Would you dump 250's DE's for 400W SE's?

[johnnstacy]

This question is particularly aimed at SPS tanks. Seems strange to me that so many are using SE instead of DE? Is there some benefit that I don't know about. Most in this hobby could certainly afford DE so why do so many use SE? Would you dump 250 DE's to go 400W SE?

[Cody Ray]

SE bulbs give better coverage however DE penetrate the water better so if you went from a 250DE to a 400SE I think it would work well.

[mwood]

I think a couple of reasons some people go 400w is par and selection. The par of 400w se far outdoes 250w de. Some 400w de bulbs will out do 400w se, but the bulb selection is very limited. You can find about this by looking through the data on Sanjay's website.

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

[VegasMike]

I replaced eight 250 watt DE RO III pendants with four 400 watt SE in Lumenarc III pendants with no real visual difference or animal stress. I also eliminated eight 75 watt actinic VHO's as well since I went with 400 watt 20000k Helios.

[johnnstacy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8073279#post8073279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by VegasMike
I replaced eight 250 watt DE RO III pendants with four 400 watt SE in Lumenarc III pendants with no real visual difference or animal stress. I also eliminated eight 75 watt actinic VHO's as well since I went with 400 watt 20000k Helios.

Any improvement in color or growth up changing?

[VegasMike]

I really didn't notice much of a change at all in either color or growth.