250w 20k Artemis Review - 6 months

[Tmoriarty]

So many people compare various MH's and claim that cheap China bulbs do poorly and the statement "you get what you pay for" is very common. I am unbiased and while I am willing to spend more money on bulbs such as Radiums I wanted to see what these bulbs can do.

I researched various bulbs on Ebay and decided to try the bulbs sold by a ebay user named hobbylighting. They had positive reviews and since I had just started adding coral I did not have a lot to lose. Over the last 6 months I have taken various pictures and watched my corals grow, as well as spent some time tracking down spectrum analysis charts for the bulbs I have been using. I would like to post some of this information here for anyone looking to find a cheaper replacement for their MH lights.

These bulbs do seem to run at a lower efficiency, and I am sure that Bulbs such as Radiums are better, but the question for me was whether or not the quality difference was worthy of the price difference.

3 250w 20k Artemis bulbs cost 64.95 shipped, this is cheaper than the price of a single 250w Radium. I have heard many horror stories about the cheaper MH bulbs and while I think most of the stories are well founded I feel with my review that "some" bulbs are still worthy of a try.

Here is the Spectrum Analysis of the 20k 250w MH bulbs made by Artemis-



This shows the bulb has a peak in the 455nm range with very low peaks in the other ranges of the bulb. Overall the bulbs spectrum ranges are similar to the Radiums aside from the slightly higher overall slope through the 500-700nm ranges. The color rendering of the bulb for me was adequate to not need actinic supplement, it was a crisp white with a decent tint of blue. Coral colors have shown to be mostly vibrant, ranging from Anemones through SPS and Zoanthids. SPS has been grown down to 22 inches deep in my tank with no apparent loss of color or growth. The visual spectrum shift after burn in to 6 months was not enough to be noticeable.

Here are some pictures of my tank showing growth

This first picture is from 12FEB2012 of a Tri-color Valida Acropora



This second picture is from 01APR2012 of the same Acropora



As you can see the color in the second picture is very vibrant (The coral went in the tank on 01DEC2011 quite brown) The growth was faster during the months from DEC-FEB than it was from FEB-APR, which I am believe is due to a loss in light intensity of the bulb. The growth has also been more focused on the base, as seen by the encrusting of the coral. The second picture shows the corals base has grown substantially and has began growing new branches. (And no the Moorish Idol does not eat coral "yet")

This growth picture features some Purple Stinger Zoanthids placed at approximately 20". The first picture is from 12FEB2012



The second picture was taken 01APR2012 of the same Zoanthids



This growth picture shows growth of some warcoral at a depth of approx 12"
taken on 12FEB2012



This second picture was taken 01APR2012 of the same warcoral



Here is a FTS under 3x 250w 20k Artemis MH bulbs. The pictures are slightly bluer than what I see in RL, but I am still learning my new camera and adjusting the white balance for the tank is something new to me.



I replaced the bulbs with some Artemis 14k bulbs to test the growth with these bulbs as well. I did this replacement at 6month bulb life as I feel that these cheaper bulbs may not hold their spectral properties as well as Radiums (Although I have heard radiums have a shorter life on E-ballasts as they are intended to run on M80 HQI ballasts). I have spectral analysis charts for the 10k and the 14k Artemis bulbs which I can post if people would like.

I am not a representative for these bulbs or for the EBAY seller I just thought I should share my results so far and let people make their own judgements on these bulbs. I hope this helps people looking for cheaper MH alternatives.

[surfjeepzx]

Good job!

[Tmoriarty]

Just hopping this helps some people out. I know most of the Bulbs from China have a bad rep, but I am sure not all of them are bad, hopefully this helps show that somewhat.

Of course it is probably more likely that bad bulbs will get through, and you may get some broken or mismatched on color, but the seller will take them back and send you another. It would still be cheaper to send back a bulb or two every once in a while and replace them every 6 months than it would be otherwise.

[Tmoriarty]

/bump

[aandfsoccr04]

how about a closeup of that clown right in the middle of the fts?

[Tmoriarty]

This picture is a tad out of focus, I dont think I have a better one on photobucket but I will take a better picture tommorow morning.

[Tmoriarty]

Update: growth of the corals still looks good under the 14k bulbs. The color spectrum of the bulbs are slightly different with the middle bulb being slightly crisper white. I think this is because it is running on a newer icecap ballast, but I have not had a chance to move the bulb out to see if the color changes.

