LF Phoenix 14k DE 250 watt + advice

jbanman14

Cleaner Shrimp
#1
Hey,

Im looking for a DE Phoenix 250 bulb, not sure if anyone has any laying around; no used though, must be new. If anyone has had a good experience with any other brands that would also be helpful. I heard AquaMaxx 14K's are okay but the 250's are nothing special. Im just trying metal halide and will have some t5 supplement (2 ati blue +, 1 fiji purple, 1 actinic) so any advice would help. Thanks for your time.

J
 

DyM

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
Yea I just heard they no loner make the phoenix bulbs, bummer. I went from 14K to 20K and wasn't happy with the long term look from either the XM or Ushio 20K's. I am running 10K's now and my corals love it, I want a bit more blue so was thinking of running 12K's next.
 
#3
I ordered my Phoenix 14k bulbs from marine depot. They have a fair price I felt. Love rhe color and my corals love it too. So I would definitely recommend them above other 14ks. I only run my halides 4 hours a day and then PC bulbs rest of the day
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#5
They are a great bulb... there is no substitute IMO for DE.

Some think that they are discontinued, some not... in any case, it will suck if they are. Hopefully Radium will have a 20K 250W DE version soon if there is a hole in the market. Their 150W DE bulb is pretty good. Somebody will pick up the slack with the resurgence of MH right now.
 
#6
Out of curiosity do the 14k Phoenix look similar to the 20k radiums? I have noticed rhat the Phoenix has more of a blue than other 14k bulbs but I don't think I've ever seen a 20k in person
 

Miah2bzy

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#7
charleshardy5;343747 said:
Out of curiosity do the 14k Phoenix look similar to the 20k radiums? I have noticed rhat the Phoenix has more of a blue than other 14k bulbs but I don't think I've ever seen a 20k in person
I really liked my DE phoenix 14k 150s I had. Have heard that the 250s were discontinued but they're still available at some stores.
The color isn't as blue as a 20k radium, has a better white balance. I think as far as par/pur they're about even though.
I read a while back that the DE put out more watts that the moguls. I'm not sure why but found multiple articles stating that when I was looking at a new fixture and bought my 2x150w.
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
The 14K phoenix on M80 look nearly identical to 20K radium on M80 or 400W, imo. On regular 250W ballasts, especially electronic, the 20K Radium is significantly more blue.

They are not as blue as the "true" 20K bulbs like XM or Hammy.
 
#9
Ah okay thanks, I've got 150w DE fixture and all I know is they're electronic ballasts but the Phoenix bulbs have a nice blue to them that's not way overpowering, I've never been a huge fan of the deep blue that LEDS produce, the corals pop so much more under the LEDS but I can't get over the blue color, looks unnatural to me
 

Miah2bzy

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
charleshardy5;343787 said:
Ah okay thanks, I've got 150w DE fixture and all I know is they're electronic ballasts but the Phoenix bulbs have a nice blue to them that's not way overpowering, I've never been a huge fan of the deep blue that LEDS produce, the corals pop so much more under the LEDS but I can't get over the blue color, looks unnatural to me
I didn't like the look of leds either and switched to the 14k Phoenix. Even my wife loved the new look and wanted to invest in the tank after I switched. Best decision I made in the hobby!
 

sethsolomon

Hammerhead Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#11
Well me finding out Phoenix discontinued their 250w DE put a major damper in my week.

Hmmm.... Time to upgrade to 400's? or find an equivalent bulb?


EDIT: Just got off the phone with Hexarc Blue. There was a big enough uproar on the discontinuation of that bulb that phoenix will be redoing production for the 250w DE bulb. Estimated timeframe for them to be back on the market is late May to late June. Continuation on the other bulbs will be TBD.
 
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Walter White

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#13
sethsolomon;343835 said:
Well me finding out Phoenix discontinued their 250w DE put a major damper in my week.

Hmmm.... Time to upgrade to 400's? or find an equivalent bulb?


EDIT: Just got off the phone with Hexarc Blue. There was a big enough uproar on the discontinuation of that bulb that phoenix will be redoing production for the 250w DE bulb. Estimated timeframe for them to be back on the market is late May to late June. Continuation on the other bulbs will be TBD.

Thats makes sense because I was seeing lots of sites like marine depot showing them as discontinued now showing them as just out of stock. This is good news. I got wind of them going away awhile back and bought 5 years worth lol. Glad they will be around awhile longer!
 
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jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
What I had always heard is that the SE version was going away forever... not so much the DE... but then some of the vendors got confused and stuff. Some of the LED manufacturers helped to spread the rumor hoping to get some converts. They make THOUSANDS of them every few years in large runs and then shut down until they need them again.

None of this made any sense to me with so many people moving away from LED right now.
 

jbanman14

Cleaner Shrimp
#15
Hoping that jda is right, with stocks out right now (except for sears who wants $80 + SH) i went with the aquamaxx 14k for same price as phoenix. Not that i have any phoenix experience to compare to but if i get some good success with sticks ill throw up some pics in case phoenix goes dry again. Thanks all for the help.
 

jbanman14

Cleaner Shrimp
#17
I do see a bunch of the 150, unfortunately i need the 250. It keeps telling me they're (aquacave) out of stock, I might have just missed it.
 

MuralReef

Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
MASC Vice-President
#18
While waiting for phoenixes to come back what would your suggestions be? What about Ushio 14K or XM 15K?
 
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