Sunpod questions

Tremolo · 12/10/2007, 11:35 AM

I have a 150 watt sunpod on my 29 gallon mixed reef tank. The bulb is about 7 months old and ready to be replaced. I am looking for a bulb that will give me the best coral growth with a nice blue color to it. I do not supplement with any other bulbs. Any suggestions on what bulb to get? Also are there any drop in reflector upgrades that can be done with this fixture or is the stock reflector as good as it will get?

Thanks for the help

Vince

DarG · 12/10/2007, 12:28 PM

The reflector is very small. Even if somebody did make a drop in replacement, it would be hard to make it a real upgrade due to the size more than anything else. You can get just some much spread from a small reflector.

As far as 150 watt DE bulbs go, bluer will cost you some par. That's something that the 150 watt halides dont have all that much of.
Iwasaki has a 50000K DE 150 watt that has pretty good par for a 150 watt DE on a magnetic HQI ballast. They are still nice bulbs on electronic ballasts but you do lose some par over HQI magnetic ballast. They just came out with a 150 watt DE 20000K (Aqua2) that is supposed to be a nice bulb. The 50000K is not as blue as the color temperature rating would seem. It is a nice crisp white bulb with a distinctive blue tint and has a good bit of actinic energy as well. More of a subtle purplish tint to the blue than alot of blue bulbs but that is not to suggest that it is a purple bulb. It is a white bulb with a noticeable (not overwhelming) and kind of unique blue tint.

The new 20000K has a little more blue and is supposed to be closer to the bluer 14000K rated bulbs in color than a 20000K.
I havent seen these but I got a little information on them from an Iwasaki dealer. You should contact him. He is familiar with alot of the bulbs color and par and he could really help you find what you are looking for. His name is Steve ... www dot coralreefecosystems dot com. Good guy and can help alot.

Aside from that, the Aqualine 10000 (Aqualinbe Buschke) is a whiter bulb than the stock 10000K and has very good output. It does have a very slight blue tint to it if the water is crystal clear, not stained at all. Probably not the blue you are looking for but excellent bulbs with good par for their class.

12/10/2007, 11:35 AM	#1
Tremolo Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Aurora IL Posts: 644	Sunpod questions I have a 150 watt sunpod on my 29 gallon mixed reef tank. The bulb is about 7 months old and ready to be replaced. I am looking for a bulb that will give me the best coral growth with a nice blue color to it. I do not supplement with any other bulbs. Any suggestions on what bulb to get? Also are there any drop in reflector upgrades that can be done with this fixture or is the stock reflector as good as it will get? Thanks for the help Vince

12/10/2007, 12:28 PM	#2
DarG Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5,515	The reflector is very small. Even if somebody did make a drop in replacement, it would be hard to make it a real upgrade due to the size more than anything else. You can get just some much spread from a small reflector. As far as 150 watt DE bulbs go, bluer will cost you some par. That's something that the 150 watt halides dont have all that much of. Iwasaki has a 50000K DE 150 watt that has pretty good par for a 150 watt DE on a magnetic HQI ballast. They are still nice bulbs on electronic ballasts but you do lose some par over HQI magnetic ballast. They just came out with a 150 watt DE 20000K (Aqua2) that is supposed to be a nice bulb. The 50000K is not as blue as the color temperature rating would seem. It is a nice crisp white bulb with a distinctive blue tint and has a good bit of actinic energy as well. More of a subtle purplish tint to the blue than alot of blue bulbs but that is not to suggest that it is a purple bulb. It is a white bulb with a noticeable (not overwhelming) and kind of unique blue tint. The new 20000K has a little more blue and is supposed to be closer to the bluer 14000K rated bulbs in color than a 20000K. I havent seen these but I got a little information on them from an Iwasaki dealer. You should contact him. He is familiar with alot of the bulbs color and par and he could really help you find what you are looking for. His name is Steve ... www dot coralreefecosystems dot com. Good guy and can help alot. Aside from that, the Aqualine 10000 (Aqualinbe Buschke) is a whiter bulb than the stock 10000K and has very good output. It does have a very slight blue tint to it if the water is crystal clear, not stained at all. Probably not the blue you are looking for but excellent bulbs with good par for their class.