# Corallife Colormax T5 HO bulb



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

The Colormax bulbs I used were always very pink pink pink, similar to the Aquamedic Planta bulbs.

Not sure why they don't display that way for you. Have you tried them in a different fixture (different ballast) to see if that's perhaps the culprit? Sounds like they are under-driven? Keep in mind they don't seem as bright as a "white" bulb.

For pink bulbs, I really like the UVL Aquasun 10000K. Bright pink similar to the GE F&S 9325K bulbs from the T8/PC world.


----------



## jgb77 (Dec 13, 2006)

Thanks for the reply Wasser. I don't have another HO fixture to try them in, but did try the other channel of my Tek.That puts them on the other ballast and the result is the same. Here is a picture of them next to GE Starcoats, the picture is a bit off, but the general color is close to what it is in person. I also have AquaMedic Planta bulbs, and these are not even close to them in color so something is up with them it seems for sure.








I also have sent an email to Coralife and will see what they think.
Thanks,
John


----------



## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

Yeah colormax should be a pinkish hue 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


----------



## jgb77 (Dec 13, 2006)

Just to update this, a Coralife rep who was very helpful responded to my email and said that there is something wonky looking about the bulbs.They are going to send out replacement bulbs. Very helpful and accommodating company (not a review), lol. 
Thanks for the help everyone,
John


----------



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Could be a bad batch. Let us know how the replacements compare...


----------



## crispy0 (Mar 17, 2009)

mine looks exactly the same so please post if the new one is different. i may have one from a "bad batch" as well


----------



## cradleoffilthfan (Jan 19, 2009)

when mine are lit up, they are quite pink. Way pinker than what you have in the picture......


----------



## jgb77 (Dec 13, 2006)

crispy0 said:


> mine looks exactly the same so please post if the new one is different. i may have one from a "bad batch" as well


I will definitely post pictures of the new bulbs when I get them. 
Hopefully I'll get them beginning of next week and I'll put the pictures up then.
John


----------



## fishyjoe24 (Dec 10, 2009)

they should be pink and from what i understand of people testing them with a par meter no par just make the fish colors pop.


----------



## jgb77 (Dec 13, 2006)

I thought I'd update this with the replacement bulb pictures. The left bulb is the replacement ColorMax then GE Starcoat then the old ColorMax then another Starcoat.








As you can see, the new bulb is still not a pink color. It is in person noticeably brighter than the first ColorMax, so although there was something up with the first set of ColorMax bulbs, they are obviously not pink.
This is a Tek fixture, so maybe it has something to do with the way my ballast runs them. The Coralife tech guy mentioned that they don't have any info on how they should look in a Tek fixture and said Coralife ballasts run at 99 to 100% power factor and if my ballast runs at a different power factor, that could result in the bulbs looking different.
Just for reference, here is a picture with the new ColorMax on the left with Starcoats and a AquaFlora Geisemann bulb.








I guess all this means I don't know what is going on with the way these bulbs look in my fixture. Does anyone else run a ColorMax in a Tek or similar High Output fixture?
John


----------



## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

just wondering but length bulbs did you buy?


----------



## jgb77 (Dec 13, 2006)

The are 48 inch/54 watt
John


----------



## bluerrpilot (Dec 2, 2011)

typically....which blubs are for growth and which ones are for coloring the plants or fish


----------



## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

jgb77 said:


> The are 48 inch/54 watt
> John



well never mind then. lol


----------



## jgb77 (Dec 13, 2006)

So after some searching around the web, it seems like the high output colormax is indeed a purplish colored bulb. Every time I see mention of pink hue, it is someone running a ColorMax, but NOT the T5 high output.
I googled images and the only ones I see using the high output is in fact purplish.
So my conclusion is this purple color is correct for the H.O. version of this bulb and the pink I was expecting is from a Colormax of non high output variety.
Thanks for all the input everyone,
John


----------



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I can't quite remember, but it is possible that the pink Colormax bulbs I used were NO bulbs. It's been a couple of years, but I still clearly remember them being pink as pink can be. :redface:

Not that the purple is bad... nowadays I am running Hagen Power Glo which is also very purple like the one you pictured. Together with some white 10000K bulb it makes for a crisp look that makes blues and reds "pop".


----------

