10K - 14K - 20K - ???
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
Forum Description: This is the place to ask question about reef equipment.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21001
Printed Date: August 14 2025 at 1:20pm
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Topic: 10K - 14K - 20K - ???
Posted By: reef-a-delic
Subject: 10K - 14K - 20K - ???
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 5:42pm
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I have an Current-USA Outer Orbit HQI light fixture.
Had it about a year, I have the option to replace the bulbs with 10K, 14K, or 20K bulbs.
Searching through most of the forums, it seems most people swear 14K are the best,....................
I know the 'look' and 'feel' of lighting is subject to personal taste, BUT, opinions please!
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Replies:
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 5:48pm
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JMHO 20K BLUE and good coral color with slower growth, 10K white to yellowish and very good growth. 14K good compromise of color vs growth. I personally like Phoenix 14K with VHO actinic supplementation.
Mike -------------  |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 5:58pm
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I agree with Mike. ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: reef-a-delic
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 6:03pm
| Where is a good place to get the Phoenix 14K HQI bulbs? Price? |
Posted By: ewaldsreef
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 9:51pm
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I really am a fan of 10k XM with VHO actincs to supliment.I like the look and they seem to grow coral at a decent rate. This of course just my opinion. ------------- Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL] |
Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 9:57pm
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I like my 2 175 W MH 14k Hamilton bulbs with 3 6' VHO Actinics. Let me know if you'd like to stop by and check them out.
------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 10:08pm
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I've tried all 3 and I'm back to14k pheonix bulbs and 10k T-5s for supplemetatin on both of my tanks ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: October 08 2007 at 10:14pm
I need a new camera now though, all of my pictures are too blue and I can't adjust my white balance enough on my Kodak.
  ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: Aquarium Creations
Date Posted: October 10 2007 at 6:48pm
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Hey brad lets see the ne acro i can hardly see it in the pic :-) ------------- Aquarium Maintenance,Consulting,Custom Built Glass Aquariums Rimless/Euro,24Hr Emergency Service 8015485201 Www.UtahAquariumDoctors.com [email protected] |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: October 10 2007 at 11:29pm
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Here ya go Eric, They are still really blue due to my new lights.
The first 2 are from Marine Aquatics and the third from Aquatica.
   ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: October 11 2007 at 10:51am
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I really like that first one!
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: eldiente
Date Posted: December 08 2007 at 10:26pm
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Does anyone know where to get the phoenix 14K 250W HQI? Aquatic Dreams is out of them right now, I'm down in Utah for the weekend and was planning on picking some up. thanks ------------- Brian Twin Falls, Idaho 210 Gallon Glass reef |
Posted By: jpndave
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 6:53am
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Wow, nice acros!
As for color temperature. I agree with mike too. But, I have 175W Iwasaki 15K and really like them. I don't like the yellow but also don't like really blue. The Iwasaki strikes the perfect balance in my opinion and has phenomenal output when paired with an icecap, brighter than most 250w and imo, brighter than many 400w I have seen.
Good Luck!
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Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 9:17am
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Brian, I haven't came across any LFS here that carries the Pheonix bulbs. You can order them from Reefgeek.com though. Another site that I have bought them from is this.
http://www.illuming.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=291 - http://www.illuming.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=291
If you do find them locally, let me know. ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: eldiente
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 9:51am
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On Friday I talked with Aquatic Dreams in Clearfied and he says he usually caries them but was out of the 250, I think he had some 150's. I believe he said they were $89 but I'm not real sure. ------------- Brian Twin Falls, Idaho 210 Gallon Glass reef |
Posted By: eldiente
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 10:28am
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How do the 14K Hamilton compare with the 14K phoenix? That second site illuming has the phoenix for $60 with free shipping. Birdworld carries the Hamilton and I believe they were $69, I'm just wondering if they are comparable enough to get them while I'm down here or to just order the phoenix. It would actually be cheaper to order the phoenix, but take longer to get them. But usually it takes me long enough to do anything it probably won't matter. lol
Also I haven't heard of the Iwasaki, anyone else had experience with them, jpndave did you get them locally? ------------- Brian Twin Falls, Idaho 210 Gallon Glass reef |
Posted By: eldiente
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 10:34am
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Is there any danger of replacing 20K and 10K lights with 14K lights. I have two 20k's and one 10K in the middle. If I replace them all at once is it going to cause damage to the corals? I thought I might dial back the time they are on in the beginning. They are very hard to get to and change and so when I do change them I would like to change all three, any opinions? ------------- Brian Twin Falls, Idaho 210 Gallon Glass reef |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 11:28am
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I think you will be fine. I replaced all three of mine and only had positive affects on my coral. IMO I think you will be happy with the pheonix bulbs, although I haven't tried the Hamilton 14k. I have ordered from Illuming several times over the past 4 years and have been very satisfied. Free shipping is a bonus. ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 11:42am
For 14k, I think Phoenix bulbs have just about the best PAR in the group. I've used them for quite sometimes now and are happy with them. The fact that they are so cheap doesn't hurt either .
