Help me choose a new HQI bulb.

myzislow · 12/18/2007, 03:19 PM

I am currently in search of a bulb that suites my taste well.

I have a 150w HQI Sunpod made by current. Does anybody know what kind of ballasts these guys come with? Are they any good at all? If not, are the ballasts easily upgradeable?

I really liked the stock 14k bulb in terms of color, but I can't say the growth was all that good. I recently swapped out my stock current lamp for a reeflux 12k and I must say initially I am not too impressed with the look of this bulb(atleast on this ballast). I have only had it running for a couple of days now so it hasn't had a chance to burn in completely, but so far it is way to white for my liking with almost no blue hue at all. My corals all looked much better under the stock current sunpaq 14k. I can't imagine the current bulb being that great of a bulb, can anyone comment on that as I haven't been able to find anything online.

Does anybody have any experience with the reeflux 12k 150w DE? Does it burn in bluer over time or does it retain that white, washed out appearance?

How about the XM 15k? I have read they are very blue and have weak PAR values, but I cant imagine them being much worse then the stock sunpaq current in terms of PAR. I definitely prefer a more blue look and being that I run no actinic supplementation I don't think I can stand the 12k and under look. I may have to try out some different 14k+ bulbs and see what works best for me in the sunpod.

Does anyone have any experience with the sunpod and upgraded bulbs that they could share? It seems the consensus is that the phoenix 14k is a very good looking bulb, I may try that one next, but I defnitely would like some opinions from some experts.

here is what my tank look slike under the stock 14k which I really like:

dailydriven911 · 12/18/2007, 11:23 PM

I tried the reeflux 12k and coralvue 20k and was unhappy with both at least on that ballast. I also wanted more blue so I went w/ a pheonix 14k. I like it alot here are pics of my old 20g with the pheonix and coralvue. Btw your tank looks great!

cv 20k

pheonix 14k

12/18/2007, 03:19 PM	#1
myzislow Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 1,275	Help me choose a new HQI bulb. I am currently in search of a bulb that suites my taste well. I have a 150w HQI Sunpod made by current. Does anybody know what kind of ballasts these guys come with? Are they any good at all? If not, are the ballasts easily upgradeable? I really liked the stock 14k bulb in terms of color, but I can't say the growth was all that good. I recently swapped out my stock current lamp for a reeflux 12k and I must say initially I am not too impressed with the look of this bulb(atleast on this ballast). I have only had it running for a couple of days now so it hasn't had a chance to burn in completely, but so far it is way to white for my liking with almost no blue hue at all. My corals all looked much better under the stock current sunpaq 14k. I can't imagine the current bulb being that great of a bulb, can anyone comment on that as I haven't been able to find anything online. Does anybody have any experience with the reeflux 12k 150w DE? Does it burn in bluer over time or does it retain that white, washed out appearance? How about the XM 15k? I have read they are very blue and have weak PAR values, but I cant imagine them being much worse then the stock sunpaq current in terms of PAR. I definitely prefer a more blue look and being that I run no actinic supplementation I don't think I can stand the 12k and under look. I may have to try out some different 14k+ bulbs and see what works best for me in the sunpod. Does anyone have any experience with the sunpod and upgraded bulbs that they could share? It seems the consensus is that the phoenix 14k is a very good looking bulb, I may try that one next, but I defnitely would like some opinions from some experts. here is what my tank look slike under the stock 14k which I really like: Last edited by myzislow; 12/18/2007 at 03:27 PM.

12/18/2007, 11:23 PM	#2
dailydriven911 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bonney Lake, WA Posts: 550	I tried the reeflux 12k and coralvue 20k and was unhappy with both at least on that ballast. I also wanted more blue so I went w/ a pheonix 14k. I like it alot here are pics of my old 20g with the pheonix and coralvue. Btw your tank looks great! cv 20k pheonix 14k __________________ Red Sea Reefer 170, Kessil A360N w/ controller, MP10wes, RKL, BM Curve 5, Aquamaxx Reactors