400W DE, anyone use em?

[smokinreefer]

hey guys
just wondering if anyone here has experience using 400W DEs?
if you can comment on how you like them, the output?
comparison to 250W DE?
thanks!

[untamed]

I can say that when I replace my current light fixtures I will NOT use DE bulbs again. I find it extremely difficult to install them and it is not a good feeling to break a brand new $100 bulb. Go with Mogul.

[atcguy]

DE are easy to replace.. I have never broken a bulb.. you must be careful with anything.......

[untamed]

DE are easy to replace.. I have never broken a bulb.. you must be careful with anything.......

It's not like I try to install them with a hammer. Of course, I'm careful. So far, I've installed 18 bulbs into my fixtures and broken one during installation. Unfortunately, one is still unacceptable. I suppose it depends on the fixture, but there is a certain degree of force required to install bulbs into my fixtures. If nothing else, I recommend testing the installation of a bulb into any fixture you might be planning to purchase.

[Whatigot]

would you still go 250 brad?
or would you go to a higher wattage?

I moved my 250 de's another 2" off the top of the water after I saw how your lighting was set up btw....

[untamed]

would you still go 250 brad?
or would you go to a higher wattage?

I moved my 250 de's another 2" off the top of the water after I saw how your lighting was set up btw....

I've had fine results with 250W. Maybe things would be better with 400W..I don't know. Certainly, my power bill would be larger! If I had to do it again, my tank would be larger (6x6) and run 9 x 250W which would be about the same power consumption as 6x400W.

I have been tempted to run my lights closer to the water than in the past. No coral seems to mind how close the lights are. However, running them any closer to the surface leaves them more open to splashing and they get in the way of simple feeding. Moving them up and down for every feeding would be too annoying.

I borrowed the PAR meter and PAR measurements at the bottom of the tank are pretty low. (27" deep, I recall) However, I've also got coral that will reach the surface soon enough. There's enough light somewhere for everything.

[Whatigot]

well put.
I was shocked to see how high your lights were up compared to mine when you had such obviously happy corals and really nice color.

sometimes I think I take to much of what i read to heart and ignore what experience is telling me.

I wanted to upgrade to 400 de's before, but now I consider 250 des more than adequate.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I have also broken a DE bulb before and am not a huge fan of them. I like my mogul base 400's.

[smokinreefer]

thanks for the input guys, but i've used SE and DE before, so bulb replacement isnt a factor for me.

what i would like to know is if anyone has used 400W DEs and what their experiences and opinions are of them. what they think of them compared to 250W DEs.

thanks

[Whatigot]

sorry for the somewhat off topic banter...
When I was really considering switching to 400's, just about everyone told me that the bump in par and watts was just not worth the extra heat and electrical draw...

I decided to stick with my 250 de's, based on seeing untamed's tank on 250 de's at a 27" or 28" depth and the growth and color he had would make just about any reefer happy.

I think unless you're like 30" or deeper, I can't imagine it's worth the benefits when you don't have to look at too many tank of the months to see that for most set ups, 250 is a lot of wattage....

[fkshiu]

I agree. Unless you have a very deep tank the added heat and electrical usage of 400w doesn't justify a marginal (if any) increase in PAR. In fact, with some setups a good 250W system will outperform a 400w system.

[Skimmerking]

Well that is why i went from DE to a mogul again after getting bulbs megachromes at 115 each and breakin them twice not impressed. now i run mogul's if the DE 250's and the 400's well like the 150's i would have kept them . but the way they are you wont see me going back to them ever again...

[Jack]

There are practically no choices or sources for 400w DE bulbs.

You need to buy electronic ballasts or use tar HQI ballasts @ 5.5 amps each.

Maybe you could upgrade your current halide reflectors to Lumenarcs for an upgrade instead of going 400w DE.

[smokinreefer]

heh, well i like the hamilton 14ks... my experience with those are on the 250W DEs so far, so those are the bulbs i'd use.

so right now the ballasts i have are ansi m135. should i be considering swapping those out for something else? will something else run the 400W DEs better?

what ballasts are you talking about jack?

[Jack]

I haven't heard about a Hamilton 400w DE.

Just dont do it lol....