EBAY Halides....

[46gReef]

Just wondering if anyone is using MH bulbs off of Ebay & if so what your feedback is...it's time for me to change my bulbs & was thinking about trying out some bulbs......some people I 've spoken to say that the majority of halides are the same regardless of brand name, I'm not sure I'm buying that so I figured I'd get some opinions....thanks in advance......

 

[phi delt reefer]

they arent the same - they have 1/2 the PAR and lose their "gusto" much quicker than other bulbs. If you do decide to you use them buy them in bulk and swap them out every four months and you should be fine. Doing so will probably mean you have spend just as much on those bulbs as you would have on some quality ones which would last you 8-12 months.

 

[46gReef]

That's kind of what I was thinking, that I'd have to swap them out more frequently.....have you used them before? I'd also be interested if anyone has done any PAR readings.....

 

[Speg]

My brother tried them. Just like Phi said, they'll last about 4 months and then need to be replaced....and 4 months is being kind

My brother just ended up learning his lesson and buying the real deal... the real deal is still going strong

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

i just bought some phoenix bulbs and they rock! i had 20k XM bulbs and i like the color of the 14K phoenix even more

 

[46gReef]

I had Ushio 20K initially, I thought they were a little too white for my taste, I switched to XM's & they were a little too purple IMO, now I need to replace those & was thinking of trying the ebay bulbs cause money is kind of tight right now.....

 

[46gReef]

So in your opinion are the phoenix 14K's bluer than the XM'S?

 

[phi delt reefer]

I read something online and the numbers were roughly equivalent to a quality lamp that been used for 6 months. There's nothing wrong with them but you have to swap em out more often and the color varies by batch - ie. some guy ordered two 14k lamps...got them and one was closer to 10k while the other was 14k. There is definately a quality issue with the ebay bulbs

 

[HighlandReef]

I tried them also and the color shifter after about 3 months, it's noticeable stick to 14k phoenix now

 

[aslmx]

Ive been using the Plus Rite 250 watt 14k from 1000bulbs.com. They are o.k. for a cheap bulb. This is my second set. I change them every 6 months. I am probably gonna do a name brand bulb next time just to compare but I really cant complain about these for what they cost. I had one to go bad after 2 weeks but 1000bulbs made it up in a week. Plus Rites are the only cheap ones i'd try. My son ordered a de bulb off ebay and it was crap. I think the plus rites were about $30 or $40 for 2 shipped so its not a costly gamble. Havent lost any corals since i've been using them.

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

So in your opinion are the phoenix 14K's bluer than the XM'S?

they're more of a crisp blue, if that makes any sense... not too white, not too blue. I've had ushio 20k and xm 20k and i like the Phoenix 14k the best, i paid less than $50/bulb... i'll see if i can find where i ordered them.

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

Aquarium Lighting
here's where i got them from, still $47.50 for 250DE. I also used the code Aqua2010 and got free shipping, not sure if it still works

 

[george albert]

i use the plusrite and have had great success with them but after about 6 to 7 months they should be changed

 

[aslmx]

i use the plusrite and have had great success with them but after about 6 to 7 months they should be changed

How do they do with sps? Ive only used them with lps but I am starting to get some sps and dont want to loose any.

 

[Paul_N]

I used Plusrite bulbs from LSE, Inc.(trustdeals) on ebay. I tried the DE 250w bulbs, never again. One the bulbs color was way off. I got 14k in and they looked like 10k. I then got 20k in that had some blue in them. The par was much less than the Phoenix I ran previously. I won't get into the issues I had with the ends of the bulbs breaking. I went through 3 sets of bulbs with that experiment....never again. If you do decide to try them, do NOT go through LSE(trustdeals), because it is the worst customer service I have ever received. He flat out lied and said he shipped the bulbs 2 different times and said the post office must have lost them and he conveniently never had a tracking number. I got my last set by having to threaten him with legal action and have him charged with theft. Amazingly I had the other set of bulbs in about 3 days. I went back to Phoenix after that.

 

[WrasseSandwich]

I used Plusrite bulbs from LSE, Inc.(trustdeals) on ebay. I tried the DE 250w bulbs, never again. One the bulbs color was way off. I got 14k in and they looked like 10k. I then got 20k in that had some blue in them. The par was much less than the Phoenix I ran previously. I won't get into the issues I had with the ends of the bulbs breaking. I went through 3 sets of bulbs with that experiment....never again. If you do decide to try them, do NOT go through LSE(trustdeals), because it is the worst customer service I have ever received. He flat out lied and said he shipped the bulbs 2 different times and said the post office must have lost them and he conveniently never had a tracking number. I got my last set by having to threaten him with legal action and have him charged with theft. Amazingly I had the other set of bulbs in about 3 days. I went back to Phoenix after that.

wow, that sucks, sorry to hear about their customer service, i had an issue with them when i ordered my 175 SE, they send a wrong bulb, and they corrected it very promptly

 

[46gReef]

Well I got some 250W DE 20K plusrites & put them in on Saturday.....deinately on the whiter side IMO as far as 20K's go......as far as growth/performance go, only time will tell......