which metal halide kelvin rating do you use?

tangster on my 75 sps tank i use:

2 (mh) - aqualine 250w cw 13k e40
with
4 (pc) - current 65W dual actinic 03/7100K blue sunpaq

are you suggesting from your experience that the lights from blue life has a better combination.

 

I saw enough coral growth and polyp extension in the first week at the shop to leave my old 10 K Ushios and a few X.M 15 K I run actainc VHO here and at the shop . These Sps bulbs are the best I ever ran.. And I have tried them all at one time or the other..

 

This bulb make my SPS grow really well and color up nice also. If you like bright white this is it.

This is a measured true 14K lamp. Many of the other brand 14K's are much more blue. For a human visual, i would consider this bulb a 10K. It's mostly a warm white in color. Where most of our other 14K's have a strong blue tint. It's an excellent lamp, but if you want something really blue, you should look at some of the other brands.
Mogul Base Metal Halide Bulb
14K Kelvin Color Temperature
Crisp White/Blue
Made in Japan (Iwasaki brand)
MT175AQUA2/H0R-E39/41R
Iwasaki has been making quality 6500K lamps for many years. They are know for outstanding quality control and dependability. Now they have came out with a new 14K 175watt lamp. We are getting reports that this bulb puts out more light then a comparable 250watt lamp. Limited supply!!!

 

tangster what are the par ratings and spectral output on the 10k and 14k 250w

 

Can you add the new option "in 1 month i will have them up and running nad they will be 14K" hehe, i got em in the mail, A PFO dual 250 ballast and 2 reflecters and 2 sockets. YAY!

 

It is 15k for now, but I have 14k on the way.

 

KELVIN RATINGS FROM MANUFACTURERS MEAN NOTHING!!!

When I select bulbs it is because of the bulbs performance and spectrum. Kelvin rating from the manufactuer means nothing. Good rule of thumb... if the human eye can see any hint of blue in the light source, it is way past 20K. Most of today's MH market chooses to call their bulb whatever Kelvin rating they feel will sell the most bulbs. There certainly is not any science to it. Companies like Iwasaki and Ushio typically assign a truer kelvin rating to their bulb. But then again that is because they are real lighting companies who design, build, and test their own bulbs and don't just source out to China.

My favorite bulbs are as follows
150w DE - Phoenix 14k, Aquamaxx 14k (both are bluer than the Radium 20k), and for a much whiter look the Iwasaki 20k and 50k
175w SE - Iwasaki 15k is the only bulb I would choose as most of the other bulbs really suck.
250w DE - Phoenix 14k, Aquamaxx 14k and for a whiter look, the Iwasaki 14k
250w SE - Radium 20k, Phoenix 14k, and Ushio 20k
400w SE - Radium 20k, Ushio 20k, Aquamaxx 14k, XM 20k