Neptune Aquatics

New Bulb

patchin

patchin

Supporting Member
BARcard
I'm deciding on my next bulb and looking for advice. 175 watt with Hamilton magnetic ballast. Hamilton 14k weak. Ushio 10k bright but yellow. Is the Iwasaki 15k still a par buster with a magnetic ballast? How blue is it compared to the Hammie? Iwasaki is expensive! $100 at MD.
Thanks
 
It's pretty white, not as yellow/green as the Ushio, and definitely a lot brighter than the Hammy. The Iwasaki needs actinic supplementation, it's pretty white and does not pop anything. I got mine through coralreefecosystems.com for less than marine depot.
 
I'm in the same boat as you. looking for the magic actinic-less 175watt bulb. Getting tempted to spring for an aquaconnect (if I can find one)
 
Steve remember the Ushio that I gave you was older - I always thought they were pretty good white. I do have a new one if you want to just try it out.
 
When I used to have 175, I liked the way Coralife 10K looked. They were more like 14K-20K. I feel they were brighter than the Hami 14K.

Patrick
 
XM 10k burns in much whiter than the Ushios IME, bright as hell too.

Good luck on the 14k, the only one I really liked was somewhat dim, didn't last long but had great color balance (Reef Optics generic eBay bulb).
 
My XMs worked funny, one day they'd burn really crisp white... other days without touching a damn thing, they'd be yellow, it wasn't something I honestly could explain other than a crappy old magnetic ballast.

As for overall look I absolutely love the 12k Reeflux, however that one doesn't put out much in the way of light energy, and I almost feel like it's a waste of electricity.
 
Yes, Arnold, I'll try your Ushio. I added you bulb to my other fixture with more actinic and it looks better. I'm hoping to go to a 75 or 90 ga (60x18x20) and still use to 175 bulbs. Opinions?
 
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