250w Reeflux 12k SE Opinions

Kirblit

Kirblit

Active Member
I'm about ready to switch out my lights in the next week or so and I was thinking about going a little bluer. I currently have 250w Hamilton 14k on IceCap ballasts with some actinic sup. and they look pretty good but a little yellow still. I have been looking over the PPFD on Sanjay's site and the Reeflux (51PPFD) scored lower than the Hamiltons (69 PPFD) on IceCaps and I wanted to get some opinions from anyone that has used them as to growth and color, and by all means please post pictures if you have them. The other bulb I was contemplating is the Radium but it's a little pricey and has to be changed more often, but it has the perfect color for really making corals POP in my experience.
 
Kirblit

Kirblit

Active Member
Woody, you used to use Hamilton 14k's at some point didn't you? How would you say that the Reeflux 10k compared to them as far as amount of blue? I find them pretty yellow after burn in but with my 2 T5 super actinic the color is actually pretty good.
 
Kirblit

Kirblit

Active Member
Witfull said:
im still leaning towards solaris~
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Believe me if I could afford it I would be all over those. I mean you can't really go wrong with lights that you can adjust to your liking, but very cost prohibitive at the moment for sure.
 
Witfull

Witfull

Well-Known Member
when my tax refund comes in~

i claim 0,,,,but have many 1040 deductions.........its my reef fundage~
 
Witfull

Witfull

Well-Known Member
ok,,,back to the topic at hand, i may be of "sandish skin", but i dont want to hijack (is this a first for me?)
:threadjack:
 
Whiskey

Whiskey

Just some guy, you know?
If it were me I would get the Reeflux 10K (though my fav bulb is the XM10K) and get some more atinics to make up for the blue look that you want. I think you will be much happier with your growth going this route.

Whiskey
 
Kirblit

Kirblit

Active Member
Whiskey said:
If it were me I would get the Reeflux 10K (though my fav bulb is the XM10K) and get some more atinics to make up for the blue look that you want.

Whiskey
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This would be my plan but I just don't have the room in my canopy for another set of T5's. I have a 125L so it's only 18" wide and I have 3 MH pendants that take up most of the space in there. I will have to play around with some stuff so that I might be able to get in one more set of T5's
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Kirblit said:
Woody, you used to use Hamilton 14k's at some point didn't you? How would you say that the Reeflux 10k compared to them as far as amount of blue? I find them pretty yellow after burn in but with my 2 T5 super actinic the color is actually pretty good.
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I have not tried Hamilton 14k's so I can not compare the two.

Will an electronic ballast work for Radium bulbs?
 
Kirblit

Kirblit

Active Member
Will an electronic ballast work for Radium bulbs?[/QUOTE said:
yep, you either have to have the HQI Ballast or an Electronic. The only problem with the IceCaps and Radiums it that they don't overdrive the bulb so it's a little bluer on the IceCaps than the HQI ballasts. I just don't think that I want to spend $600 a year on lights so I don't think I can justify the Radiums.
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C

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
I use the reeflux 12k with the Icecap EBallast and love the color ! AFA growth I have no complaints and I firmly believe that although lighting is important chemistry is just as if not more important in growth of SPS.
 
Kirblit

Kirblit

Active Member
cheeks69 said:
I use the reeflux 12k with the Icecap EBallast and love the color ! AFA growth I have no complaints and I firmly believe that although lighting is important chemistry is just as if not more important in growth of SPS.
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Are they the 250w 12k? I have seen low par numbers from these and that makes me a little concerned. They other reason I don't know if they would be good is because Woody used them and she said they were too dim, and she used to use XM15's and liked the color of them at one point and they are worse. I think that I will order one of each because Hellolights has free shipping on them so I can decide witch to get the other 2 bulbs in after I take a look at them.
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Remember that I use XM 10k bulbs until recently and anything compared to them will be dull.
If I could, I would add another 54 watt T5 actinic (for a total of three) to supplement my two Reeflux 10k 250 watt mh. I think that would be perfect...
 
C

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
Are they the 250w 12k?
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Yes they are.
I used to believe that the higher PAR #'s would have dramatic effect on the growth of SPS and thus far I have noticed very little difference. Additionally the higher PAR bulbs can cause serious problems such as bleaching and need a much longer acclimation process than other bulbs. I don't know how deep your tank is and which reflectors your using but generally speaking just about any 250w bulb will have all the intensity you need unless it's a very tall tank.
 
Kirblit

Kirblit

Active Member
Alright I just ordered one of each of the 10k and 12k. I guess I will let my eyes and coral coloration under the lights decide for me.
 
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