In the constant search for the perfect standalone MH bulb, I’m giving a new bulb a try – the Iwasaki 50,000K metal halide lamp. The initial color is a bit purple, maybe from the 50K’s nice little spike there in the 420nm range. First impression is pretty positive, though we know how that goes with halides. The Ushio 14K & Reeflux 12K bulbs I’ve been using for the last year or so are also great halides bulbs, in my opinion, but each lacks something (or maybe I just get bored?…). To remedy that, I switch between the 2 bulbs every couple months… I’d prefer to not do this, so I hope the 150 watt Iwasaki 50K is my answer… To be continued…
Here’s the spectral plot from Sanjay Joshi’s site…
glassbox-design
3 years ago
That’s a huge spike. What ballast are you running?
We really like the new layout
Status Report on Stony Reef Aquarium | StonyReef.com
3 years ago
[...] switched out the Iwasaki 50K bulb in favor of a Radium 20K. I like this bulb as well, and will stick with rotating the Ushio 14K, [...]
admin
3 years ago
wow. Talk about I missed this comment
It’s just whatever ballast comes in a Sunpod. Not optimal, but functional. Functionality is the name of the game until we get a new place to settle in. Then ‘form’ will play into the equation