MH Comparison - Pics please!

[LadyTang2]

I have tried searching to compare the looks of.... Radiums - 250 electronic, m80, or 400. Pheonix 14k. But I have a hard time finding quality pics that show a bright clear and accurate picture of what the bulb looks like in real life (because I don't know what that is for all of them), can anyone link to some pics they think are very true to life for these bulbs meaning "this/these pic(s) is pretty close to what it really looks like"

Good pics welcome, help me compare! Lastly, does anyone have strong feelings about a bulb not on this list?

 

[jda]

I have a rebuild thread somewhere in that forum with more recent photos of my restart. I am not a huge photo guy and these are just unedited with an iPhone usually from top-down, but the colors are accurate.

This is all 250w 14k Phoenix on m80 coming out of AquaMedic fixtures - no supplements. Nearly all of my Flickr album is under these lights, but I do have a small few older T5 and 20k Radium photos in there too.








Go to ReefCentral and find Coppolino's (copps) tank. He uses 14k Ushio, I think, and his tanks are perhaps the best in the country. 14k Hamilton and 20k Hamilton are nice bulbs on electronic ballasts. The new Gieseman bulbs are nice too with a purple hue and come in a variety of colors, but even though they are Single Ended, they are HQI.

 

[LadyTang2]

@jda If you had to describe the difference in looks between the 14k pheonix/ hamilton /Ushio what would you say

And the Radium hqi / m80 / 400 / hamilton?

 

[jda]

The 400w 20k Radium looks very similar to a 14k Phoenix. The 250w Radium on m80 ballasts is a tad bit bluer, but still very close. The 250w Radium on another ballasts is much bluer and has lower output.

14k Hamilton is similar too, but you can run it on a bunch of different ballasts. The 20k Hamilton was made to look like 250w Radium, but can be run on other ballasts as well.

I have never run the 14k Ushio for any amount of time to give an opinion, but the tanks that I have seen with it are nice.

I have a lot of DE fixtures and the 14k Phoenix is by-far the best bulb for color AND growth (and it is cheap). Some people have used the wrong ballasts and not liked the results, but this is true of any type of lighting where you have to do it right.

Whatever you do, make sure that you match the ballast with the bulb. HQI needs m80 to perform best and even a select-a-watt on the HQI setting is not the same.

 

[LadyTang2]

The 400w 20k Radium looks very similar to a 14k Phoenix. The 250w Radium on m80 ballasts is a tad bit bluer, but still very close. The 250w Radium on another ballasts is much bluer and has lower output.

14k Hamilton is similar too, but you can run it on a bunch of different ballasts. The 20k Hamilton was made to look like 250w Radium, but can be run on other ballasts as well.

I have never run the 14k Ushio for any amount of time to give an opinion, but the tanks that I have seen with it are nice.

I have a lot of DE fixtures and the 14k Phoenix is by-far the best bulb for color AND growth (and it is cheap). Some people have used the wrong ballasts and not liked the results, but this is true of any type of lighting where you have to do it right.

Whatever you do, make sure that you match the ballast with the bulb. HQI needs m80 to perform best and even a select-a-watt on the HQI setting is not the same.

Thanks, one more q for you, do you prefer DE over SE? Do SE bulbs put out less light in the direction of the base of bulb?

 

[jda]

I don't prefer either. The reflector matters a bunch, so choose well where some penetrate and some spread. My reflectors are average and both.

I ended up with a lot of DE stuff since I like hanging fixtures so that I can look top-down. I do not have canopies or in-wall tanks. AquaMedic and Giesemann fixtures are prevalent in my house... and they use a lot of DE stuff.