What bulbs do I want?
 

I've decided to replace my MH bullbs. This is the first time ive had to replace them and have little knowledge of what to buy. I have a 48" coralife 2x250w DE MH with actinics. I am a lil confused with what 10k 12k 14k...etc...etc means. I really like the crisp white/blue look but more on the bluer side(if that makes any sence lol) if someone could suggest what i should get or maybe you folks could post pics of what the lights look like in your tanks that would be awesome! plus you can show off your tank:wink: haha

Cheers
Ray

10000k will be closer to white/yellow and 20000k will be blue....slight differences between makers

I Love the look of a 20M metal halide tank... :mrgreen:

This was my old 75G with 20K Ushio bulbs...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...tinued/20K.jpg

is there a brand to stay away from? i hear alot about pheonix and gliessmen

This site might help you. It shows side by side comparisons of a handful of bulbs. http://chrismorris.ca/250wcolour/

The trick is to pick a bulb that looks good to you, with a relatively high PAR rating and at a reasonable price. For a 10K bulb my choice is XM and for a 14K I like Phoenix.

thats a great site! thanks! the xm 20ks dont look that bad. i wish they they had the gleismenn 20ks vs the phoenix 14k

I like the natural white look of Giesmann 20,000K, but Phoenix 14,000K bulbs are bluer and are surprisingly 20% brighter under a lux meter (comparing new bulbs in the same fixture). The human eye registers yellow colours more readily than blue, so you have to decide if you want it to look bright, or actually be bright. Both bulbs are excellent.

I also like Aqualine Bausche 20,000K bulbs if I want a really blue light that doesn't look dim or eerie. They are cheaper than Giesmann or Phoenix if that matters.

So i guess the phoenix 14k sounds like they are the better bang for the buck?

im not worried to much about price. i would much rather pay for the quality and performance instead of cheaping out

I have the same fixture and tried the Pheonix 14K, had them in for about 4 months and just took them out last month... The Coralife ballasts don't like them and they flickered quite a bit.

I now am using Ushio 10K bulbs, they are more compatible with the ballasts and I actually like the light output, very white light not much yellow.

Not all bulbs work with all ballasts... I have read the Ushio and Kolorchrom (Geissmen), are both German made bulbs and have the best compatibility.