Do Phoenix Bulbs Measure Up?

[viperfish]

I am currently running 20K AB bulbs, I love the blue but I want more growth. I am looking at either the Phoenix 14000K or the Giesemann 14500K. I can just about buy three of the Phoenix for the price of two Giesemann. What makes Giesemann so much more expensive? The Phoenix seems to be very popular, are they any good, or just a cheap bulb?

[Marlin65]

I love mine will never buy anything else again. I run mine with two t5 actinics as well and I have Starphire glass but here is a idea on the color.

[viperfish]

Very Nice! Tall tanks are so hard to aquascape but you've nailed it! I know because of white balance sometimes its hard to tell from a picture but that blue is comparable to what my Aqualine bulbs are putting out.

[whatcaneyedo]

I've been running Phoenix 14K for the past year and I really like them as well. I've used Giesemann 13K and 14.5K in the past and had good results with them too but with so many other variables I cant honestly say which is 'better'. However you can compare the output of two of the bulbs on Sanjay's site here: http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting
Phoenix 14K PPFD=88
Giesemann 13K PPFD=126
... unfortunitally there doesnt seem to be a measure of the 14.5K.
AB 20K PPFD=45

This article is one of the reasons why Phoenix bulbs have become so popular:
Light Output of the Phoenix 14,000K DE MH Bulb Over Time
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/ac/index.php

My tank with 14K Phoenix

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Very happy with Phoenix & Aquaconnect 14000k bulbs. Even as they age, the colour stays constant & my corals continue to grow well.

[Millepora_Maniac]

I would have to say that the phoenix bulbs have more blue look to them, my Geismann 14500k bulbs burn white. I have always used geismann bulbs but recently have been experimenting more. Somehow I always end up using the geismann, they look the most natural. Good luck! Cheers-MM

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Millepora_Maniac

I would have to say that the phoenix bulbs have more blue look to them, my Geismann 14500k bulbs burn white. I have always used geismann bulbs but recently have been experimenting more. Somehow I always end up using the geismann, they look the most natural. Good luck! Cheers-MM

I really want to switch to the Geismann for this reason as I find the Phoenix 14k nice but not very natural looking.

[viperfish]

Thanks for the input folks. I am actually running Geismann 13K bulbs on my 180. The main reason being it is a 3 x 150 watt fixture and I wanted to get the most Par out of them. they appear to be comparable to a 10K as far a colour temperature is concerned. I have 2 x 250 20K Aqualine Buschke bulbs over my 90 SPS tank and I am very happy with the look, I just feel I should be getting more growth. There are some very interesting articles on the Advanced Aquarist magazine site but for some reason I keep getting redirected away from the page I am viewing. One of the studies that really caught my eye was where they had tested the intensity of several bulbs over a period of time and thier data shows that bulbs lost about 30% in the first four months and only 6 percent over the next eight months. From the one year to 18 month mark it only decreased by about 3%. They determined that changing the bulbs after a year wasn't a lot different than waiting a year and a half. I was surprised by this. I tried to find the link to the article but like I said the site was being very difficult to navigate.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I've used my Aquaconnects for over 20 months & still had nice colour & my purple plasma/purple banzai sps still grew well under it. When measured with a PAR meter, it was low, but my corals adapted over the lifetime of the bulbs & the tank looked fine despite the old bulbs. It's one of the reasons I stick with 14000k. 10000k bulbs yellow over time.

[rkelman]

I'm running the Phoenix 14k and I like them. They are pretty comparable to the 12k Reeflux I was running.