ok, whos got'em and lets see'em. 14k sakis

[zapata41]

ok well let see those 14k iwasakis, gonna get one for my frag tank and wanna see some over some other ppls tanks. also when they gonna come out with a 250 watt version, my next bulb to replace my xms if they come out in time

Tim

[shelburn61]

me too! I remember seeing a post saying they hadn't planned to come out with the 250w but Icecap, among others, was working on them.

[mntl]

go here Iwasaki 14k (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=770529) I showed a comparison of it vs the hamilton 14k. Hope that helped.

-John-

[zapata41]

thanks

[drake66]

Hey john whered you get that tank?

[mntl]

It's a custom from Miracles in glass.

-John-

[drake66]

very nice

[manderx]

here's my 50 back when i first got them:
http://foresters-inc.com/mander/iwasaki14.jpg

and here they are ~2 months later. i recently moved and the tank is just starting to settle down. the haze in the water is lots of microbubbles. made no attempt to aquascape, got a 3x3 already on order...

without Blue+ (looks alot brighter in real life)
http://foresters-inc.com/mander/I14.jpg


with 2 brand new blue+ (looks alot better in real life)
http://foresters-inc.com/mander/I14B+.jpg

[mntl]

Just a for-warning with this bulb. It is a very true 14k, which to most of us looks like a super crisp 10k. This is not as blue as most 14k's but it is not yellow like a 10k. The par and visual "brightness" of this bulb is much higher than others of the same wattage (I have tried a few and looked at most). This bulb would be very ideal imo with a small bit of actinic, it does bring out color without it though. I have read alot of the reviews of this bulb and I think people understate the lack of blue, if you are expecting a brighter hamilton this will dissapoint as it is not as blue, it is bluer than an xm10k but definately whiter than the hamilton. It is somewhere in-between the two, If you like the look of a 10k with actinic, then this bulb is perfect (assuming this is the 10k and you will add actinic) if you do not suppliment and want the blue to "pop" you will most likely be a bit dissapointed imo. just my .02c Excellent bulb none-the-less, best 175w I have used.

-John-

[zapata41]

well i am thinking of using it over my frag tank with now supp. actinics.

and when or if they come out with the 250w versions and the par is just as great then they will replace my xm 10ks

Tim

[evannave]

john that a great looking tank could you give the detial I am thinking of seting up a small one

[doody]

whats blue+

[zapata41]

blue + is a T5 bulb used for actinic suppl.

Tim

[zapata41]

ok just an update. got my bulb in the other day and got everything hooked up. dont have my lumenarc mini yet so i just slapped it all in a dioy reflector that i mad real quick
well here is a pic. this is after like 14 hrs of burn time.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/zapata41/lightingpics003.jpg

Tim

[DrBDC]

How is the PAR compared to a XM10,000K? I started with the XM15000K and was dissappointed w/growth. I went to the 10,000K and am very happy but they're just too white. I have a number of different "blue" variations of zo's and a blue tort. The tort still looks blue with my 10,000K XM's but the zo's are just grey. It's getting time to change the bulbs and this sounds promising. I hope it's not a failure like the XM15000K's are IMO. Since thier 10,000K's are higher par than the XM 10,000k's I'm crossing my fingers.

[mntl]

It is higher, in the 175w bulb category this is the highest par bulb available as of now within the K range we use.

-John-

[DrBDC]

Decisions decisions. Buy these now with 6 months on my XM's or wait a few more months for their 20,000K versions.

[zapata41]

yes, the PPFD, par, is 86 for the saki on a ICECAP ballast and only 70 for the xm 10K and for reference the xm20k is only 35. the 175 bulbs looks almost as bright as my 250 10k xms over my display. man i hope the 250w version comes out soon

Tim