Doug, I couldn't be happier with the pellets. Nitrates start at 0 and only get to .25 before changing 15% of the water every two weeks. (Salifert & Elos) Phosphates are always zero on the Hanna checker. I used to have to do 15% changes weekly to keep the nitrates under 25. Tank has never been clearer and corals are growing well. I run the pellets in a Vertex UF-15 and just a small amount of GFO in a TLF reactor. I find if I don't run at least a little GFO I get some cyano.

Thats great mang!.....do you find the need to clean your equipment(mind outta the gutter kids:wink:) more?....

Briefly thought about running them on the old version but nitrates sat around 5 so I figured "why bother"....thought about it briefly again right after the crash and the algae explosion happened....was kinda sittin on the fence waiting to see what time would tell with them....sounds promising!

When I first started them I had a small outbreak of cyano and film algae on the glass. This lasted no more than a couple of weeks. They are pretty much maintenance free. Pour them in the reactor, turn on the pump and forget about it.

Dammit I hate when equipment doesn't last.
$150 per bulb and one burns out after 5 months. Grrrrrrr! Would have liked to get another 5 months out of it. The next bulbs will be the cheaper XM's.

eeeek! 150 bones for a bulb!.....what flavor were they?.....seems pretty steep for a bulb these days.....

Geiseman Megachrome 400w 13000K = $130 plus tax plus freight = $150

Anybody using the XM 15000K 400w MH? Would like to hear what you think of them.

I am using the SE 14K XM, little on the yellow side but getting good growth.

I wonder how much difference between the 14K and 15K? The sales pitch is a blue/white colour.

I figure the difference would be somewhere around 1K :eyebrows: seriously tho that may just be the difference between the SE and DE bulbs as I have not seen a 15K SE. I am due for a city trip if you want me to pick you up a bulb (save some shipping, and know it won't get smashed on the way here)