what brand of metal halide bulb should I buy?

[ReefGuru]

I have to admit, I have only had my metal halides for about a 6-7 months, and the bulbs I am using are the ones I got with the system. They are horrible. They have lost their color already, and my corals are doing just fine (still growing at the same rate), but they have lost some of their great color. Now I have been looking to get 2 new 250 metal halides, at either 12,000K or 14,000K. What are the differences between the brands? Can somebody give me some advice on what bulbs are good? Thanks everybody

ps. The bulbs are the screw in type.

[ellisz]

It is all about personal preference when it comes to bulb color. 12k does not equal 12k from one brand to another. See them in person or look at pics to see which ones you like.

There is a bulb comparison link on reefcentral under the equipment forum.

HTH

[ReefGuru]

Well I am aware of the differences in color from brands. I was just saying that there is a pretty large price difference in the brands, and I was curious if people have preferences, and if they know which brands are better.

Andrej

[ellisz]

Again, it is anyones opinion. For 12k or 14k, Seems like Coral Vue and Hamilton are most common. For 10k and 20k most seem to like Coral Vue, XM, Ushio and Radium.

http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm

Check this link out. If you read RC their are more expensive bulbs out there and there is a decent price difference on the bulbs listed. I use Coral Vue 10k and just purchased CV 14k bulbs. Some people consider these cheap. I like them and they have given me good growth. I would stay away from a no-name ebay bulb unles you want to try it out.

Sunburst are pretty cheap too but not sure about longevity.

Good luck, sorry I cant help more. CV is all I have ever used but I did research quite a bit on 14k bulbs. I chose CV over Hamilton because they were cheaper.

[captivereefs]

coralvues are nice the aqualine bulbs are really nice as well.