It's time for me to replace my MH lamps. I've had Phoenix 14,000K 250W DE for the last year+ and was looking to replace them. The same color-rated Iwasaki are about $15 more. Anyone think there's really a $15 difference in performance?
I spent alot of time last year before our trip to Pittsburgh researching bulbs for the new tanks that have been set up. I can tell you that I like the color of the Phoenix that I have over the clam tank. I can tell you that in this particular tank I did very well with lps and montipora but acropora and millipora never did well at all. My purpose in my research changed to growth and not so much asthetics so I purchased Ushio 10,000K bulbs at MACNA after speaking with all of the vendors. The color is purhaps not as intense but I expect to get good growth - I will let you know how it goes as my tanks using these bulbs has just cycles and had corals added, but my initial observations look promising. I have tended to hear that the Iwasaki's are a bit yellow.
The Iwasaki's you are talking about are the new Double Ended bulbs they released last year. They have a special coating on the outer envelope that blocks UV light allowing you to get more light into your tank by not having to run them with glass over them. Several of the folks online that bought them loved them. Oh and I would still run them with a glass on them to keep water off of them, imho
