New bulbs

How old were the bulbs you replaced?

It probably wouldn't hurt to cut your lighting period down by an hour for a couple days.

(this is just advice I've read on the web, so probably wait for someone who actually has a tank up and running to weigh in...)

 

What wattage and type of bulbs(SE or DE) are they? In my experience, XM 20K's less than 400W puts out pretty low PAR. I doubt you would have anything to worry about. You can also check to see if Sanjay has a setup similar to yours and then compare the output to see if there is a difference worth noting. http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

 

I'm worried that you're not giving them enough light. From the graph shown using Ice Cap ballasts, the PAR is very low on these bulbs.

 

nahhh many people are using these bulbs for sps, im pretty sure that einstein has 20k on his tank with sps in there.
i switched my 10 xms out for 20k bulbs, the color is nice.
heres a good thread on RC about 20xm bulbs and sps.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1238757&highlight=20k+sps

 

what do you think of the color on the xm 20k?

every post i read says they are really blue, mine are not really overpowering at all, i hate a dark blue looking tank.

i think they are the perfect color and im running 4 96w pc actinics with them, it looks great.

 

Monty, your stuff will grow, the lights you have just don't have a great PAR rating.
I didn't realize that there was such a difference in PAR ratings between the 400's and 175's.
I don't think you can beat the color of the bulbs, so it's kind of a toss up between color and growth.
Before you order bulbs next time use this chart to help you decide what you want.
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/selectperformancedata.php

 

Sean what wattage are you running?

 

I just got new bulbs too, my old ones were well over a year and a half old so i have decreased my photoperiod to 4 hours of MH a day. Next week I'll bumb it up a few hours and keep adding hours over the next month....no sense in giving everything a sunburn.

I am shocked at how much brighter the new bulbs are compared to my old ones, the difference is like night and day.

 

Posted By BigBlue on 11/09/2007 3:02 PM
So what I just wasted 105 bucks on two lights that are not good enough to grow sps?
You do know this is on a 40 breeder right? The tank is only 13" tall and my lights are only about 9" above my water.
Hey Monty, I'm sure your SPS will be fine.  Just don't expect much growth out of them if you are going to use those bulbs.  It's just my opinion and I have been known to be wrong at times.

 

Posted By BigBlue on 11/09/2007 5:04 PM
How can I find out what kind of ballist I have? I looked and it dosen't say anything on the ballist.
Can you take the cover off the ballast and then take a picture of it?  If you can't, just a picture of the ballast would be helpful in determining what kind it is.

 

Those bulbs are supposed to be the latest and greatest in the 175W SE bulbs. The PAR is comparable to most 250W SE bulbs and they have good color. From the test results, it's almost right at 15K.

 

Sorry Monty, I didn't mean to rain on your parade. As long as you're happy with the way it looks, that's all that matters. /site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif

 

Posted By BigBlue on 11/09/2007 5:29 PM
I was just looking reef lighting info site and from the looks of it I should have went with the Iwasaki 175W 15000K SE 1 bulbs. They look to have about the best spectrum.  
Sounds like something I told you last night!  /site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/cool.gif