BLV Nepturion 250W DE 14000K

[IanJ]

Copied from Equipment forum in case you SPS freaks missed it

Tonight i took delivery of 2 new BLV 14000K 250W DE bulbs from Dr Evil

Firstly my set-up has, on either end 2 separate pendants from STM in the UK, which i assume are fired by HQI ballasts. In the middle is an aqualight unit which is fired by an electronic ballast. Currently i run 10,000K BLV's in the STM's and a Phoenix bulb in the centre.

The electronic ballast burns the Phoenix very blue, the STM's fire the Phoenix to a ice blue/white colour, whiter and brighter than the aqualight unit when i tried it in the past.

On fitting the new 14,000K bulb in one of the STM's i was initially surprised that it had, on first impression, no hint of blue. I fired up the other STM which still had the 10,000K bulb in it for comparison.

The difference was clear, the new 14,000K bulb was much whiter than the 10,000K bulb and in my opinion, brighter. It is whitest brightest bulb i have run in these units.

I have not yet tried it in the aqualight unit since i like this unit with the more actinic colour of the Phoenix. The BLV 14,000K - Phoenix - BLV 14,000K combo is a good balance for my tank.

So the bulb, on an HQI ballast is crisp white and bright, it may disappoint those who are looking for a more blue colour. However it may well burn a little bluer on an electronic ballast.

Time will tell how it performs for coral colour and growth

[weileong]

hey IanJ can give more details on the STM pendant? More interested in the ballast actually.

[IanJ]

I dont know the exact ballast combo, its a long time since i opened the box.

You can check out www.s-t-m.co.uk under shop to see the pendants.

They make one hell of a noice when they fire up.

When i get a chance i will check the ballast

[weileong]

IanJ would appreciate if you would have the chance soon to check out the ballast. Judging from the size of the reflector, looks more like it's using MV ballast instead which overdrives the MH bulb and that's why giving the whiter cast from the phoenix.

[IanJ]

Weileong

Opened the box, but difficult to make much out. The ballast is Tridonic, there is also a big capacitor and something else.

Sorry i cant be more specific, but i am sure its magnetic/HQI since that was all that was used/available at the time in the UK for DE bulbs

[IanJ]

I checked the Tridonic web-site and can only see electronic ballasts.

The other two bits are the ignitor and choke

The units were purchased at the end of 2002, so i dont really know what was used in those days.

When the aqualight starts, it fires the bulb without a sound. The control boxes on the STM's make a very very loud noise and the metal case vibrates, enough to shock both me and the fish

[IanJ]

Well, a week or so on the bulbs show no change in colour.

So my conclusion is that the BLV 250W DE 14000K is ideal for those who look for a very white colour bulb with what appears high brightness.

Those that look for a blue/white colouration with fluorescence will be disappointed

[AlfaRomeo]

Any pics to show the whiteness?

[IanJ]

Sorry, no time for pics. Just whiter than the BLV 10000K's i had before

[RAV-65]

Sounds like a decent bulb to use... I am however, still concern as to whether is provides sufficient PAR... from my understanding, bulbs like Hamilton 14KK and Phoenix 14KK are not as good as the PAR is very much lower than it's 10KK counterpart.

Anybody knows anything about the PAR on the BLV 14KK?

Thanxs!

[Tigger]

Rav raise a valid point there. Which bulb in the market now offer the highest par now?

[IanJ]

I said earlier, when run side by side with the BLV 10000K the 14000K's were at least as bright, possibly brighter.

This is the brightest DE bulb i have seen

[RAV-65]

Rav raise a valid point there. Which bulb in the market now offer the highest par now?

Bro,

different bulbs with different ballasts can produce different PAR ratings...but a research done on RC by a reefer revealed that generally, the XM is a good bulb to use if you wan high PAR...

[RAV-65]

I said earlier, when run side by side with the BLV 10000K the 14000K's were at least as bright, possibly brighter.

This is the brightest DE bulb i have seen

Bro,

no offense... but I guess visual comparision of a bulb may not be a good indication of the performance of the bulb as it can be affected by many aspects... maybe a dark room where the bulb is used...

I'm keen to use this bulb too, but would really like to know its PAR readings, which is why I asked... Anyone got that info?!

[planetg]

dude i try liao and if sps turn brown, i'll let u know!

[RAV-65]

dude i try liao and if sps turn brown, i'll let u know!

Ladies & Gentleman... got guinea pig liao...

Bro, with your dedication and husbandry, wun turn brown lah... the most with the new bulb, the SPS bleach niah... :D

[AlfaRomeo]

If Planetg gives the good to go, Im planning to change to the 14kk once my bulbs are 1 yr old this december. Planetg, You will be trying the SE or DE? best if try both! hehehehe

[dr evil]

currently, the SE are not available yet. As per BLV, they will be out only in Oct.

If the blv are not as dim as the phoenix, it should produce a higher PAR. Maybe i should write to BLV and check its PAR values.

cheers

[IanJ]

RAV-65

Sorry, but you dont need a PAR meter to say what is whiter, yellower ,bluer or visually brighter. No offence taken.

I ran a side by side test on my 2 pendents thet clearly showed that its whiter and brighter than the 10000k

If you look at the thread on Dr Evil's forum you can see even the figures from BLV show slightly higher lumens for the 14000K over the 10000K.

There is a big difference in PAR between the mogul and DE 10000K XM bulbs, the mogal is whiter and brighter.

Perhaps the DE BLV 14000K is close to the XM mogul 10000K?

You cannot compare the Phoenix or the Hamilton 14000K to the BLV 14000K, i have used both these and the colour difference is significant.

[RAV-65]

RAV-65

Sorry, but you dont need a PAR meter to say what is whiter, yellower ,bluer or visually brighter. No offence taken.

I ran a side by side test on my 2 pendents thet clearly showed that its whiter and brighter than the 10000k

If you look at the thread on Dr Evil's forum you can see even the figures from BLV show slightly higher lumens for the 14000K over the 10000K.

There is a big difference in PAR between the mogul and DE 10000K XM bulbs, the mogal is whiter and brighter.

Perhaps the DE BLV 14000K is close to the XM mogul 10000K?

You cannot compare the Phoenix or the Hamilton 14000K to the BLV 14000K, i have used both these and the colour difference is significant.

Hi bro...

seriously, I'm not someone good in all this technical aspects of lightings... which is why it is still my preference to look at statistics... i.e. PAR values...

To have the two bulbs side by side may reveal which one is indeed brighter....

Wat I really liike to know is whether the BLV 14KK has a PAR far inferior to the BLV 10KK as I dun not wish to provide too little intensity to my stony corals...

Nonetheless, really appreciate ur input and sharing!