------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: eldiente
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 11:46am
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thanks!!!! What does PAR mean? ------------- Brian Twin Falls, Idaho 210 Gallon Glass reef |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 11:52am
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PAR stands for Photosynthetically Active Radiation, which is the amount of light usefull for photosynthesis that a bulb puts out. You can plug the ballasts and bulbs in this website http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/selectperformancedata.php - http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/selectperformancedata.php and find out what the performance are. Unfortunately, Sanjay didn't test for DE Hamilton and Iwasaki. By the way, PPFD (used in the website) is similar to PAR. I usually pay attention to PPFD, which is the actual light output; and the efficiency, which is PPFD divided by the amount of wattage used. ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: jpndave
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 2:38pm
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Here are a few numbers:
The Iwasaki is kind of an anomoly and only the 175W 15K with icecap has the performance. It is one of Sanjay's favorites. I think they now have a 250W double ended that is supposed to be really nice (it's new and hence wasn't availble when the tests were done). Iwasakis are more expensive then the others.
Iwasaki 15K 175W:
Phoenix 250w:
ALL PERFORMANCE DATA FOR LAMP:Phoenix HexArc 250W 14000K DE 2
You can see that the 175 has as good or better numbers than the 250 accross the board. (you need to compare the shielded numbers as you need to run the shield on the DE, and the SE already has one.
The efficiency is Sanjay's rating PAR (re growth) per watt. I think the 15K Iwasakis is the highest efficiency short of the 6500K bulbs that are YELLOW!
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Posted By: jpndave
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 2:46pm
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I checked and Iwasaki does have a 250W 14K DE. Their numbers are VERY impressive. Here is an excerpt from their catalog the red number is the rated light output in Lumens.
Website is here:
http://www.eyelighting.com - www.eyelighting.com
Catalog here:
http://www.eyelighting.com/ss/EQS-N-52-84-00032.pdf - http://www.eyelighting.com/ss/EQS-N-52-84-00032.pdf
Temp. Product Product Compatible Case Initial MOL LCL Diameter Life Fix. Burn Watts (K) Bulb Code Description Ballast Qty. Lumens (mm) (mm) (mm) Hours CRI Req. Pos. Double-Ended 250 14000 1 T9FC2 57753 MTD250AQUA/14K M80 24 15000 3 139 69.5 27.5 6000 NA E HOR+45� Tubular Mogul Base175 15000 1 T15 57713 MT175AQUA2/HOR M57 12 8500 1 211 129 48 6000 NA E HOR+15� |
Posted By: eldiente
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 3:07pm
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thank you again, I'm assuming it also has to be ordered, and not found locally. ------------- Brian Twin Falls, Idaho 210 Gallon Glass reef |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 5:23pm
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That does look very promising. Thanks for the info Dave. Do you know of any place selling the 250w 14k DE bulbs yet?
------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 5:34pm
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I actually found the link on Reefcentral talking about this bulb http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1116512&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1116512&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 It looks like the PAR of the Iwasaki 250w DE bulb is a bit less than that of Phoenix. They explained that is because the Iwasaki has a built-in layer of UV protective coat while Phoenix doesn't. However, both will need a glass shield anyway. I'll stick with the Phoenix for now. I'll still need to read the whole thread though. Just got through 1 page so far. ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 5:42pm
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Prices are here http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ltg_bulbs-mh.asp - http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ltg_bulbs-mh.asp 73 bucks. Definitely stick with Phoenix for now  .------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |
Posted By: jpndave
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 6:56pm
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I'll have to read that thread. I am commited to the SE bulbs (I have 4 of them, 1 for the current cube and 3 for an upcoming 180) at this point, they are supposed to be better in the lumenarc reflectors. That is per lumenarc. It has to do with the focal point on the reflectors, some other reasons too, but I forget exactly. Will have to go through my notes to recall.
I think that is the same place that I got my bulb, again, have to check to be sure. They are more expensive than some other bulbs. I really like the color though. I could never find one that was quite right, too yellow or too blue for my taste. These are just right IMO. Also, the 175 has excellent output.
I don't know much about the 250W version. All my research was before it was released.
How much are the phoenix bulbs?
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Posted By: jpndave
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 6:57pm
| There is a site somewhere that has comparison photos of most bulbs. I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have the link handy? |
Posted By: jpndave
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 7:02pm
LOL,  It is on that same site that sells the bulbs. I think there is still another that has Ushio and some others.
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Posted By: dkle
Date Posted: December 09 2007 at 7:14pm
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the phoenix is around 55-65. I don't have any experience with SE bulbs, so I can't really comment on their color or performance. ------------- If you can't bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bs! Dinhkim Le - Procrastinator extra-ordinare |