appearance won't have the blue you're looking for.

Depending on your ballast, you'll get the Phoenix look with the 400W Radium, which will burn like a 14-15k on an HQI ballast. Costs slightly less than the AC, but you have to replace it every 6 months.

 

[Len]

I'm running Radium now and it's a bit more blue then the AC I was running before it. My ACs were pretty blue. I also have Ushio 14K, Ushio 10K, XM 10K, and Hamilton 14K. I say the AC is clearly the second bluest bulb of the group.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah I'm not willing to fork that over for lamps, nor do I want to replace every 6 months. Honestly, I'm not against going to DE either, I just don't want to switch over and be peeved that I did so. However, the thought of a bulb lasting well over a year (Sanjay's article on the Phoenix) makes that bulb seem the most cost effective. Have you always just owned SE Len?

 

[Anonymous]

Ok what if I got a PFO HQI (250W) ballast and ran Radiums? I saw that SE 250W radiums were made for HQI ballasts, so I wouldn't need to swap out my reflector. Then, if I did not like it, I could just fully switch over to DE in the future, since the HQI can run both. One question is, are there any other SE bulbs that I can run on HQI without shortening the life to 6 months?

 

[ChrisRD]

Yup, the SE 250W Radiums are intended to be run on M80 ballasts and they're basically the same output and spectrum as the DE Phoenix (shielded) on the M80 ballast in Sanjay's tests. Coming down from using a 400 watter, however, you're going to be giving up some PAR for sure...

 

[Anonymous]

Understood, but my tank is only 24" deep and I'm keeping mostly LPS and zoas/palys. On one hand, I don't want to box myself into a corner with something, but on the other, I know what I like color wise, so if the Radiums (which people seem to love) are that good, it may be worth trying before transitioning totally over to DE, especially since my tank is 30" x 30", so I do need the coverage.

 

[Anonymous]

the color of the 14k ushio's is a bit bettter (whiter, but still lots of blue) than the phoenix for de250's.

B

 

[Anonymous]

So basically it comes down to this. I can entirely replace my setup and get an electronic ballast, ROIII system with 14K Phoenix (250W) for ~$275. ORRRR, I can replace my current ballast with a new 250W HQI and pick up a Radium for about the same price ($181 + Bulb cost). Argh, I hate lighting decisions.

 

[brandonberry]

I just got my EVC 10k 400w bulbs in last week and they rock. I'm not sure about the exact color of the Phoenix bulbs, but I would imagine these are a little whiter. They do look really good by themselves though. Looking at the spectral plot in Sanjay's article I was a little concerned at first that they may not look blue enough, but to me they do. They also have the highest PAR of any 400w SE bulb that I am aware of. Oh yeah, and the price is unbeatable.

 

[trido]

However, the thought of a bulb lasting well over a year (Sanjay's article on the Phoenix) makes that bulb seem the most cost effective.

Could you point me in the direction of this artical? I sure loved the color of the phoenix 14Ks but on my ballasts (icecap electronic), after six months they were headed down hill fast. By eight months my corals were getting sick.

 

[Anonymous]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/ac/index.php

 

[ChrisRD]

FWIW, I don't think you'd see much of a difference between the Radium HQI setup and the Phoenix DE setup provided they are both in LA style reflectors but I've never actually compared the two side by side.

As for DE lamp life - I'm not sure the electronic ballast is the way to go. With SE, I'd say yes, but not necessarily with DE lamps.

AFAIK, most of the commonly available 250 watt electronic ballasts out there right now don't drive 250 DE lamps to spec. Not only does this reduce output, but I've been told by a couple of reliable sources that this can potentially shorten lamp life as well (has to do with the way the ballast fires the lamp). For best lamp life driving the lamp at the intended spec is what's recommended (in this case ANSI M80 - aka 250 watt mag-HQI).

I've never tested this theory myself. I've always run 250 DEs on the intended M80 ballasts, but I've never gotten less than a year out of a DE lamp doing that (including the Phoenix lamp).

 

[Anonymous]

Cool, thanks Chris....I think I'll pick up a PFO HQI and maybe start with the Radium and if I want, I can go DE since that ballast is designed to run DE as you said. Much thanks for all the help here, lighting decisions are very hard.