Hamilton 14k

[AustinReef]

Jeeez....choosing a bulb is going to make me go insane. I just tried calling the number at Sun Aquatics to actually see if there was a business there and i think i woke some kid up. I dont think they are in operation anymore. I just did some searching about sunbursts and i ruled them out- I dont want them exploding over my tank. Its now between the xm 10k, the coralvue 14k, and Sun 10k if i cna find one. I've seen the pics, but can anyone with xm 10ks tell me if these bulbs are so intense that they drown out the colors of the corals.

 

[mps9506]

,
I'd be kinda concerned about the XM's too. Lotta threads about them going bad, but apparently they get replaced pronto by XM or the retailer.
You can see why I've stayed with the AB's so far. I'm pretty sure the Aquaconnects are a good quality bulb, just not readily avaiable yet. You maybe happy with the Hamiltons, they do come with a warranty period. I think the CV 14k's would be a good choice to.
Let me know if you find more info on the Sun Aquatics.
Mike

 

[Electrobes]

I recently purchsed a hamilton after seeing the studies and doing research on bulbs. I switched from a 10K XM (250 watt) to the hamilton 14K, and could not be gappier with the change! My corals have done much better since the change. The reason I switched was that the XM 10K's kept havin' issues IMO. The last bulb kept flickering out of spectrum going from the original white it was supposed to be to the dreaded yellow and then back again, constantly.

 

[PSU4ME]

electrobs,
How long ago did you buy your bulbs....because i heard that there was a bad batch that went out in the april/june window.

Just curious

 

[captivereefs]

Coralvue discontinued the 15K bulb and replaced it with a newly designed 14K bulb. They only ofer 10, 14 and 20K in all wattages now . Before they had 65, 10, 12, 15, and 20K. It was just to much and some did not sell that well.

 

[AustinReef]

I wonder what the PAR rating on the 14k is. According to Cnidarianreef.com, The CV 20k has a higher PAR than the 15k did on a PFO standard ballast.