MH bulbs: which brand?

[primereef]

Ok everybody. I saw on other forums reviews on the coral vue MH bulbs which to say the least was not good. What is the best MH bulb brand? and what is the CRI I hear about>

[charlie]

I have been using coral vue 10K's on my fuge/frag tank and coral vue 14K's on my 80. I like 'em. Ushio makes a good bulb in the 10K. I use 20K radiums on my 300. It's a little blue, but it's all in what you like. Do you have the availability to go look at some tanks with different bulbs on them?
Oh yeah, mine are all single ended. I've never tried double ended bulbs, so maybe someone who has will also chip in here.

[primereef]

Thank you. I had heard from the lfs and and internet site that the coral vue MH were causing coral degradation. The LFS said that the coral vue bulbs need replacement every 6 months due to loss of spectrum. I currently have 14k 400w. I may try the 10k. I do like the blue tint on 20k but I also like the clear white also. The LFS recommended the blue line MH. I havent heard this one. He did say it was china made.

I don't want to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. I do have a 240gal so I may try the 10k or 20K.

Thanks for imput

[charlie]

Just for grins, you ought to try a combination of the 10k-20k bulbs.

[Poseidon]

I used the CV 10K bulbs SE for a year, without any problems. I have treid the AB, CoralVue, and now XM, all 10K all driven by IceCap ballasts, and the XM has been the best for me as far as color and Growth! Of course it is really not a scientific observation...

[saltjunkie]

i use the hamilton brand.. 13 k i believe.. i like it...

[primereef]

Thank you. I guess its a matter of preference. I just read on another forum that the coral vue bulb was not a good bulb. It seems like everybody has a preference. Again thank you.

[The R/C Man]

Based on some different lighting charts and the overall spectrum being used by a majority of sps corals, 20k's seem to provide the best lighting for these corals. As mentioned they do look rather blue and make it hard for our eyes to distinguish certain colors. I am going to try 400w 20k's over the 375 and suppliment with 6500k and 10000k VHO's..... This way the corals will benifit from the deeper penatrating 400nm lighting and our eyes will get to see all the vivid colors our mini reefs has to offer..

[primereef]

Based on some different lighting charts and the overall spectrum being used by a majority of sps corals, 20k's seem to provide the best lighting for these corals. As mentioned they do look rather blue and make it hard for our eyes to distinguish certain colors. I am going to try 400w 20k's over the 375 and suppliment with 6500k and 10000k VHO's..... This way the corals will benifit from the deeper penatrating 400nm lighting and our eyes will get to see all the vivid colors our mini reefs has to offer..

That is exactly what I was thinking. I like the 20k and then the vho white instead of the opposite actinic vho and 6500k mh. thanks for your confirmation of my thinking.

[Steven Pro]

My favorite lamp brands are Ushio, Aqualine-Buschke, and Iwasaki.

[primereef]

Thank you. I will look into these and see which would be best also I may use a combination in my 8 foot tank.