14K MH, Ushio vs pheonix

Thought I might add to this thread.

I needed a new bulb for my QT tank as the bulb in there is a 1 year old aquamedic. The bulb before that was a ushio 14k and was really yellow.....I figured I'd give it a shot one more time since the aquamedic bulb is so darn expensive.

To my surprise it's not yellow at all, I must have had an older batch. This 14k ushio is a tad blue looks to be maybe 12k true temperature and a tad cooler than the aquamedic being a more crisp white. I like it.

This is a 70w DE for those interested.
 
so back from the dead.........whats the consensus on this right now??? its been a while....250w DE 14k ushio or phoenix? sanjays site says the phoenix puts out more par but i've been told that its slow growth and corals dont necessarily like it...thinking about sending back the phoenix for an ushio...right now i'm running an AB 10k and I wanted mroe blue since i don't have supplemental but i dont want to lose my growth
 
I am wondering the same. I need bulbs. I was considering the ushio 14K over the phoenix 14K. I have a 250w DE MH fixture with 4 Actinics over a 90. Was afraid the phoenix would be too blue.

Anyones opinions changed?
 
so back from the dead.........whats the consensus on this right now??? its been a while....250w DE 14k ushio or phoenix? sanjays site says the phoenix puts out more par but i've been told that its slow growth and corals dont necessarily like it...thinking about sending back the phoenix for an ushio...right now i'm running an AB 10k and I wanted mroe blue since i don't have supplemental but i dont want to lose my growth


Do you have a link to where sanjay looked at the ushio 14Ks? I cannot find it on his usual site?
 
i think it was t 10ks..i dont think he has the 14ks on his site...even then though it says that the phoenixs put out more par
 
Where does it say that? Could it be referring to the BLV lamps that are or are assumed by a lot of people to be the same as ushios?

Could he have been referring to the pheonix's to other 14K's (he tested and wrote up the pheonixs before the ushio 14k's came out)?

I'm perplexed as my ushios completely blew away pheonix's when I compared them with a light meter. (the pheonix's had some hours on them though, but the difference was substantial). Also the subjective impression, and response from livestock all seemed to indicate that there was a LOT more light coming out of the ushios.
 
sanjay doesn't have the 14k ushio on there...so comparison is only for 10k ushio to 14k phoenix...this is what his data says.

PHOENIX:
Phoenix HexArc 250W 14000K DE 1 Blueline 250W Electronic
PPFD=74

USHIO:
Ushio 250W 10000k DE IceCap 250W Electronic
PPFD=65


that just doesn't look right to me...that the much bluer phoenix 14k puts out higher par levels than the 10k ushio....from the people i've been talking to jeremy at CRA mostly this doesn't add up

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting
 
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Yup, I'm looking at sanjays info on manhatten reefs.

From what I've read a DE Ushio should be driven by an M-80 ballast and do poorly on an electronic....

http://glassbox-design.com/2009/new-lighting-project-ushio-14k-20k-halides/


I don't know. Here's the numbers I got when I tested my ushio 14k lamps on M80 vs lumatek electronic. (maybe not all electronic ballasts are created equal)
"
Originally Posted by jimmyj7090
As requested;

With electronic/digital ballasts;
275W 270W, 2.62 amp

depth
at surface - 710 765
3" 480 560
6" 420 460
9" 360 420


With M80 magnetic ballasts;
290 W 4.81a 300 W, 3.94amp

depth
at surface - 550 615
3" 410 470
6" 340 370
9" 280 315
"
 
Yup, I'm looking at sanjays info on manhatten reefs.




I don't know. Here's the numbers I got when I tested my ushio 14k lamps on M80 vs lumatek electronic. (maybe not all electronic ballasts are created equal)
"
Originally Posted by jimmyj7090
As requested;

With electronic/digital ballasts;
275W 270W, 2.62 amp

depth
at surface - 710 765
3" 480 560
6" 420 460
9" 360 420


With M80 magnetic ballasts;
290 W 4.81a 300 W, 3.94amp

depth
at surface - 550 615
3" 410 470
6" 340 370
9" 280 315
"

And then again,maybe not all M80 ballast are created equal.;)
Everything I have read says that the HQI M80 pretty much overdrives the bulbs.But,who knows.:confused:
 
That's probably true. Also not all bulbs are created equal. I have a pair of Radiums, both purchased new at the same time. One bulb reads 1250 on the surface, the other 1000, which is a 25% difference in par put out by either the bulb or the ballast (both of those are new too). And just for fun I hooked up an Iwasaki 6500 that according to Sanjays site should put out double the par of my Radiums and it only registered 1500 at the surface...

And then again,maybe not all M80 ballast are created equal.;)
Everything I have read says that the HQI M80 pretty much overdrives the bulbs.But,who knows.:confused:
 
That's probably true. Also not all bulbs are created equal. I have a pair of Radiums, both purchased new at the same time. One bulb reads 1250 on the surface, the other 1000, which is a 25% difference in par put out by either the bulb or the ballast (both of those are new too). And just for fun I hooked up an Iwasaki 6500 that according to Sanjays site should put out double the par of my Radiums and it only registered 1500 at the surface...

I know that the 14K Ushio's I'm running have very little blue to them.
But,I've heard that if they're run on a electronic they are quite a bit towards the blue side.It would be nice if Sanjay's site included the 14K Ushio instead of just the 10,000K.I've witnessed a few heated threads reguarding this on other websites.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=196873&pid=2249661&st=0&#entry2249661
 
I don't think sanjay has done much testing since before the ushio 14ks came out. In vauge subjective terms, from what I've seen/used first hand the 14k's may well have just as much if not more output than the older 10Ks, but that's just a guess.

I'd also add that the numbers I posted were on a lumatek ballast which pushes more out of the bulbs than the M80's, and to my subjective eye the color looked very similar. I wonder if a lesser performing/less well matched electronic ballast might make for a more blue appearance?
 
I have a stock, outer orbit MH fixture. It has two remote magnetic ballasts. Is that the same as M80 ballasts?
 
I have a stock, outer orbit MH fixture. It has two remote magnetic ballasts. Is that the same as M80 ballasts?

Not knowing that fixture, not sure. If it came set up for DE lamps, then yes it should be M80 ballasts. If it came with SE lamps, it's probably M58 ballasts.

If you can open it up, you can tell by the components. If it's a M80, there will be a main coil thing, and two additional parts per ballast. If it's a M58 you would find the main coil and just one other major component inside.
Here's the parts inside a M58;
http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=174

And here is the guts to a M80;
http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=165
 
If it's a M80, there will be a main coil thing, and two additional parts per ballast. If it's a M58 you would find the main coil and just one other major component inside.
To help what my brother from another mother is trying to say here, the correct terminology is:

M80 has a capacitor and an ignitor in addition to the transformer
M58 only has a capacitor and a transformer

:cool:
 
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