Cali Kid Corals

Plusrite bulbs

tuberider

tuberider

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Anyone try them? I was servicing a new client this week and he is running two 400w 14ks on e ballasts. I was impressed to say the least, as crisp white a bulb as I've ever seen. They really brought out the details, as well as they seemed very bright (no par meter so who knows). Anyway I did a little searching, and it sounds like they are a manufacturer similar to GE, Phillips, Venture etc. and make a wide range of bulbs instead of repackaging. I'm not sure if that's true, as I haven't dug deep yet, but that's the vibe I got.

Anyone?
 
I posted a follow up, but I believe it got lost in forum "upgrade". They are made in China by one of the major manufacturers, they make all kinds of bulbs. The 14k I was looking at was more like a very crisp 10k (no wonder I liked it), I found a source for them @ $25, I'm going to try some out on a clients FO tank and see how much I like them there.
 
Ive read that people have gotten these bulbs instead of the name brands they have purchased due to scam artists.

I believe Ive read that people experiences show the bulbs degrade fast. A search on reefcentral for plusrite or cheap ebay halide bulbs show a few of these opinions.
 
Are these like the super cheap ones that you can get on ebay?

I know someone that tried some of those and said they shifted color horribly after a 3(?) months.
 
All I know it I saw them in place working on a tank, and was shocked. The owner of the tank said they were about 7 months old. Anytime I read stuff on RC I take it with a grain of salt, I've used bulbs from Greatdel, reefoptix, and a couple of other "cheap" bulb companies, I was only impressed with the Reefoptix, unfortunately they did not last more than 6 months. Too bad they had nice color.

The scam being referred to was the switching of reefoptix bulbs for Plusrite, again, eBay, you don't know if your getting a copy or the real deal. They might not have been Plusrite bulbs to begin with, just had some crap stamped on them.
 
This one wasn't on RC.

A local guy bought some super cheap no name made in China bulbs that ended up being junk, which is what he sorta expected.
 
couple people on this forum http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/equipment/15161-250w-10k-bulb-23-99-what.html

like the bulb, so who knows. Cant hurt to try since they are cheap, but Id make sure I have a back up bulb of known quality on hand, just in case.
 
I just can't get Dan's cynical bulb speech out of my head I guess.... "Guy's their all the same", I'm sure he was looking at a bunch of blank faces when he said that.

To be honest I'm unhappy with 90% of the bulbs I've used, name brand or not I always find something I don't like.
 
My statement about having a backup bulb is more geared towards the possibility that the bulb will go dead or have a huge shift in spectrum. An extra bulb will ensure no black out times while a replacement is ordered. Ive had that situation occur and it was very frustrating.

"To be honest I'm unhappy with 90% of the bulbs I've used, name brand or not I always find something I don't like"

Tell me about it..Since I set up my current 150 since last June, I have gone through or tried the following bulbs..

2x Generic 20k 250w
1x 12k Reeflux
2x hamilton 14k
2x helios 20k


T5 bulbs
2x sunburst 10k
2x gessmanactinic
2x aquablue plus
2x uvl super actinic
2x figi reds



Im currently using the helios 20k with figi red and uvl super actinic for supp. It creates a 17-18k look. Im still curious about radiums and aquaconnects.
Im happy with what i have now, but wouldnt mind something with a little more par and a slight less blue. Will it ever end!!
 
I believe Sanjay did a test on the super cheap ebay bulbs and found they were for the most part.. garbage. If anything the output in light you got was way less than a lower wattage "brand name" bulbs. Although I don't recall them being pulserite brand.

That being said however, I agree I've hated XM bulbs, they look too damn yellow, I'm a physicist I know what a blackbody spectrum for a 10k object should look like, and yellow aint it. I've liked the reeflux bulbs, but then again, others might not, and the PAR does take a beating on the 12k bulb, even though I do love the color.
 
Hey, that would be kinda cool - What a "Wouldn't It Be Great If..."

I have a 400w 14k SE Ushio if anyone is willing to try - probably used if for about four months would like to try 250w or 400w Radium, Helios 20k of either SE variety, XM20 of either variety or ....ta da - highly unlikely but worth a try - AquaConnect of either variety.
 
I have used a handful of these bulbs over the past 6 months and can say they are the best "cheap" bulb that I can find.

I've used

400w 14k (4)
250w 14k (2)
175w 14k (2)
175w 20k (1)
250w 20k (1)

I have had 2 400w side by side, then replaced them with the identical bulb, all of the bulbs showed even coloration, with the old bulbs (9 months) performing the same as the new ones.

I have 2 175w 14ks side by side, they have been running for 5 months, the color is identical on both, and I actually like them better than the Ushio 14s that were in there before, the Ushios were not even in color, one bulb was considerably more yellow.

The 14ks seem a bit more like a 12k, with no hint of yellow, and a slight blue tint.

The 20ks are much like an XM on a mag ballast, I have not been using them for long enough to get an idea of their lifespan (3 months), but what 20k bulb lasts very long anyway?

If you're looking for a cheap bulb, these guys are not too bad I must say, I do have a few on reef tanks now and the coral seems to do just fine and they are growing well.
 
I have the Aquaconnect 14k in 400w, Helios 20k 400w, Phoenix 14k 250w DE, AB 10k 250w DE, Helios 20k 250w DE if anyone wants to give them a shot.

I may have to borrow those 400w from you and test the PAR to compare.

My Helios put out a good amount of PAR but the color and PAR levels are inconsistent. Check out this recent pic. One side is pinker and the other bluer. The blue side has about 10% lower PAR levels.

IMG_3218.jpg
 
Wow, don't think I'll be getting Helios anytime soon.

If you want I'll try and grab one of the old 400w bulbs from my client next time I'm there unless he chucked them, which he tends to do with everything.

If I can't get it their ~$25
 
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