Metal Halide bulb and ballast question

[287C]

Which manufactures bulb best matches my ballast in these two colors.
ballast is a 250w M58
14K
20K
Will be keeping in the tank
FISH
LPS
SPS
I had Coralvue 20ks in it but they need to be replaced and after looking at this site I have no idea which ones are right for my ballast. LFS wanted me to get Radium but reading on a few different sites they all say I might have trouble getting them to start. I looked at the Sanjay stuff and I'm still not sure what it all means.

[charlie]

Have you tried the Reefflux 10K?

[287C]

No but like the tank more blue and don't think a 10k will give me that.

[287C]

Or would the Reefflux 10K be more blue with the M58 ballast than a normal looking 10K?

[charlie]

What I found when I drove them with an HQI PFO ballast was they were just a really crisp white. They really complimented the 4 other Radiums I had on there. I don't have any experience with your ballast at all, so I am kind of poking and hoping here.

[287C]

I have 4 65w Dual Actinics and 2 250w MH. I like the blue and colors the 20ks bring out but also wonder if it will slow coral growth being so blue.

[charlie]

What size is your tank? I have 4 20K radiums (400w) and 2 250w radiums, and to be honest, my growth is just fine. I don't want things growing out of the tank anyways. JMHO

[287C]

My tank is a 125 and is a rebuild after a lot of old problems I let it sit idol for about a year with just a few fish no coral and now want to get it back like it was. I have seen a few people say that the Radiums will have trouble on the M58 ballast so I'm sorta shy to buy them and then have to buy two new ballasts to run them.

[charlie]

Have you looked into something like a 14 or 15 K bulb? You said you were running a 14 and a 20k already.

[287C]

I'm running 2 20ks now and wanted to know which bulbs in 14k and 20k colors work the best with a M58 ballast. I'm not sure if I want to go with the 20ks again and maybe go with 14ks instead. I looked at some of the Sanjay reports and still not real sure which are the best to run with my ballast.

[charlie]

Try a search on SPS bulbs. They are new, but I like them. I have tried the 15K, (I think they are 15K), and I liked them. I thin k the only thing you can do is give something a try. Not having any experience with that ballast, isn't much help. There are no really tried and true answers, that is why you here reports of the bulbs not firing. The people who have had them fire usually don't say much.

[287C]

Ok tthanks but now that I'm looking at the tank it seems one bulb is brighter than the other (and have always thought that but didn't think it was as bad as it looks now) Changed the bulb cord outputs on the ballast and the problem followed the ballast or ghanged bulbs. So now I believe I also need a ballast along with bulbs. So if I need both than I want to upgrade to 400w and electronic ballasts. Have any suggestions there?
Thinking about this setup
Lumatek 400W 120V/240V Dual-Voltage Digital Ballast
maybe these bulbs
400W 20000K METAL HALIDE SINGLE ENDED BULB—RADIUM
400W 14000K METAL HALIDE SINGLE ENDED BULB—USHIO
400W 14000K METAL HALIDE SINGLE ENDED BULB—HAMILTON
and I'm up in the air about this one I don't know anything about them
400W 15000K METAL HALIDE SINGLE ENDED BULB-XM

[charlie]

I have not had good experience with anything named XM and Hamilton. Ushios are really pricey, as are Radiums, but at least you get a decent bulb. It is really to bad that PFO went out of business!!!!! I would also look into Ice Cap ballasts.

[287C]

I was thinking of the Icecap ballasts before I posted and now I think I have come to a decision
2 400w Icecap ballasts
2 400w Radium bulbs

[charlie]

I think you will be happy

[smariner]

Be sure to look into the EVC metal halide lamps. They perform very well compared to most major brands.

Hope this helps,
Chad D. Bryant