What MH Combination Please

I have a 180 coral reef tank which is extremely healthy and successful but in fact I am a novice. I suspect that my 3 250W MH mogul base lamps are reaching the end of their lifespan. Too much brown dingy going on. Can an expert in our hobby recommend what combination of bulbs I should use to replace them???

I think Pheonix makes a mogul version of their 250 watt, 14k halides. Very affordable, nice balance of white and blue light.

Big fan of the Pheonix bulbs

Hello and welcome to reef geeks

First off, what brand are you running now and are you happy with them
so far??

Second are you looking for growth or color??

I run on my 180 = 3 250 watt 14k Phoenix bulbs but in HQI and they have great color combo and do great on growth. I also have 2 6 foot 420k vho tubes and 2 6 foot 460k LED tubes, the color combo works great for me.

My little tank has a 15k HQI Phoenix and 2 24 inch ATI 460k bulbs and also works pretty nice.

With moguls I like the 20k Reeflux bulbs they put alot of blue.

I have a real mixed bag; fish, clams, SPS, LPS, softies. I have bargain shopped and changed so many times I don't recall what is currently in there. What have you heard about these "Coral Blue 250 watt 10000K/20000K
Twin Arc Metal Halide Bulb for Aquarium & Reef Setups"? But in truth I am mostly stabbing-in-the-dark.

what "color spectrum" do you find pleasing in your fish tank??

some people like 10K, others like 14K or even 20K.... how blue do you like it??

really it all comes down to brand, and color... once you pick your color, each brand has a different optical look of their color in my opinion...

I've used the phoenixs, and the reeflux, and the XMs..... and I currently use Ushio and have for a while... I found I didnt like the way the other brands "burned in" aka, lost their blue color and moved to more yellow as the bulb got older...

BUT, if you are looking at a bulb that isnt 20k (thats what I use), then I'd bet one of the other bulbs would be great too...

Keep it simple though, and just use the same bulbs on all three, you wont get any value from mixing them up

Originally Posted by rbjone1

I have a real mixed bag; fish, clams, SPS, LPS, softies. I have bargain shopped and changed so many times I don't recall what is currently in there. What have you heard about these "Coral Blue 250 watt 10000K/20000K
Twin Arc Metal Halide Bulb for Aquarium & Reef Setups"? But in truth I am mostly stabbing-in-the-dark.

Check around on the twin arc bulbs, the concept that they put out is great but I know 2 people that got them and both sent them back cause they didnt work or just burned out.

If they work correctly would be a great idea.

RJ

I like and use Pheonix 14k. They are blue but not too blue. I used to run 10k way back and thought i like them but when i tried the 14k i really loved them and havent looked back.

I used icecap 14K bulbs and loved them. idk what I would use now.