plusrite bulbs, what are your thoughts, who has used them?

[gradth]

So im interested in if anyone of the local people have also tried these out at all. there is a huge discussion about it on RC http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1703568&highlight=plusrite+14k&page=24

 

For the price you cant really beat the fact you can buy 6-8 bulbs for the price of 1

https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/250-watt-single-ended-metal-halide-aquarium/

 

My own experience.

Well the first 3-4 months I had massive growth.

Now 6 months into it I have lost a number of sps and its looking like the light falling off is to blame.

 

I just cant pull the trigger on 4 bulbs that cost 60-100 bucks a piece that last about a year. I know, you get what you pay for. Just need to buck up and do it. But I am curious, if I have really good growth for 3 months on a bulb that cost 10 bucks, why not replace that bulb 4 times a year at a cost of 40 bucks.

 

Im just wondering if anyone has had this thought, or actually used these bulbs before. Experience with them at all.

 

Discuss!(plotting)

[newfisher]

Exactly...I had the same experience. they are great for 3 months then fall flat. I changed to SPS brand ( Garrett) and loved the color, lasted longer 8-9 months and was still less than a Phoenix. I am now running a Phoenix and growth is stable, color is less pleasing to my eye than the SPS and it seems to last as long or longer that the SPS brand. I wont' go back to Plusright. They are cheap all the way around.

[gradth]

how much are the sps brand?

[reefnjunkie]

LOL, I was part of that thread if I recall-Myself I used them for over a year and did not have the adverse or poor results others did-which probablly supports the "inconsistancy" of the bulbs.

 

I had kept track of the par ratings and then the LFS by me did not have the par meter for me to use anymore so I could not document past 6 months-

I changed to Phoenix strictly for the looks, performance is a bonus

[newfisher]

brad had a thread a couple years ago...it was that thread that got me to switch to plusrite....chime in brad if you can find the link.....interesting that you are also now running Phoenix LOL

 

Garrett has the 20k SPS and i think i paid $60ish? I will probobly go back when my Phoenix times out.

[Michael7979]

Yeah they run out of gas quickly then comes the algae outbreaks. I would say "pass".

[ThePremiumAquarium]

I have used about a dozen of them over time with extremely mixed results. I had a couple that were great and lasted a normal 12 or so months. Most were just trash though and to be honest I could see a huge difference in spectrum from lamp to lamp. I wouldn't touch these with a 10 ft pole now. I can offer much better name brand bulbs at a reasonable price and feel confident that my customers will come back for more and more corals simply because they love the colors in their tanks and aren't losing corals due to screwy spectrums. Jon, I totally agree with you. Those SPS lamps have to be one of my favorites. I love Phoenix, Radium!!!, Ushio, and XM's as well. I also hear that the new Elos lamps will knock your socks off!!