MH ballast
- Thread starter Yanir34
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Please see post #24
"Actually the purpose of a halide ballast is to provide the starting / ignition voltage, then limit the warm up / run up current and then regulate the lamp operating current. Various types are available and each has a different set of specifications."
Thanks, @PaulErik !
Would be great to have some insight of the Chinese bulbs that you have designed. What brands? Tell us about the quality of the built and durability, and also ANSI recommendations. Let us know more how you determinate the way the ANSI is chosen for each type of bulb. Would be very nice if you could enrich this thread with some deep info in the metal halide bulbs' design and construction. Also, some of the combination for each color of the bulbs. Did you ever designed any aquarium specific bulb? It's always interesting to learn about that kinda stuff. I'm sure many people here will be happy to learn some of that, if you wish.
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Fantastic looking. Spectrum is perfect. I actually run my leds close to what your tank looks like. Most people are just too afraid to because they think they’ll get algae ::gasp!::
I've seen some great tanks with LEDs under the 14k spectrum. It's just the all-blues that I can't stand...especially going to coral shows. I have no idea what I'm looking at or how it will look in my tank.
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Agree completely it’s obnoxious
I LOOOOVE radium 20k's. They run best overdriven at about 450w. I still have 3 old PFO HQI ballasts that are the gold standard for these bulbs, but they are not longer available. Even replacement parts are no more. I also use 3 generic M59 ballasts for my frag tank and they work great, just a little more blue color. You can pick up bare ones without a case for as low as $60.
Note all Im talking about is old, big, heavy, humming magnetic ballasts. I never considered an electronic ballast since there was nothing on the market capable of overdriving past 400w at the time.
Note all Im talking about is old, big, heavy, humming magnetic ballasts. I never considered an electronic ballast since there was nothing on the market capable of overdriving past 400w at the time.
hi i hope i am in the right place
just picked up a giessman infinity 2 foot fixture today single 250 watt de and four t/5 bulbs it came with a m80 ballast.
i have heard about these it the past put never took much interest in them can anyone tell me about the ballast and why or why not i should switch it out for a reef bright mh ballast thx
just picked up a giessman infinity 2 foot fixture today single 250 watt de and four t/5 bulbs it came with a m80 ballast.
i have heard about these it the past put never took much interest in them can anyone tell me about the ballast and why or why not i should switch it out for a reef bright mh ballast thx
Depends on what bulbs you want to use.
Also ballasts determine " color" and output.
Also specific bulbs only work with specific ballasts
Old " primer".
https://reefs.com/magazine/spectral...sts-evc-happy-reefing-icecap-ab-and-coralvue/
Product Review: Spectral Analysis of 250W Mogul base Metal Halide Lamps – PART II
This article presents the data on the remaining nine 250W mogul base lamps along with the comparison of all the 250W mogul lamps.
reefs.com
Many experienced reefers would consider the M80 coupled with the Phoenix 14K 250W DE lamp to be an ideal MH set-up. It will drive the bulb with more power, give you more PAR and probably a whiter color than any of the electronic ballasts even on Super-Lumens. The M80 will run hotter and may make more noise. The electronic ballast will use less power and likely produce a bluer color with less PAR for the same bulb, but it will certainly work. Choice is yours, but I would hang on to the M80 if you choose to go electronic as they are very difficult to come by now.
My understanding is that all double ended bulbs are designed to be driven with the M80 or near equivalent. Most can be driven at lower power levels offered by an electronic on Super Lumens (e.g. Luxcore, Icecap, Lumatek, Galaxy). I don't know anything about the ReefBrite ballasts, but I assume it is similar to other electronics with some type of auto sensing circuitry.
In general, a DE will burn brighter than a SE if fired by the correct ballast. There are a few SE bulbs like the Radium and the Giesemann bulbs that are designed to run on an M80. I would think they would be similar in output to a DE on the same ballast.
Just rewiring an old fixture and was viewing this thread. To all of those with the old PFO HQI 400 ballasts , since 2015 the radiums have been made differently, the new bulbs tend to not last long on the old ballasts , i have 10 running. and have had a few go bad within a week or 2 . when they switched over to the new bulbs, i bought out every 400 in the chicago area and stacked up 40 bulbs. but now ive had to get creative as my supply ran out.
the new bulb to check out if you want to overdrive 400s is the Megachrome 21000 with the old pfo hqi its a tight combo.
the new bulb to check out if you want to overdrive 400s is the Megachrome 21000 with the old pfo hqi its a tight combo.
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