Reeflux - do they burn in whiter?

[mander]

I just replaced my Aqualine 10ks and UV Super Actinic T5s with Reeflux 250s and Giesemann Actinic (2) and Actinic + (2) T5s and WHOA is my tank blue. From what I read I expected the Reeflux to be on the blueish side of white, but my tank is super blue. Here is is with all lights on.



So question is, will the Reeflux burn in to be any whiter? I'm not digging the blue. Or is it perhaps the Giesemanns making it so blue? The tank before (this was before I moved cross-country 3 months ago and broke it down) looked like this



I know I have to get used to it, but I'm really not liking it and hoping it goes a little whiter.

[badazztealcobra]

What types of ballasts ??? I know they shouldnt be run on magnetics because their par drops so much, so if youre using magnetic ballasts you got the wrong bulbs.

Mine definitely got a crisper white, but I dont recall them ever being that blue...

[tkeracer619]

I have seen 12k Reeflux look like that on PFO magnetic ballasts. They didn't burn in whiter. I use reeflux 12k bulbs and they are not even close to that blue.

[mander]

UGH! They are on ARO electronic ballasts. And they are 12k 250w Reeflux.

Do you think changing out the actinics would help? I still have the old actinics, I suppose I could put them back in and see if it's a big difference.

[tkeracer619]

Just turn off the actinics and see what the bulbs look like on their own.

[mander]

Ha what a novel concept. I hadn't done that, I had only noticed that when the halides switched on the tank was hardly brighter or whiter. Here is the tank with NO actinics.



I think the left side looks a little whiter than the right? At first I thought it was because the rocks are set farther back on that side, directly beneath the actinic + bulbs, whereas the left side is set more forward, underneath the regular actinics. But with the T5s off, I still notice a difference. Could my ballasts be dying? I think one is 1 year old but the other 2 I got used and had run for a couple years before that.

Left:



Right:



Thanks for your help!!

[adtravels]

that does look mighty blue.

[agsansoo]

Yeah ... That's way too blue. Looks like your running 250 watt bulbs on 150 watt ballasts.

[mander]

They are for sure 250w ARO electronic ballasts, three of them and all identical. Just 2 older and one newer.

I think I have a new ballast sitting in a box somewhere that was purchased in error about a year ago. I think I'll swap out the one on the right and see if it changes things? It's still the same ballast though, 250w ARO electronic.

If I were to replace a ballast what would you recommend? I read that Reeflux are obviously recommended with CoralVue ballasts - but what is the rec from you guys? I may try to replace them and see what happens. That or I just replace the bulbs, but I dread starting all over in deciding which halides to purchase, I spent an awful lot of time researching before this purchase, so it's disappointing that they are so blue. I don't get it...

[JRaquatics]

They burn best with CV ballast and there are people that have success with icecap burning reeflux bulbs too.

[Fish_wiz2]

Just let it burn in mine did look similar to that but not that "blue"

[hyperfocal]

Yeah, I ran Reeflux 12K bulbs for a while and they did whiten-up as they burned in. Give them a week or so and see.

[badazztealcobra]

I was going to use the ARO ballasts with reeflux 12K's but wet with CV dimmables instead and after seeing these pictures im glad I did....

I would give them another week or two to see if they whiten up, but that looks really blue to me...

[Lagger]

Just leave your actinics off, save some juice & you're set man! .........wish my bulbs were that blue!

ARO's shouldnt be that far off from CV, icecap or any other e-ballast. Something seems off, you can try playing with the nipple positions as they do appear very blue.....

[burton14e7]

Just a random shot but this is all bulb no actinics and on the CV ballast. I'd have to say you need different ballast. Mine never looked blue.

[mander]

Thank you for posting that photo!

Ok - I'm going to let them burn in for a week or two before doing anything rash (particular something expensive!) but if they don't go whiter (and I don't see how they could get THAT much whiter if the difference others have seen has been not super significant), then I'm changing ballasts.

What's so annoying is that the place I bought them listed that the ARO Electronic ballast was perfect for these bulbs. When I asked them, they actually said that the bulb would burn whiter on a magnetic ballast. Sigh.

Thanks everyone, this thread has been really helpful for me.

[grigsy]

wow, is that blue! Keep us posted on what it looks like in a week.

[badazztealcobra]

Heres a shot of my 250w reeflux 12K's with VHO actinics on my 180...

Im running the CV dimmable ballasts on them because I heard the ARO's wouldnt work as well with them... I sold my ARO's and got the CV dimmables instead...

Even when I first fired up my bulbs they were nowhere near that blue...

[Rick2203]

I have Reflux 250w 10k, 2 of them running on 2 CV ballast and 1 running on and icecap and they are crisp white, im very happy with the color im going to try to install some VHO's for some pop.

[corals b 4 bills]

I bought 3 250 watt 12K Reeflux bulbs back in March and I thought that I found my perfect bulb, great color-yours looks nothing like mine, I run Ice Caps, but I found that ALL of my corals and clams STOPPED growing, everything in my 3 year old 155 was growing like crazy on those POS Japaneese 20k bulbs, there is no way I will ever touch a Reeflux bulb again.