400 watt bulb advice

[24storm]

Looks like it may be time to replace my bulbs. So i am looking for any input people may have. I have 3 400 watt mogul fixtures with galaxy ballasts. Currently running XM bulbs.

I am open to suggestions. I have mostly SPS and most of them are only frags. I also have 4 48" T5 in the canopy with Fiji purples in them.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks Keith

[FitoPharmer]

depends on if you want your frags to grow really fast or to look really good. 3x 400W-10K or 6.5k bulbs would be best for growth. if you needed to change your t5's too, 2xactinic 2xfiji purple would probably look best with the 3 10K or 6.5K. but 4x10k t5's would make them grow even faster. but a mix of 13k-15k MH bulbs look much nicer.

[Aquattro]

I just fired up the aquaconnect 14k bulbs, nice color, and lots of power to them with the electronic ballasts I bought. At least as bright to my eye as 10k ushio bulbs

[24storm]

I just fired up the aquaconnect 14k bulbs, nice color, and lots of power to them with the electronic ballasts I bought. At least as bright to my eye as 10k ushio bulbs

How blue are they Brad? What ballasts are you using?

Keith

[24storm]

depends on if you want your frags to grow really fast or to look really good. 3x 400W-10K or 6.5k bulbs would be best for growth. if you needed to change your t5's too, 2xactinic 2xfiji purple would probably look best with the 3 10K or 6.5K. but 4x10k t5's would make them grow even faster. but a mix of 13k-15k MH bulbs look much nicer.

I have 2 actinics and 2 Fiji purples. I think that i would like to go with 10k for growth but i am concerned about them being yellow. Was hoping i could find someone using Galaxy ballasts that could advise of experience.

Keith

[FitoPharmer]

i doubt you will see the yellow with your t5's, and if you do you can put in 4 actinics instead of just 2, that should balance things out.

[Aquattro]

Honestly, pick bulbs that you like to look at. The frags are going to grow just fine, there's no competition for fastest growing corals. And the difference in growth between 10k and 20k, from my experience, is minimal. One day you're going to want your corals to not grow so fast, trust me :)
For me, having a tank is solely for the purpose of sitting back and watching it. I want it to look it's best. The corals will grow and need fragging before you know it, don't rush things.

The 14k AC bulb is nice and crisp, not a blue overtone like the radiums. At first, it looked a bit purple, but that was an upgrade from 150w 10k bulbs. After burn-in, they look great. It's always best though if you can find a tank to view in person that has the bulbs you're thinking of using. The ballasts are Lumatek from Progressive here in Victoria.

http://www.progressivereef.com/proddetail.php?prod=lumatek400&cat=125

[Reefer Rob]

Bulb choice and color are a personal preference, everybody likes something different. With 400w bulbs I haven't noticed a decrease in growth with a higher K bulb, if anything it's been the opposite. 400 watts is a lot of light!

I've been trying to match the color temperature of my halides with what I get with 1 blue+ and 1 aquablue T5, but I haven't found the bulb yet.

Bulbs I've tried so far with Icecap ballast(no actinics on):
XM 10K- too yellow
Aquaconnect- too blue
Reeflux 10K- too red
Radium 20K- as blue as my moon lights
Plusrite 14K- don't even want to go there
Ushio 14K- Perfect when first installed, but shifted just a touch too yellow after about a month

I'm thinking about trying Hamilton 14K or Reeflux 12K next.

[Aquattro]

Rob, what ballast was driving the Radiums? I ask because I used the Son Agro ballasts and the Radiums were perfect. Certainly not blue like moon lights :)

[Reefer Rob]

That was with Icecap ballasts. I've seen Radiums on HQI ballasts and they look great, I think they need the extra power.