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Bring out yer (almost) dead 150W DE Metal Hallide bulbs

bondolo

bondolo

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After the parking lot mini equipment swap at the BBQ back in August I finally put up a MH fixture over my frag tang. (Thanks JAR!). It has an ancient 14K bulb. Before buying a new bulb I would like to try out different colours and manufacturers. I am leaning towards bluer 15 and 20K bulbs.

If you have old 150W DE MH bulbs laying around I can experiment with for a couple of months I would be interested in collecting them at the Nov 10th meeting. I'd be happy to return the bulbs after I am done experimenting and can probably find a frag of something to offer for your assistance.
 
do be aware old bulbs are no reflection of the true kelvin when the bulb was in use... they shift over time, the reason to get new ones.
 
Yep, understood. Evaluating based upon worn out ones is not optimal but it hopefully beats just buying a random brand and maybe (or maybe not) liking it.
 
Been a while, but I believe the 150W DE 14k phenix were very good stand-alone bulbs (and relatively inexpensive).
http://www.marinedepot.com/14000K_Metal_Halide_Bulb_Phoenix_Double_Ended_150_Watt_Double_Ended_Metal_Halide_Light_Bulbs-Phoenix-MB2664-FILTBUMHDEHW-vi.html
 
Gomer said:
Been a while, but I believe the 150W DE 14k phenix were very good stand-alone bulbs (and relatively inexpensive).
http://www.marinedepot.com/14000K_Metal_Halide_Bulb_Phoenix_Double_Ended_150_Watt_Double_Ended_Metal_Halide_Light_Bulbs-Phoenix-MB2664-FILTBUMHDEHW-vi.html
Click to expand...

The pheonix and the Ushio 14K seem to be the most common recommendations.

Any fans of the XM 15K or Hamilton 14K?
 
Mike, if you want I have old ( 1 year use) of Current USA 14k or Odyssea 14k or an unknown 14k bulb that you can have. I was keeping them as spares incase one bulb burned out. I am not even running a 150 mh now, but still have the bulbs. LMK if you want any or all of them. a frag of something would be fine for trade.
 
I have 14k phoenix and 20k radiums that you can have. I will not be a the meeting. If you are near SSF, feel free to pick them up.
 
I use to use the xm 15k but tryed the phonix 14k and been use then since, they were both real close but the 14k seem to be the better choice for me. I wanted the color and the growth rate of 14k, if u not to worried about growth rate and like alot of blue go with 20k
 
I have been playing around with several bulbs that Arnold gave me at the last meeting. I've found that I prefer the 14K to the 20K. I was also surprised by the differences in colour between the four 14K bulbs I have to try. Admittedly they are at different and unknown stages of wear but the differences are nonetheless quite dramatic.

One thing I thought was interesting was the difference in colour, especially noticeable during startup between the ancient magnetic and the sunlight supply electronic ballast. I tried this with only one bulb but took pictures of the white wall behind the tank in my darkened office after 5 minutes of warmup using each ballast. The electronic ballast was more blue and brighter than the magnetic ballast. I've read that ballasts are only nominally their rated wattage and can vary by 10% so it's possible that the difference is just that one is driving more current than the other.

I believe that I will be going with the Elos 14K bulb when I buy a new bulb because it is apparently a close match to the Giesmann 14.5K for colour. I really like the Giesmann (hopefully the 150W is the same colour as the 250W) and I can get a good deal on the Elos bulb. (Talk to Carson and Joe at Aquatic Collection). For now I am using a nearly new Current USA bulb that Arnold had. The corals are loving it.
 
It's widely known some ballasts over drive, and other under drive. Sanjay reported on this many years ago. Heck, he's got a guide to what each did at the time, if you look hard enough on the web.
 
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