Any Iwasaki 15K 175w -- more light for less watts?

[pjr300]

According to Sanjay, this 175W 15k bulb has more PAR than my 250W 14K Hamilton! Can anyone talk to its real world performance? And its color as well... at 15K, does it look good without actinics? thx!

P.S. I have a 24" deep tank (6 foor by 18" footprint). Switching over to LPS and montis, with a few SPS and softies tossed in.

[Froggy]

It is a very white bulb to your eyes but very intense. I have good success with any coral in my 75 gallon. I plan to continue using them when I upgrade to the 120 soon.

I prefer them with actinics and use 2 110 watt actinic VHO's with mine. Even though they are a true 15 K bulb, they look nothing like the 14 Hamiltons you use now. The Hamiltons look much bluer to the naked eye. I personally like a whiter light so they work great for me.

[herostar]

I run one over my 20H by itself and it has given good growth in sps as well as everything else. I plan to use the same setup over my 58g when I switch it all next weekend. Then I may add actinic just because I have the parts around and will have the space for it now too... It is a very bright bulb. Much more intense and blue than the 10K Hamilton I had before it.

[pjr300]

Thx for the responses! Sounds like, based upon the visuals and the high PAR, that I really should not think ofn this as a "traditional" 20k, but more like a nice 10K bulb.

That helps!!! thx!

[Roland Jacques]

I think they are a cleaner white than most 10k's with a hint of blue. very nice

[glxtrix]

I run 3 of these on my 140. I ahve them in the LumenBright reflectors, which IMO is the best way to run these.....or in an LA. At any rate, I also run them with 2x110W VHO's. I'll agree with everyone, the color isnt all that great along with other 15K'ers, but for the wattage and PAR, it's totally worth it :) Also, if you can, run these with the ARO ballast....best match for these bulbs.

[pjr300]

Does anyone have heat issues with the 175W halides? Seems like they would be much cooler than 250 systems.

[uhuru]

I'm planning to run 2 of these in LB reflectors over a 60" long tub, no actinic supps. Trying to keep energy usage as low as possible!

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13116635#post13116635 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pjr300
Does anyone have heat issues with the 175W halides? Seems like they would be much cooler than 250 systems.

I used to run 2*175 ( the Iwasakis ) over my 58, and never had any heat issues that clip on fans couldn't fix. I recently upgraded to 2*250, 20K XM bulbs, and the tank's temps are the same. I personally didn't find the Iwasakis blue enough for my tastes.

[pjr300]

I should have asked if anyone here runs them on a magnetic (M57) ballast... trying to assess the ballast's impact on color. thx!

[hawaiian_boi]

i have two on my 40 breeder on aro balast.... no actinics i love it... nice white color .. shows the corals true color. bright and my tank stays constant at 80 degrees.. im setting up a 240 gallon and will be going with the same combo but im going to try out the lumenmax elite reflector...

[Eldredge]

I run one on an M-57 ballast on my 125. I also run a 10k hamilton and 20k XM along with two 110 Watt VHO super actinics. The Iwasaki is defenitly the brightest and whitest by far. I have a superman monti, purple encrusiting monti, and a peack millipora (just starting with the sps). They all seem to do well under it as well as a green trumpet coral and BTA. It's a little too bright for my green mushrooms, the lose color and move to the shade. All in all, I like it. Good luck.