The seller offered to replace the bulb but I have decided to keep it as paying return shipping isn't cost effective.

[Tmoriarty]

Update: I replaced the far left bulb in the tank with a Radium to directly compare growth from the artemis 20k bulbs and the Radiums. Side by side (Radium on the left with 20k artemis in the middle) the bulbs look close to the same. The radiums are perhaps a bit brighter, as I expected they may be. I will measure growth rates over the next two months and see how the SPS grows under Radiums.

[super_steve85]

Thanks for the posts! I've been using the 14k 175 watt bulbs for a while and they have always seemed to have good color. I think they do lose some intensity after 6 months or so, though. But like you said, it's still cheaper to swap them out every 6 months then it is to buy the expensive bulbs.

Any updates on the growth differences between the Radium and Artemis bulbs yet?

[mstone9942]

Tmoriarty may I ask how you got your coral like you have in your tank? Did you glue rock together and then let live rock slowly grow on it? I love your setup

[Tmoriarty]

Been a while since an update I will be taking new pictures hopefully this weekend of the growth under the radium.

@mastone9942, I am not sure what you mean about the coral? The rock is not glued it is stacked, because it is pukani and I got some very quality pieces I was able to interlok it where it is fairly stable. I went with three arches so that there is plenty of caves and hiding spaces but at the same time I can also see almost any spot in the tank from one angle or another. The corals are still filling in and have a lot of growth to go, the tank is now around 9 months old and has gone through a lot of changes.

[rsg4]

Your stand reminds me of a castle. Is that two knights on those doors?

[Tmoriarty]

Yes, I have a build thread you can find through my name that shows the details on the doors. I made stencils on a CAD machine at work then used them to clearcoat the image. Stained the doors outside the images and re-clearcoated the entire doors to create the final look. I will be taking a full new set of pictures to show growth under Radiums soon.

[Mekanic]

update? Bulb doesn't look bad but it's missing the 420nm spike that Radium's have

[sirreal63]

The Radium has a small 420 spike and a large 450 spike, the 10K has a large 420 spike.

[alton]

I do not mean this to be a harsh post but you proved what others have said, you get what you pay for? You posted you have to change your lamps every 6 months where as most of us running Radiums on Mag or Electronic ballast have them last up to 20 months. You report after a few months you get a color shift in your lamps, with my radiums you could not tell which lamp was two months old or which one was 20 months old on electronic ballast? I have a PAR level of 250 on my sand and when my lamps drop 10% in PAR levels from what they where brand new I change them, you are guessing what your levels are? Once again do want to come across as mean but you did prove most of us right. And to me paying a $100 more a year to keep my $1,000 worth of coral alive is worth it. Also you need to look at the amount of mercury you are adding to a landfill by changing out lamps every six months?

[ReefUrchin]

What he was saying was here is at least a viable alternative. He never claimed ebay lamps would last 100yrs, and, I am sure they are the same as all others. Once the color shift changes, I would bet it will hang there for some time also. Chemicals are chemicals and they are sealed in the glass. Its not like Radiums dont leak and ebay bulbs do.

I dont think her has PAR values, so, unless it was tested, you cant really say if they are good or bad.

Hey, good for you, thats an extra $100 for you. For me it is x3, so, thats $200+ for me. You want to trade?

Only thing you mentioned thats viable is the landfills.

Just saying...................

[jerpa]

Decreased growth after 3 months and a noticeable spectral shift after 6 months. I think I will stick to name brand bulbs. It becomes less cost effective when you look at changing bulbs every 3-6 months, not to mention a PITA.

I think the landfill comment is the least viable argument considering the context of this all.

[ReefUrchin]

Hence the term viable "option"! What if your rent is due, the dog needs an operation, your trucks water pump went out (and you cant find the warrantee), taxes are due and your original bulbs are about dead? Grab an oar, thats by boat I need help rowing, and, if $30 bulbs help me out for 4 months until I can save, so be it, its a viable "option".

Really? You more worried about your corals than pooping in your own sandbox? I think that would be top of the list no matter what. Hmmm, nice.

[buffalo123]

Time to update please

[Isochroma]

Tmoriarty: Thanks for this excellent thread, and can you post the Spectra of the 10K and 14K Artemis bulbs? Thanks!