20,000K bulb recommendation?

[kevindub]

Is the Radium the way to go? Or any others ok? I have a Icecap 250W ballast.

 

[trido]

Single ended or double?
For DE 250's with an Icecap. IMO nothing beats the look of the phoenix 14K.

For SE. Reeflux 12K.

I like radiums but there are plenty of other bulbs to chose from that last longer and are less expensive.

 

[Len]

I like radiums for how they make corals look. They don't produce the most light, and they definitely don't last as long as other halides. But they make great display tank lights for the nice sps, chalices, and acans/micros.

 

[Ben1]

When I was using halides I was using Radiums, I used alot of others as well and prefered the Radium.

 

[Anonymous]

I am going Phoenix 14K next bulb change.

 

[Hyolee]

I just "downgraded" from 400w Reeflux 12k on icecap e-ballast to 250w Radium 20k on galaxy ballast.

I was surprised how similar the two bulbs looked in terms of both (perceived) output and color. Still they are different, and I much prefer the Radiums.

Most of the lifespan issues on the Radiums, tend to be the 400w versions. The 250w is a true HQI (that runs at around 330 watts) whereas the 400w is a pulse start but non-HQI spec that runs around 370w. Some people like the output of the 400w radiums on hqi, but this will kill the bulb pretty quickly.

I agree with Trido that 14k phoenix is the best choice for DE. Reeflux 12k is a great choice and saves you 20 bucks over the Radium, but I would spring for the Radiums unless you need a lot of bulbs for your tank.

I've posted pics of reeflux 12k versus radium 20k in my build thread.