Show your pics of iwasaki or ushio 14k lit tanks

[jakano]

Hoping to see these bulbs in action so please post some pics of yours.

[dew2loud1]

I don't have any pics, but I put one in the other day that I had laying around and had never used and man was it way too yellow for me. I'm used to running radiums and reeflux 12k's though. It was much brighter but pretty yellow for my liking. It was 400 w SE in a lumenbright with an electronic coralvue ballast.

[jakano]

I forgot to mention that I was looking for the DE bulbs. I was worried they look to yellow which is why I was asking.

[jakano]

Come on nobody is willing to post some pics? Ok how about showing some phoenix lit tanks as well?

[xtm]

side shot Iwasaki 14K no actinics
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/xtm4/67g/bulb_comparison/side_iwasaki14k.jpg

side shot Phoenix 14K no actinics
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/xtm4/67g/bulb_comparison/side_phoenix14k.jpg

side shot XM 20K no actinics
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/xtm4/67g/bulb_comparison/side_XM20k.jpg

This one's Ushio 10K with actinics
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/xtm4/75g/DSC05065.jpg

After going through 20 or so bulbs and several actinics-MH-ballast combinations, I liked this setup the most:

Ushio 20K on Advance M80 + 420nm T5's
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/xtm3/reef/67g_fts3.jpg

hope that helps

[jakano]

Wow thank you , the 20k ushio shot definitely looks the best.

[GSMguy]

ya the ushio 20k has the best color ive seen, i really think i should go back to it and stop worrying that my bulbs are not as bright as they could be...

[ant1k]

how is the par on the ushio 20k?

[jakano]

Yes I would also like to know the par myself. Its obviously enough for his sps so It cant be to low. I have been searching but not finding anything.

[GSMguy]

not great, but my SPS had better color with them than any bulb ive used.

they are about 60% of a pheonix, i have both pheonix and ushio 20k running right now, and i have a par meter but i dont have them in the same reflector so its not quite fair.

[jakano]

What kind of reflector is the ushio in? I will be using the standard reflectors that come with the Aqua medic pendants and those are not that great.

[jakano]

OK from everything I have found out the Ushio and Hit/Blv bulbs are the same bulbs, made by the same company, which is Ushio. On Sanjay's site the Hit/Blv 20k only has a ppfd of 43. So I doubt I will go that route since I have a 30" deep tank. So now I am back to the 14k's with 2 48" actinic T-5's.

[SnookSlayer08]

I have a 24 gallon aquapod with a 150w HQI w/ 2x 18 acintic fixure over it. Right now runnin a Giessmann 12.5k halide and coralife 460nm actinics. I want way more blue, my LFS runs the 20k Ushios on their 150w fixtures. Iwas wondering if it'd be enough for my tank, I want clams on the bottom, it's 18" deep.

[jakano]

Hard to say with a 150 I have never used one before. But if the 250 is only 43 then a 150 would be really low. Is it enough for clams hard to say. I know croceas will take every bit of light that can be thrown at them so I would avoid those. But derassa or squamossa might be ok.

[DarG]

Jakano, the Iwasaki picture is with NO actinics. The Ushio is with actinics. The Ushio 20K is a beautiful bulb. Just the right amount of blue and looks beautiful with actinics. I am running the 175 watt version right now. I have the 250 DE as well. They dont have a lot of par but they look nice.

The pictures do not look like my tank looks with the same bulbs. Different cameras and different monitors make the pictures look different. You cant rely on them to look like your tank will look with the same bulbs.

One thing I can say though is that the Iwasaki picture looks pretty close in that it shows the bulb as crisp, white light. I see zero yellow whatsoever in my Iwasaki 14K's and they look great with actinics as well. The Ushio 20K is bluer but doesnt have the par. The Iwasaki sits between the Ushio 14K and Ushio 20K in color from my perspective. The Ushio 14K is a warm white (slight yellow tint visible), the Ushio 20K is white with a visible but not overwhelming blue tint and the Iwasaki is a cool, crisp white bulb with maybe just the slightest hint of blue (depending on your perception).

Remember, Coming from a blue or yellow bulb will alter your initial perception of any new bulb that produces a color "opposite" of the one you just replaced it with. You have to "live" with any new bulb that is different than what you were using for atleast a little while to see what you really think about it. In my opinion anyway.

[jakano]

I understand about the differences in cameras and monitors I had that factored in when I compared them. I think I am pretty much sold on the iwasaki bulbs. Like I said in the other post where we were discussing this I am looking foe the whitest bulb I can find so when I add in my T-5 actinics I should have a very nice icey blue color. I also need a bulb with good par since my tank is so deep and when has an iwasaki bulb ever failed to offer that? It seems like the perfect bulb for me. Thanks for your help DarG in selecting bulbs, and to you xtm for the great pics.

