full spectrum 250w de metal haldie bulb

rduic · 01/25/2008, 03:37 PM

im currently running 2 250 watt pheonix 14's and 1 12k reeflux de bulb

i dont have room for actinics

is there any full spectrum halides out there.

the pheonix is to blue and the reeflux is a little on the yellowish side.

DarG · 01/25/2008, 04:08 PM

You want "full spectrum" or do you want white? I am currently running 12K Reeflux 250 watt DE and they are definitely not yellow but to each his own where color perception is concerned ...

But I you really want full spectrum, and you think the reeflux 12K is yellow, I dont think you are going to be finding any of the bulbs that are closer to full spectrum as less yellow than the reeflux. There is the AQualine 10000 that coule be considered full spectrum but also described as yellow tint. Maybe the Giesemann 14.5 or Ushio 14K ... swome describe both of these as having a slight yellow tint and also "full spectrum". Even the Reeflux 10000K ... has a huge blue spike but also spikes in the warmer ranges like the full spectrum lamps. But it'll really look yellow to you if the 12K does. My point is that the full spectrum bulbs are probably going to look to "warm" to you with the possible exception of the Giesemann 14.5 and maybe the Ushio 14K. But these actually measure around 10000K or under. The 12K reeflux measures over that and it looks yellow to you so ...

If you really want a white, bright bulb ... Iwasaki 14000K 250 watt DE. No yellow, very slight blue tint but primarily a crisp, bright, white bulb.

rpeeples · 01/28/2008, 12:50 PM

DarG,

I purchased 4 of the Iwasaki's and after one week one of the bulbs looked to have faded from a crisp white with a slight blue hue to almost a yellow. Then about a week later, another bulb did the same thing. However I still have two which have managed to maintain a crisp white blue hue.

I kid you not that you can actually look at the bulb in the fixture and see these two bulbs are a different color than the other two.

I am running these on an Aqua-Medic 4 x 250W DE with 4 39W Giesemann Pure Atinics.

I can not say I am please with the Iwasaki's at this time given that two bulbs actually turned to yellow hue with 1 month. They almost look like it shifted to say an AB 10K bulb.

Didn't you experience the same with the Iwasaki's?

DarG · 01/28/2008, 02:02 PM

No, both my Iwasaki bulbs were crisp white when I got them and they stayed that way for as long as I ran them. I havent stocked my tank yet and wanted to save the Iwasaki's until then so I removed them. But I ran them for a good clip over 100 hours. I think they were a little bluer for the first day or so and then went to a white with less blue, only a very slight blue now but they remained a very crisp, bright white. There was no yellow in the output whatsoever.

I havent heard any other reports from users about what you have described. Are the ballasts in your Aquamedic magnetic HQI or are they electronic? I was using a Blue Wave VII dual 250 watt magneticHQI (M80). I have read of several issues with DE bulbs run on magnetic ballasts by RC members here but not specifically the Iwasaki bulbs. I think the Aquamedic ballasts are M80's if memory serves but if I am wrong and they are electronic, it is a remote but possible explanation. More likely though is that two of the bulbs are just bad and I would try contacting the dealer and see if he will work with you. I can tell you that the bulb is supposed to stay white/blue, not drift to a yellowish color.

Have you tried swapping bulbs to make sure it isnt the ballast on thoise two yellow bulbs? I would try that just to see. Also, are the yellowish ones dimmer also or are they still as bright as the white ones but yellowish?

I dont anticipate my Iwasaki's going yellow when I fire them back up but I would be very dissapointed if they do. I was really pleased with the PAR and color while I was burning them in and checking them out. I hope it is just a bad run.

Have you heard of any other reports on the Iwasaki's that mirror what you are experiencing with two of your bulbs?

rpeeples · 01/28/2008, 03:26 PM

You are the first person I ran into that are using the Iwasaki bulbs here on RC. The ballast from AM are M80 HQI. I do have two bulbs which are maintaining their Crisp White/Blue Hue but the others you can actually look at the reflector and see a slight change from a white/blue to the white/yellowish. I don't think the intensity has dropped however just a slight tinge of yellow which is noticeable to my eye. I am planning on throwing the Giesemann 14.5 this evening and comparing them to the Iwasaki's. Perhaps I will post some pics but it is very difficult to take a picture of the bulb itself without it totally being whited-out. I actually purchased these directly from Eye Lighting who is the sole distributor (not retailer) of the bulb and I do plan on contacting them and discussing the issue. I may even call Aqua-medic and discuss possible ballast issues but then again I have not heard any issues with the ballast here on RC. Prior to running the AM 10K I ran the Phoenix's 14K. I little to blue for me but the bulbs didn't seem to vary to the naked eye like the Iwasaki's.

