Leakytree Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Has anyone had any experience with Plusrite 250w MH bulbs? I am currently running phoenix 14k 150w and I love the blue color. I have done some research and I have read that the 20k plusrites are almost as good for a fraction of the price. I have also seen a slew of other non-name brand bulbs, but no one can really tell me the difference between a $60 bulb and a $15. Does anyone have any thoughts or know of a good resource to read through? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I've been using the 250w 20k DE bulbs for about 4 months now. Color is great and all my critters like 'em. I run 3X over my tank for 6 hours a day. Plusrites are a pretty good deal IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I was running Reeflux for many years and then switched to the plusrites. Big cost savings and minimal difference in lighting. The Reeflux gave a slightly better color but not $40 worth of difference per bulb for me. I ran the 250 watt SE bulbs, 20k spectrum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Forgot to mention I've been running them for the past 2.5 years with a mainly SPS dominant tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lamont Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 ive been running MH's since 2005. Plusrite bulbs give great growth but my coral color faded a bit. i have been using them for the last 2 years. i switched to LED's Weds.and i think my corals will start to pop a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Here's a link to my tank build to see what 2.5 years of $13 bulbs looks like. Again, my tank is mainly SPS dominant. http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/29288-jeepertys-215-gallon-sps-tank/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Plusrite seem to be the best out of the "noname" brands. I've ran them for a couple years, changing every 4 months with dual 250w DE MH and got good growth. You do need some sort of supplemental blue lighting though as they do run a little warm IMO. I'm currently running Phoenix 14k bulbs and they have some pretty nice color. A little better blue than the plusrites for sure, but 4x the price? Nah. I got a super deal on them and only paid $44/ea shipped for 4 of them. Once I use these I will go back to PlusRite most likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Pretty much completely agree with oozarka on the color. I use a reefbrite blue tech LED strip for my supplemental lighting. The 20K plusrite is comparable to many 12K - 14K brand name bulbs. If you want something more like a 20K ushio, xm, or phoenix, it's going to be tough without a lot of actinic or led lighting to blue everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leakytree Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Thanks for all the great info guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Reread this and realized I left out some information that may be useful to those interested. With the 250 watt SE bulbs, 20k, the color was a crisp white with a hint of blue. Looked very 14k-ish. My brother ran the 150 watt DE versions, 20k, and it was more of a 10k color. More yellow and needed some blue supplementation. So there are some variances between the bulb types that I noticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Plusrite seem to be the best out of the "noname" brands. I've ran them for a couple years, changing every 4 months with dual 250w DE MH and got good growth. You do need some sort of supplemental blue lighting though as they do run a little warm IMO. I'm currently running Phoenix 14k bulbs and they have some pretty nice color. A little better blue than the plusrites for sure, but 4x the price? Nah. I got a super deal on them and only paid $44/ea shipped for 4 of them. Once I use these I will go back to PlusRite most likely. 4 months?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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