150 or 175 MH?

[ctreefer]

What is better, a 150 watt DE unit or a 175 watt mogul base. I’m thinking about replacing my T5’s on my 29 with MH’s. Also, what do electronic ballasts give you as an advantage over magnetic. I’m trying to keep the costs down, but if the advantage is large enough I�ll splurge. Also, I’ll probably keep one or 2 of the t5’s for actinic supplementation, so what would be a good bulb?

Thanks

[snslarison]

1) I like 175
2) Electronic ballasts are more efficient and be cause of this can improve/lengthen lamp life.
3) As for a lamp suggestion...there are a ton of options. What color are you looking for?

[ctreefer]

I like the slightly blue look, but I'm wondering with the t5's with UVL actinics that this would help a lot in that area.

I thought I heard that the DE bulbs were somehow "brighter" or provided more output than a standard SE base bulb. Is this true? I'm trying to see what would be better. A 150 DE on an electronic ballast, or a 175 on electronic ballast. Also I guess the reflector's are important.

[snslarison]

Reflectors are very important. For slightly blue I would look at the Iwasaki or Ushio 14Ks. For a little more blue take a look at Hamilton 14K or XM 20K.