Radium metal halide bulbs will not be produced anymore!

[Yanir34]

That looks great man!! Nothing beats the coverage of t5s, look those bushy sticks on top each other without shading each other!!

Thank man .
I do have some trouble with corals touching each other, stinging each other.
I'm putting a lot of effort to keep this bushes under control , it's like watching out little Baby.

 

[Reefering1]

Thank man .
I do have some trouble with corals touching each other, stinging each other.
I'm putting a lot of effort to keep this bushes under control , it's like watching out little Baby.

Hahaha, it's always something

 

[Reefering1]

@jackson6745
thanks for all the capacitor talk the other day, it saved my day today!! My central a/c stopped working today, compressor just hummed and didn't start. Poked around and figured it's the capacitor (40uf 300vac). I ordered some on Amazon, they should be here tomorrow. Then I recalled the 20uf 300vac capacitors in the m80... so I took the capacitors, from 2 spare m80 ballasts, wired them together in parallel and installed in my condensing unit. Worked like a charm, a/c blowing cold. Inside the house got to 87*. Chiller kept the tank cool without a problem.

 

[jackson6745]

@jackson6745
thanks for all the capacitor talk the other day, it saved my day today!! My central a/c stopped working today, compressor just hummed and didn't start. Poked around and figured it's the capacitor (40uf 300vac). I ordered some on Amazon, they should be here tomorrow. Then I recalled the 20uf 300vac capacitors in the m80... so I took the capacitors, from 2 spare m80 ballasts, wired them together in parallel and installed in my condensing unit. Worked like a charm, a/c blowing cold. Inside the house got to 87*. Chiller kept the tank cool without a problem.

That’s awesome! Very resourceful. Glad it all worked out. I was watching videos on discharging capacitors and it was all on hvac systems. I was thoroughly unimpressed when I touched with insulated pliers across the terminals and didn’t get a spark lol.

 

[Troylee]

can I see some SPS pictures under halides ?

 

[djf91]

Here are a few. Hard to get a good picture with an iPhone.

 

[PaulErik]

Be aware the Hamilton/Aqua Bright, Reefbrite and Ushio Single Ended (SE) 250W bulbs are rated for ANSI M58/M138/M153 or equivalent electronic ballasts. Operating these on a HQI/M80 type magnetic ballast causes the bulbs to be overdriven and will cause the system (bulb and ballast) to operate out of spec. 250W HQI ballasts are designed to deliver 3.0 Amps for European spec Single Ended SE and Double Ended DE bulbs. For system longevity and safety the specs should always be properly matched.

 

[PaulErik]

Radium halides with supplemental LEDs can certainly grow corals fast and keep them colored up. All started from tiny frags.

 

[Yanir34]

That pictures are insane ! wow !

 

[PaulErik]

If anyone is interested. We did a lot of bulb and ballast testing years ago for many manufacturers and distributors. Some European spec bulbs can flicker on electronic ballasts. Causing arc instability/arc tube resonance from the operating frequency. Even the electrodes were operating at different temperatures. This caused a lot of European manufacturers only recommending specified magnetic ballasts for their bulbs. The arc instability could cause premature bulb failure or even catastrophic failure.

Photo on the the left using a common electronic ballast in the industry and right using the specified magnetic ballast.

 

[Yanir34]

Dogma. The RB bulbs are plenty good. Kinda like when people come over for frags or something and they don't see any heat issues with my MH and have never seen coral that looked like mine do - they were told and just believe that LED is the only way forward with no actual self use. As they dig in more and try stuff, they learn that the internet sucks for the most part and that using other things can be OK or better.

When using 400w radiums, just go with the color. These are not PAR monsters like the 250w HQI versions are. 400w Radiums are a different animal all together than the 250w/HQI version. The 250w HQI version is almost the same output as the 400w version, just with less wattage.

The reefbrite seems more cool to me that the Radium (not a ton of use), which gets quite hot for a bluer bulb. The Hamilton 20k is also more cool and has similar color when these get back in stock.

I send you private message jda

 

[bobnicaragua]

I changed my 250 watt mogul bulbs yesterday and compared 20k Hamilton, 20k Radium, and 20k Reefbrite twin arc 20k/20k. Using reefbrite ballasts and fixtures.

Hamilton is cool white and my favorite aesthetically.

Reefbrite twin arc is more yellow. I suspect it would be best at growing coral, but not showing them off. It appears brighter than the other bulbs.

Radiums appeared more dim, with a color similar to Hamilton. It also runs hotter than the other two bulbs. I’d like to see this bulb on a magnetic ballast.

I went with Hamiltons over the Reefbrites, since this is a display tank.

I apologizer for the pictures, I didn’t turn off the blue LEDs and didn’t use a filter. The lighting isn’t very blue in person, it’s more Reefbrite warm white vs Hamilton cool white.

Hamilton:

Reefbrite:

 

[jackson6745]

Nice comparison pics. I absolutely hate radiums on electronic ballasts. You get one on an m80 and it’s a different animal. I haven’t tried Hamilton. Wonder how that looks on magnetic ballast hmmm…

 

[Reefering1]

You can try a s50 or m132/m154 ballast. I have a m132/154 running and can't tell the difference(visually) from a m80. On pheonix bulbs

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

I will also remind folks that many reefing companies, and good companies, were lost during the last economic downturn. We are likely facing an economic downturn soon. It is a good idea to plan ahead for these things, even beyond lights.

If a company abandons their patent or formula, then even honest Chinese company can make the product. We saw this after the last downturn, but many likely were not even in the hobby then.

If you don't over drive them, you can use those Ushios for 2 years... or at least 18 months.

what the catalyst for another economic downturn? The fed is about to start cutting rates next month.

 

[SpSDrew]

Picked up 4 aquabright 250 14k bulbs I’ll be doing a bulb change on over the next 2-4 weeks. Anyone else running them? Switching from 14k ushio

 

[UMALUM]

Picked up 4 aquabright 250 14k bulbs I’ll be doing a bulb change on over the next 2-4 weeks. Anyone else running them? Switching from 14k ushio

Can't wait to see your results I'll be making the same exact switch in the coming months. I heard there Hamilton bulbs with a different name which would be perfect for me. It might have been @jackson6745 who through one on an electric ballast? I'm not sure exactly what I hate about these ushios but somethings just not right?

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Can't wait to see your results I'll be making the same exact switch in the coming months. I heard there Hamilton bulbs with a different name which would be perfect for me. It might have been @jackson6745 who through one on an electric ballast? I'm not sure exactly what I hate about these ushios but somethings just not right?

I have 11 250w 14k bulbs for sale for 450 if you're interested. Hamilton DE. That's 40 a bulb.

 

[UMALUM]

I have 11 250w 14k bulbs for sale for 450 if you're interested. Hamilton DE. That's 40 a bulb.

Thanks yeah I saw your thread currently running se unfortunately. I was the one who tried to low ball you on the ballasts lol. Offers still good.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

Thanks yeah I saw your thread currently running se unfortunately. I was the one who tried to low ball you on the ballasts lol. Offers still good.

Haha, they're both sold. Thanks though.