MH light bulb question

[bongo]

Alright I had enough with the Current MH 150w DE 10k... the coral growth is fine but MG the color is way too yellow for my taste

I have the Outer Orbit fixture and I'm thinking going for the Reeflux 12k or the Phoenix 14k

I have read and seen a lot of posts and image on the net but simply wish to consult fellow hobbyist before taking the plunge

Any thoughs?

PS will probably buy a bulb of each to test it for a while but hey... doesn't cost a dime to ask if someone has any experience with them

[mikerobart]

I can't speak personally on the reeflux 12k  ( although I have heard lots of good things ) but the Phoenix 14k is a great bulb. Mine ( a 250w de) burnt pretty much pure white with the slightest slightest hint of blue that somewhat lessened after burn in, but that was on a M80 ballast that probably caused a bit of overdriving.

Most people find it a pretty nice bright bright white with a healthy amount of blue and lots of pop. You'll see if you look at the spectrograph (Sanjay Joshi's) that the peak in the mid 400 nm  range is really strong so that's where you are going to see wicked "pop".

I think it's blue enough to give you the crazy colours you want without being too artificial... ie a yellow tang is still going to be a yellow tang.

I'm sure either bulb is great and of course always best to see in person but see if you can get Sanjays graphs and compare to see what to expect in terms of par and major colour differences.

[bongo]

yeah I heard that M80 which is a magnetic ballast might overdrive the bulbs and therefore show a different color than my M81 electronic

[mikerobart]

Yeah the M80 pushes bulbs whiter usually, so you will end up bluer than I would. Actually I would have preferred that, as I like the blue, and it's hard to get that blue on M80's. This is why I switched up to EVC20k de (which would be mega mega blue on an M81, but is only very slightly blue .. more 14k ish on m80).

[bongo]

well I could not wait any longuer and took the plunge

bought the pheonix 14k

the color is very blue compared to the current 10k... maybe a little too blue for my taste

does this bulb change color after the burn in period?

will probably also try the reeflux 12k