Halide Replacement! What is everyone's favorite??

It's that time of the year to replace my halide. 250 watt DE 14k Phoenix bulb.
I am going to be adding 2 T5ho bulbs as well.

What is everyone's favorite combo's for color and growth?
I really like Blue tanks (bluer than Phoenix) & Crisp White colors.

 

Well, for growth of your corals without going to a nasty yellow looking 6500k MH, the 10000k mh are the best. Those produce the most PAR.

If you are supplementing with t5ho, then the 10000k halides are your best choice. XM makes great 10000k bulbs, these make the most PAR on comparison tests.

If running MH alone,it sounds like the 10000ks won't get you the color you like, but adding ATI blue+ t5s will get the blue to add to the crisp white.

 

I do have some XM 10k's lying around. I took them off before because I wasn't using T5's and they were WAY too yellow. I was just curious how they would look with Blue+ or Actinic. What do people prefer? Blue+ or Actinic?

 

The Xm 10000ks with ATI blue+ t5s work very well. Don't bother with the actinic t5s, those are deeper purple and less blue, in addition to the B+ making a lot more PAR.

 

Perfect! I wasn't sure if the actinics looked brighter, or something I wasn't aware of. Blue+ it is!

 

you could always do a DIY cree royal blue led strip instead of t5s. I'm doing a build thread right now.. I'm using 2 hamilton 175w 10k with led strips. I think xm 10k and hamilton 10k are close in comparision.

 

are 175 ok for a 55 reef? I tought you need 250 or higher?

 

Yes, 175 is good for a 55g reef. You just have to be more careful about coral placement & bulb height from water.
I thought about doing an LED strip but I like the ability to change the colors on T5 (thought about keeping the phoenix with AquaBlue or a White T5 supplement)

Also, the LED strip will cost more (for me right now) than t5 will. I broke down an old retro 2x175watt with 2x54 watt T5. So I just needed a reflector a the right bulbs.

How much do you think the LED strip would end up costing? (I need 2 of them) I'm thinking like $200, but I am probably wrong!

 

Check out Night-Ridas thread.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/...-actinic-supplement-48-light-strip-92290.html

 

well he used 8 leds in one strip and it added a lot more blue it was 100 including shipping i am going to put 12 on my 150 gallon its 100 for the set up

here it is 12 Premium LED Do-It-Yourself Retrofit Kit you just ask the guy for all royal blue leds and the only other thing you need is a metal to put it on