Metal Halide Bulb Brand?

any recommendations for metal halide bulbs? inexpensive and expensive ones?
how many kelvin will make corals grow faster and have good color?
thanks

 

the lower the number the more yellow it is there is 10k 12k 14k 15k 20k


i like the 14ks if you dont have much atinics, but i use 12ks as i have plenty of supplmental blues



I like reflux,hamilton,XM

 

I prefer SPS bulbs myself.
Cost is about the same pretty much across the spectrum. They are not cheap, and that's just the way it is.
Kelvin rating is personal taste. Higher spectrum is bluer and will give more color, but slower growth. Opposite of that for lower K ratings. 14000K is a good trade off point between both aspects.

 

Reeflux 12k IMO

 

Personal observations:
Best growth by far XM 10k but you will need to supplement the actinic as they are very white/yellow.

Next best would be Ushio 10k, even more yellow and slightly slower growth.

Best coloration I have found in a single bulb with no supplementation so far is the reeflux 12k, thats what I have used the last two years. I still have VHO actinics but I rarely turn them on its so good.

The folks at Coralvue/Reeflux have a new Coralvue 20k that is supposed to blow the sock off the Reeflux 12k for both coloration and PAR which means better growth. Those will be my next bulb and what I will buy myself for Christmas!

 

South Pacific Sunlight from Blue Life.

 

I personally use Radium 20K bulbs and like them a lot.

As for cheap you get what you pay for in this hobby.

 

Blue life SPS bulb is really nice that's what I have. I haven't tried other premium bulbs. Seems most of the premium tanks in my local club use SE reeflux. One with an awesome 300G sps tank near me uses $15 eBay bulbs. He swears by them used in conjunction with a PAR meter. He replaces them more often but it appears to work fine for him as his tank looks great.

 

this is interesting...
Testing 250-watt Single-ended Metal Halide Lamps and Ballasts by Joe Burger - Reefkeeping.com

 

I like the XM 10k's for their ultimate PAR values, but yes, they need supplements.

A pair of 54w ati blue+ work pretty well and make it a very light blue hue. Another set of 2 ATI's would make it look perfect, but that will wait until I have them on my 200g tank.