I know someone posted the bulb yellowed out on them prematurly...I thought this was you...I may have to find this person and confirm.

DarG · 01/28/2008, 04:12 PM

Nope, definitely wasnt me. There are a few members who are using the Iwasaki bulbs but I am not sure of their names.

I missed the post on the yellowing Iwasaki. Seeing how you got them directly from iwasaki I would think that it would be easier to get a couple of replacements from them rather than a retailer.

I doubt it's your ballasts. I thought that Aquamedics were M80's. May be worth swapping bulbs anyway just to be sure though.

I'll see if I can get any more info on any possible widespread issues with the bulbs yellowing. I have a good contact.

rpeeples · 01/28/2008, 07:11 PM

Thanks DarG....btw.....thanks for the feedback you provide in the Phoenix vs Giesemann thread....good stuff!

I thought the AM Ballast are M80 HQI as well since they are driving DE HQI bulbs....am I off base here?

DarG · 01/28/2008, 08:52 PM

I think they are M80 ballasts. I just wasnt sure whether they were electronic or magnetic but thought I remembered reading that they were indeed magnetic. Being magnetic they would be M80's, Im sure. Glad some input I provided was helpful, you're welcome.

I spoke to an Iwasaki Dealer, Steve at Coreal reef Ecosystems. He has sold quite a few of the Iwasaki 14000K De's and hasnt heard anything about the bulbs yellowing at all. No customer requests for returns or complaints. First he has heard of it. It sounds like some isolated bad bulbs, not a widespread thing. Not yet anyway. I know it would seem strange with you getting two bad bulbs out of four. But I bought a pair of Helios 20000K's a while back and ended up with a pair of white/yellow bulbs. Commodity Axis / TAAM had me send the bulbs to them and they turn out to be a pair of 7 year old new old stock bulbs that were never even released for sale. He never heard of any of them ever being in circulation so apparently I get the only pair ... Crap happens to everyone. Maybe the problem will turn out to be more widespread with time regarding the Iwasaki's. I hope you can get some replacements for your two bad ones from iwasaki.

01/25/2008, 03:37 PM	#1
rduic Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: windsor Posts: 58	full spectrum 250w de metal haldie bulb im currently running 2 250 watt pheonix 14's and 1 12k reeflux de bulb i dont have room for actinics is there any full spectrum halides out there. the pheonix is to blue and the reeflux is a little on the yellowish side. __________________ determination beats ability 100% of the time

01/25/2008, 04:08 PM	#2
DarG Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5,515	You want "full spectrum" or do you want white? I am currently running 12K Reeflux 250 watt DE and they are definitely not yellow but to each his own where color perception is concerned ... But I you really want full spectrum, and you think the reeflux 12K is yellow, I dont think you are going to be finding any of the bulbs that are closer to full spectrum as less yellow than the reeflux. There is the AQualine 10000 that coule be considered full spectrum but also described as yellow tint. Maybe the Giesemann 14.5 or Ushio 14K ... swome describe both of these as having a slight yellow tint and also "full spectrum". Even the Reeflux 10000K ... has a huge blue spike but also spikes in the warmer ranges like the full spectrum lamps. But it'll really look yellow to you if the 12K does. My point is that the full spectrum bulbs are probably going to look to "warm" to you with the possible exception of the Giesemann 14.5 and maybe the Ushio 14K. But these actually measure around 10000K or under. The 12K reeflux measures over that and it looks yellow to you so ... If you really want a white, bright bulb ... Iwasaki 14000K 250 watt DE. No yellow, very slight blue tint but primarily a crisp, bright, white bulb.

01/28/2008, 12:50 PM	#3
rpeeples Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: NC Posts: 643	DarG, I purchased 4 of the Iwasaki's and after one week one of the bulbs looked to have faded from a crisp white with a slight blue hue to almost a yellow. Then about a week later, another bulb did the same thing. However I still have two which have managed to maintain a crisp white blue hue. I kid you not that you can actually look at the bulb in the fixture and see these two bulbs are a different color than the other two. I am running these on an Aqua-Medic 4 x 250W DE with 4 39W Giesemann Pure Atinics. I can not say I am please with the Iwasaki's at this time given that two bulbs actually turned to yellow hue with 1 month. They almost look like it shifted to say an AB 10K bulb. Didn't you experience the same with the Iwasaki's?