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13850783#post13850783 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jakano
I understand about the differences in cameras and monitors I had that factored in when I compared them. I think I am pretty much sold on the iwasaki bulbs. Like I said in the other post where we were discussing this I am looking foe the whitest bulb I can find so when I add in my T-5 actinics I should have a very nice icey blue color. I also need a bulb with good par since my tank is so deep and when has an iwasaki bulb ever failed to offer that? It seems like the perfect bulb for me. Thanks for your help DarG in selecting bulbs, and to you xtm for the great pics.

Personally, I dont think I have seen a whiter bulb than the Iwasaki 14K in the 250 watt DE class. Im talking about a cool, crisp, white bulb. Not warm white and not white with blue. Of course the Iwasaki has the typical spectral ouput of the higher K halides. A big blue spike with little of anything else. For a halide to have a cool white look, it will necessarily have that large blue spike. The larger/broader the blue spike, the bluer the bulb. The Iwasaki's just has a bit less blue energy than the bluer halides so you dont visually see the blue like you do with the bluer looking halides. I actually do see the slight blue tint in the bulb but others describe it as white. If it helps at all, I was running Helios 20K's for a couple of weeks before I got the Iwasakis. When I installed the Iwasaki's I saw them as I describe them now. Crisp, bright, white bulbs. I ran them through break in and a little beyond to see what they would do and my last impression was still about the same. Cool white, no yellow at all, with just a hint of blue. Thats the way I see them anyway. I pulled them because I dont need the par right now but they will be my go to bulb when I stock this tank (unless I can get the par needed from the Ushio 20K) or after I go to a larger tank. I really like the Iwasaki bulbs ... second to the Ushio 20K's for color. They both look great with actinics. The Iwasakis have near twice the par according to Sanjays preliminary testing of them (assuming the BLV and Ushio 20K's are the same or close).

[jakano]

Sounds great to me. I was running SE XM 20k bulbs and I did like the color but they were never as bright as I liked. Before that I as running XM 10k with actinics and really liked how bright and white it looked with actinics and of course the par was fantatic. Sounds like the iwasaki will be the best of both worlds with my actinics.

[GSMguy]

Personally, I dont think I have seen a whiter bulb than the Iwasaki 14K


+1

[SnookSlayer08]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13850503#post13850503 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jakano
Hard to say with a 150 I have never used one before. But if the 250 is only 43 then a 150 would be really low. Is it enough for clams hard to say. I know croceas will take every bit of light that can be thrown at them so I would avoid those. But derassa or squamossa might be ok.

I'll probably go with the phoenix then, plus i have acintics so it should be just right, I want it just a bit blue. The giessmann is a bit to yellow for my tastes. Anyways the phoenix is cheaper and should give better growth.

[jakano]

From what everyone says the phoenix bulb is very blue so if you just want a little blue you might not want that bulb. It gets hard to make a choice with so many bulbs out there. Plus you never know how they will look on your setup.

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13852692#post13852692 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SnookSlayer08
I'll probably go with the phoenix then, plus i have acintics so it should be just right, I want it just a bit blue. The giessmann is a bit to yellow for my tastes. Anyways the phoenix is cheaper and should give better growth.

From what I have heard, the 150 watt Phoenix is not as blue as the 250 watt. But I have never seen the 150 watt version.

[jakano]

Oh yeah I forgot he was asking about 150w bulbs.... I have heard the same thing not quite as blue.

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13853511#post13853511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DarG
From what I have heard, the 150 watt Phoenix is not as blue as the 250 watt. But I have never seen the 150 watt version.


i have, looks the same IMO, depends on the ballasts more i think, on M-80 they both look less blue.

[kdblove_99]

Nice pics. I personally liked the Iwasaki pic the best!

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13856870#post13856870 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kdblove_99
Nice pics. I personally liked the Iwasaki pic the best!

Only the Iwasaki and the Ushio 20K with T5 actinic pictures DONT have a washed out look. The Phoenix and especially the XM20K both give the tank that washed out look in the pictures. The Phoenix gave a very washed out look in my tank as well when I used them briefly. The Iwasaki is a cool bulb. It has a WOW factor when you first install them. Bright with no yellow and no blue to speak of. Just crisp, clean, cool, bright white which is kinda different because experimenting with bulbs you either see a warm white with yellow tint or cool white with blue tint and often a hell of alot of blue tint. To plug a bulb in and just get that crisp, cool, bright white was pleasantly different. All the colors look different in the tank without the yellow or blue tint.