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07/18/2019, 05:13 PM | #1 |
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Location: California
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14K Phoenix washing out tank
Hey, folks I just recently switched to a MH/T5 setup and I'm not very pleased. I have two Phoenix 14k DE running on M80 HQI ballasts and they're washing everything out except the fish. I supplement with one actinic and one blue T5 HO bulb. That's not doing anything because the two MH bulbs are so strong. The 14Ks were recommended to me by other users on this and other forums for their nice blueish look. They don't look blue at all and they do not make anything but my fish pop. My question is if this is normal for MHs or did I just get the wrong bulbs? What about supplementing with LEDs? Are LEDs strong enough to compete with the MHs?
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07/18/2019, 08:42 PM | #2 |
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I have had the same experience, I was looking forward to this blueish beautiful hue, it is yellow, I had my family tell me what color do they see and they said Yellow. I also have the correct ballast. The M80 and M81, so both bulbs are the same.
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07/19/2019, 08:06 AM | #3 |
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I guess I’ll have to supplement with LED. Can you post pictures of your tank?
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07/20/2019, 05:20 PM | #4 |
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I took down the MH set up. try some reef brites to go with it.
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07/22/2019, 12:53 PM | #5 |
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I replied to your cali thread but I may have some ballasts for you. Also, saw you posted a while ago about your red sea refractometer... not sure if you resolved it but those are terrible refractometers. They don't hold calibration long enough to put down the calibration fluid and test.
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Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k. |
07/22/2019, 02:07 PM | #6 |
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Probably something else if I had to guess.
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07/23/2019, 03:45 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
Yes, I resolved it. The refractometer is far from terrible. It holds calibration just fine if calibrated with distilled water at room temperature. If the room temperature never changes, it will hold its calibration. I always test it with distilled water and it rarely is off. Only if the room temperature changes drastically (AC on vs AC off ) then I will have to recalibrate. |
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07/24/2019, 01:06 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
__________________
Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k. |
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07/25/2019, 09:42 AM | #9 |
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IMO for the bluer look you should have went with he radium or the Hamilton technology 20k
I have ran both of them and loved the look. Corey |
07/25/2019, 02:49 PM | #10 |
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If you came from T5HO or leds you have to honestly re-learn what CCT (kelvin) rating means. Frustrating as it may seem, MH were here first so you can’t fairly get mad at inconsistent or different appearances than what various t5 or led fixtures have trained you to think 14,000K looks like. 14,000k on an eco tech radion is bluer than most 20000K MH bulbs. The bluest you will get with a pure metal halide bulb will probably be a Hamilton 20,000k bulb on an electronic ballast. Not an m58, not an m80, and not on “hqi” or “270 watt” setting on an adjustable ballast. Electronic ballast set at 250 watts. If that’s not blue enough, halides just may not be for you. You’ll have a hard time bluing down MH bulbs with two t5’s. You’ll want 4 blue+ bulbs the length of the tank, plus a pair of higher powered blue leds like reefbrite XHO or the like. Only then will you start to make a dent.
That’s my own tank under 250 watt Hamilton 14k using m58 ballasts. Far from a deep Blue actinic heavy fluorescent look. And this is one of the bluer 14k bulbs out there. The Ushio and some cheaper ones are much less blue than even this one. If you crave blue. Take a loss on the Phoenix bulbs. Sell your ballasts. And get 20k bulbs with electronic ballasts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
07/25/2019, 03:22 PM | #11 | |
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07/25/2019, 04:59 PM | #12 |
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Didn’t mean to suggest they were. I understand the process behind the kelvin labeling well enough. The people that tend to have a hangup are people wanting to go bluer and bluer. Halide kelvin ratings from bulb to bulb are wildly inconsistent. The “ problem “ has been here long before reef leds were a thing is what I am indicating. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
07/26/2019, 01:11 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
If I posted a picture from the same angle of my tank without my T5's the picture would be yellow. |
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07/26/2019, 01:20 PM | #14 | |||
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I found a very good explanation regarding ballasts and lamps. I'm going to post it here in case other MH noobs are reading this thread.
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