metal halide's is there a difference?

I can agree that their "pet care" line is limited, but you can not base your opinion on one company that specifically produces bulbs on our hobby as a whole. Look at the vast majority of online retailers for aquarium goods and services and tell me what your opinion is.

 

Here is another manufacture.

Look here, another major light bulb (metal halide) manufacture Venture lighting, for applications for there bulbs. They do not list aquariums at all.

Applications

But they sell aquarium bulbs

Aquarium-Lighting-Guide.com - Metal Halide, Fluorescent, Compact Fluorescent, VHO, T5

When it comes to Iwasaki.

If you read this. About the the color arc bulbs
http://www.eyelighting.com/ss/EQS-N-52-84-00006.pdf

And then this about the aquarium bulbs.

http://www.eyelighting.com/ss/EQS-N-52-84-00032.pdf

You will notice that the 50,000K 150 watt bulb is listed in both places. They came up with a blue bulb, and found a niche market to try and sell a few extra bulbs.


I don't have to look at the online vendors. I have run an online store for quite a while and years ago worked with quite a few different manufactures.

If the aquarium market was such a big deal, why are there so few good aquarium bulbs found in a speciality lighting shop? They may have some 6500K and above bulbs, and they may be the same as an aquarium bulb, but the primary manufacturing is not done for an aquarium. Now some small manufactures do make some bulbs specifically for aquarium usage, but most of them have the bulbs made to their specs by a large lighting manufacture.

Look at the orginal actinic bulb. The Actinic O3 bulb is made by Phillips lighting, Philips never made the bulb for aquarium usage it was made for medical use if I remember correctly, and hobbiest found how nice it is, and now you can find a copy of that bulb sold under many different labels.

Kim

 

That is true though. If you look at it percentage wise the aquarium lights are probably the smallest catergory.

For your tank, if you have a canopy i would go with a double ended 250W MH 20,000K.
You will see some nice coloring of your corals. Buy them at Marine Depot and save yourself the trouble. If they have the same brands at the local hardware store, then i don't see a problem in buying them. Like Ushio, XM etc. Usually they don't carry these kinds of bulbs in hardware stores.

 

Just like garlic that was never meant for fish. or leds or ro/di water or MH or water pumps ...i can keep going.;D