MH....10K, 15K or 20K?

[segraves1]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I want to convert to MH so I can get to growing coral but want to know what would be the best...10K, 15K, or 20K? #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[segraves1]

forgot to mention, I'm going to use the "HQI double ended" kind.......

[davejnz]

1st choice-6.5k Iwasaki-yellowish in color,very intense PAR(useuable light),and bulb life is a little longer than the 10k+ bulbs.
2nd choice-10k XM bulb for white light that has good PAR,CoralvueReeflux10k(on an M80 ballast),it's color is white w/ a touch of blue and also has good PAR as well.IMO,I think that is the best colored 10k bulb on the market.
3rd choice-14k,For the bulb,I'd recommend a CVreeflux10k on an M58/probe ballast(it will appear as a 14k on that ballast),or a 14k Phoenix/Aqua Connect
4th choice-20k,Radium bulb

[davejnz]

well,that was my opinion in mogul blbs.May i aske why you want to go with HQI/DE bulbs?
FYI,mogul based bulbs often have higher PAR than DE/HQI's when driven off of an M80 ballast.
The reflectors for moguls are alot more adaptable/much cheaper than the DE fixture/reflectors.With spider parabolics for moguls,they allow you to customize the light dispersion to fir your particular tank.DE reflector/fixtures have a very narrow spread.I prefer moguls over HQI's because of this,you can also retro a mogul MH system for about 60% cheaper thana DE setup.

[segraves1]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#so if the mogal bulbs are better, why do people use the double ended (ex: all the LFSs use double ended bulbs)? #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[davejnz]

IMO,Alot of people(mainly on other forums) in this hobby like to "follow the herd",they buy the most expensive stuff they can so they can show it off.The HQI fixtures are attractive and small so that is prefered by some who dont want to build a canopy/hood..But mainly,most people dont know the facts about lighting and how different bulbs perform on different ballasts.If u like,i can show u some spectral analysis charts/studies of mogul bulbs and of DE/HQI bulbs.

[perpetual98]

It all really depends on the bulb/ballast combination. HQI bulbs can throw tons of light if they're set up right. I think I've read somewhere that a good 150W HQI setup can put out more light than a 250W mogul that isn't set up as well. I think mogul setup are a lot easier to do. You don't need to have UV glass between the bulb and the tank like you do with HQI. Then again, I'm running 3 HQI bulbs and no mogul bulbs on my tanks.

Eric

[davejnz]

BTW,i didn't mean to imply that one was better than the other.They both work well,i was just giving you my personal prefernces between the 2.There is alot of people out there who jumped on the HQI "bandwagon" because they're supposed to have higher PAR,in some cases they do,mainly because of there tightly focused reflectors.Some of the PAR/PPFD tests done on DE bulbs are done without the glass shields.I think it is misleading to the hobbyist for them to report those PAR/PPFD levels knowing that they need a shield that decreases those PAR levels

[davejnz]

All DE/HQI bulbs tested on an M80 ballast

Bulb abbreviations
HR=HappyReefing
IC=IceCap
CV=CoralVue

[table:2103a51227]
[row:2103a51227]Lamp
[col:2103a51227]Power
[col:2103a51227]Voltage
[col:2103a51227]Current
[col:2103a51227]Unshielded PPFD
[col:2103a51227]Unshielded CCT
[col:2103a51227]Shielded PPFD
[col:2103a51227]Shielded CCT
[row:2103a51227]AB 20K
[col:2103a51227]308
[col:2103a51227]122.1
[col:2103a51227]2.78
[col:2103a51227]57.7
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[col:2103a51227]45.7
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[row:2103a51227]EVC 10K
[col:2103a51227]365
[col:2103a51227]124.8
[col:2103a51227]3.18
[col:2103a51227]179.9
[col:2103a51227]5988
[col:2103a51227]147.2
[col:2103a51227]5700
[row:2103a51227]EVC 14K
[col:2103a51227]333
[col:2103a51227]122.5
[col:2103a51227]2.91
[col:2103a51227]82.8
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[col:2103a51227]66.78
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[row:2103a51227]EVC 20K
[col:2103a51227]338
[col:2103a51227]122.8
[col:2103a51227]2.95
[col:2103a51227]81.8
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[col:2103a51227]64.7
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[row:2103a51227]HR 10K
[col:2103a51227]315
[col:2103a51227]122.3
[col:2103a51227]2.84
[col:2103a51227]124.6
[col:2103a51227]9050
[col:2103a51227]101.2
[col:2103a51227]8170
[row:2103a51227]HR 14K
[col:2103a51227]290
[col:2103a51227]122.5
[col:2103a51227]2.75
[col:2103a51227]76.2
[col:2103a51227]6784
[col:2103a51227]59.2
[col:2103a51227]6299
[row:2103a51227]HR 20K
[col:2103a51227]325
[col:2103a51227]124.5
[col:2103a51227]2.87
[col:2103a51227]103
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[col:2103a51227]84.4
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[row:2103a51227]IC 20K
[col:2103a51227]296
[col:2103a51227]122.1
[col:2103a51227]2.69
[col:2103a51227]66.2
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[col:2103a51227]53.7
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[row:2103a51227]CV 15K
[col:2103a51227]285
[col:2103a51227]123.4
[col:2103a51227]2.66
[col:2103a51227]66.6
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[col:2103a51227]54.1
[col:2103a51227]N/A
[/table:2103a51227]

FYI, the term PPFD(photosynthetic photon flux density) is similiar to PAR.
The term CCI(color correlation index) is similiar to K ratings.

[davejnz]

I will list some of the 250w mogul bulb performance charts tommorow as well as add to the DE bulbs listed in the chart above