MH Bulbs are a pain
 

I just installed new 250W bulbs and broke the flat ceramic piece on the bottom (where you would put your thumb to push them in) I hope this doesn't affect the performance at all. I think the contacts are too tight in my fixture, I broke the ceramic on the old bulb taking it out so of course I had to fish the pieces out of the tank. What a pain in the #@$%! Anyone broke a piece of the ceramic in their bulb? Any idea if this will have any negative effect? The contacts weren't damaged at all.

Done the same thing awhile back. Doesn't seem to affect the bulbs.

I finally changed out my 20K AB bulbs for Pheonix 14K, you just about have to wear sunglasses in my living room! I like it! I did have a few choice words when I thought I broke my new bulb.

In my opinion this is the single greatest reason to run mogul instead of double ended bulbs. However I run double ended too and yes I've even broken a bulb trying to push it in. The trick I've learned is to use some needle nose pliers and insert a small finnishing nail into the contacts to space them apart when changing a bulb.

I agree. I will NEVER purchase a DE fixture ever again. I've broken only 1 bulb so far, but that was enough to set my mind for good. Yes, I usually snap off pieces of the ceramic while installing them and that doesn't affect their performance.

Good tip with the finishing nail..I'll give that a try.

I guess a very relevant question now is whether the phoenix 14k SE is as good as the DE? That bulb has 'driven' many a person to use DE. I'm still in the decision stage myself...

just wait until the metals clips in the bulb holder don't work (don't hold the bulb, or have bent when trying to insert a bulb) and you have to tear apart you reflector to change them.

the same thing happened to both of my Ushio bulbs, no biggie. This doesn't affect their operation/performance.

No such thing as a SE Phoenix bulb (as far as I know).

I find that if I push the bulb in very slow & carefully, not too bad. Try to rush & you're gonna break that ceramic part.

As others mentioned, doesn't seem to affect performance.

Anthony

Last time I changed my bulbs I tried a tiny dab of electric grease, makes installling DE bulbs problem free.

I just bought a SE Phoenix 250w 14k bulb from OA. Still burning in. Bluer than the SE 250w 14k Aquaconnect so far.

is the SE also an hqi bulb? are you running it as such?

I am running it on an electronic ballast. I found this online though.

Phoenix 250 Watt 14,000K (Single Ended) Features and Benefits:
- 14,000 Kelvin Color Temperature (Crisp White Light/Blue Tint)
- The Best Combination of Color and PAR
- Excellent With or Without Actinic Supplementation
- Operate on a HQI Metal Halide Ballast, Pulse-Start Ballast or Electronic Ballast

I though HQI was a DE variant?

HQI and DE are not the same although this seems to be a common misconception. HQI is a type of ballast that can run DE and SE bulbs. I ran 3 HQI ballasts firing 3 SE mogul bulbs. If you check Sanjay's lighting reviews, the HQI ballasts provide the highest PAR values for the same bulb vs other ballast types.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...4/feature2.htm

I always adjust the clips on the fixture. I loosen the screws, put the bulb in and then tighten the screws.