01/28/2008, 02:02 PM	#4
DarG Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5,515	No, both my Iwasaki bulbs were crisp white when I got them and they stayed that way for as long as I ran them. I havent stocked my tank yet and wanted to save the Iwasaki's until then so I removed them. But I ran them for a good clip over 100 hours. I think they were a little bluer for the first day or so and then went to a white with less blue, only a very slight blue now but they remained a very crisp, bright white. There was no yellow in the output whatsoever. I havent heard any other reports from users about what you have described. Are the ballasts in your Aquamedic magnetic HQI or are they electronic? I was using a Blue Wave VII dual 250 watt magneticHQI (M80). I have read of several issues with DE bulbs run on magnetic ballasts by RC members here but not specifically the Iwasaki bulbs. I think the Aquamedic ballasts are M80's if memory serves but if I am wrong and they are electronic, it is a remote but possible explanation. More likely though is that two of the bulbs are just bad and I would try contacting the dealer and see if he will work with you. I can tell you that the bulb is supposed to stay white/blue, not drift to a yellowish color. Have you tried swapping bulbs to make sure it isnt the ballast on thoise two yellow bulbs? I would try that just to see. Also, are the yellowish ones dimmer also or are they still as bright as the white ones but yellowish? I dont anticipate my Iwasaki's going yellow when I fire them back up but I would be very dissapointed if they do. I was really pleased with the PAR and color while I was burning them in and checking them out. I hope it is just a bad run. Have you heard of any other reports on the Iwasaki's that mirror what you are experiencing with two of your bulbs?

01/28/2008, 03:26 PM	#5
rpeeples Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: NC Posts: 643	You are the first person I ran into that are using the Iwasaki bulbs here on RC. The ballast from AM are M80 HQI. I do have two bulbs which are maintaining their Crisp White/Blue Hue but the others you can actually look at the reflector and see a slight change from a white/blue to the white/yellowish. I don't think the intensity has dropped however just a slight tinge of yellow which is noticeable to my eye. I am planning on throwing the Giesemann 14.5 this evening and comparing them to the Iwasaki's. Perhaps I will post some pics but it is very difficult to take a picture of the bulb itself without it totally being whited-out. I actually purchased these directly from Eye Lighting who is the sole distributor (not retailer) of the bulb and I do plan on contacting them and discussing the issue. I may even call Aqua-medic and discuss possible ballast issues but then again I have not heard any issues with the ballast here on RC. Prior to running the AM 10K I ran the Phoenix's 14K. I little to blue for me but the bulbs didn't seem to vary to the naked eye like the Iwasaki's. I know someone posted the bulb yellowed out on them prematurly...I thought this was you...I may have to find this person and confirm.

01/28/2008, 04:12 PM	#6
DarG Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5,515	Nope, definitely wasnt me. There are a few members who are using the Iwasaki bulbs but I am not sure of their names. I missed the post on the yellowing Iwasaki. Seeing how you got them directly from iwasaki I would think that it would be easier to get a couple of replacements from them rather than a retailer. I doubt it's your ballasts. I thought that Aquamedics were M80's. May be worth swapping bulbs anyway just to be sure though. I'll see if I can get any more info on any possible widespread issues with the bulbs yellowing. I have a good contact.

01/28/2008, 07:11 PM	#7
rpeeples Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: NC Posts: 643	Thanks DarG....btw.....thanks for the feedback you provide in the Phoenix vs Giesemann thread....good stuff! I thought the AM Ballast are M80 HQI as well since they are driving DE HQI bulbs....am I off base here?

01/28/2008, 08:52 PM	#8
DarG Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5,515	I think they are M80 ballasts. I just wasnt sure whether they were electronic or magnetic but thought I remembered reading that they were indeed magnetic. Being magnetic they would be M80's, Im sure. Glad some input I provided was helpful, you're welcome. I spoke to an Iwasaki Dealer, Steve at Coreal reef Ecosystems. He has sold quite a few of the Iwasaki 14000K De's and hasnt heard anything about the bulbs yellowing at all. No customer requests for returns or complaints. First he has heard of it. It sounds like some isolated bad bulbs, not a widespread thing. Not yet anyway. I know it would seem strange with you getting two bad bulbs out of four. But I bought a pair of Helios 20000K's a while back and ended up with a pair of white/yellow bulbs. Commodity Axis / TAAM had me send the bulbs to them and they turn out to be a pair of 7 year old new old stock bulbs that were never even released for sale. He never heard of any of them ever being in circulation so apparently I get the only pair ... Crap happens to everyone. Maybe the problem will turn out to be more widespread with time regarding the Iwasaki's. I hope you can get some replacements for your two bad ones from iwasaki.