Radium metal halide bulbs will not be produced anymore!

[Z Burn's Reefing]

Tuillo sells mh bulbs and led supplements for metal halide bulbs. Did I mention the mh fixtures? He is open to the same criticisms as some direct at BRS.

I don't recall asking about what Tullio sells...but thanks!

 

[Nonya]

6k in stratons to light a 6’ tank

Oh...my...God.

 

[oreo54]

Come on man, think about this from all angles. Don't just try and nit, be contrarian or argumentative. Think of it like somebody who uses MH does... if institutions use MH (and they use a lot of them), then availability for hobbyists is boosted by this. Yeah? It is important. You seem smart enough to be able to get here, but I also know that you like to just jab knives in people's sides just to do it - this is the lack of self awareness that I was talking about earlier. For the purposes this thread, this is a big deal.

I'm not jabbing anyone.. hard .The turtles/penguins thing is Tuillos due to the UV and vit D. Perfectly scientifically valid. But its funny when someone by inference tries to sell it as "crucial" for home aquaria without turtles and penguins. See my point?
As to public aquariums keeping the home market alive.. Bit up in the air.
Getting hard to find decent 6500k t5 (try to find a 965 bulb) bulbs except in lot quantity as an example.
and ALSO think of a manuf with a limited run size.
WHO gets first pick.. Shedd with its 10000 bulb allotment or Joe Fish store who wants 6.
What does that do to the cost (supply/demand curve)?

I've stated NUMEROUS times that I don't think MH's will disappear. I've stated numerous times that T5 may.
You miss my positives all the time.I've stated the Iwasakis for the obvious reasons (since I never used one feel free to ignore my praise) are, apparently, great bulbs.
I've even postulated they are more efficient par wise than many LEDS.
What more do you want?


Don't like the bit of sematics about poor vs missing.. Sorry I have said nothing "mean" nor afaict factually incorrect. If I missed something feel free to correct the fact not my personality.

Besides since I don't have to babysit a reef tank gives me time to explore all the niches..

 

[Troylee]

What’s Amazing is I just bought a brand new 6’ ati sunpower for $629. 6k in stratons to light a 6’ tank, or $800 (with bulbs) to light a 6 ft tank. It’s not like you’re selling yourself short with t5 either lol. Lighting costs with led got crazy. Until
You setup large systems, you don’t realize how absurd it is.

Exactly why I stuck with halides! It was gonna cost me close to 7k to light my 3ftx6ft foot print with radions… I picked up my halides for $40 haha! People all threw them in a shelf in their garage and I properly lit my tank for nothing. Hey you got any halide gear? Yup! How much? $40 take it all! I got 4 reflectors and 6 ballast and a handful of bulbs. The rest is history..

 

[Thales]

Also, for those wondering about high wattage MH at public aquariums, they just don't plug a 110v ballast from BRS into the wall. They usually use 240 or 480v services and ballasts that match. For those who do not know, the cost of electrical on these higher voltage services is a lot cheaper than what comes into a home.

Yep, at least on the big displays, and finding those ballasts is becoming harder.

Again, this stuff is easy to learn if you go to shows, talk to folks, etc. Most aquariums that use 1000w MH still will not save any money by going to LED. Even those that do (over smaller and shallower tanks) are usually not willing to suffer even the slightest spectrum loss.

Changing 1000 watt bulbs on big PA dispalys can be expensive and a real PITA. Changing the 80+ bulbs on the 212,000 reef I ran was a nightmare that took months of planning and then months of getting it done...yearly. Not having to do that yearly would a sanity and expense cutting measure (not having to pay electricians overtime to bring in the cherry picker and change bulbs/ballasts). The capitol expense of changing to 80+ 1000 watt LED was signifigant, so it didn't happen, though we looked a lot and they are looking at it again because getting 1000 watt bulbs isn't easy anymore. The 1000 equlivent LED fixtures are still few and far between, so jumping to them isn't just a capitol cost, it is a trust cost.
Most large exhibits are using MH for illumination not animal health, so the kind of bulbs used aren't all that important. MH are great for these because the bulbs can be inexpensive, but even they are moving over to LED.
For some with established reef tanks, changing over is a hard decision, and they often don't change out, but when exhibits change, many will switch to LED if they can afford it.
Where I worked, most of smaller exhibits switched over to LED when possible or convienient. Replacing MH bulbs yearly and disposing of them correctly is annoying and expensive. This seems to be the case at new facilities and facilities doing remodels that I still talk too, though there are holdouts that don't.

 

[Reefering1]

I just took PAR on my new build the other day...figured I would share in case this is helpful to those wanting to run radiums still, but can't track down any M80 ballasts...I am using reefbrite's eballasts to fire them. Yes, not ideal, but plenty of PAR. We'll see how it goes over the next couple of years (in terms of PAR decline on e-ballasts)...I do have a fair amount of wiggle room to lower the light as the bulbs age.

in case you(or anybody) is interested.. I studied a bunch of ballasts spec sheets and found that the m132/m154 ballast is a very close match to the m80. It is still very available new, between 60-100$. Both are magnetic. Its rated at 320w vs 300w(m80) but draws 3.2a@120v, compares to the 3.3a a m80 draws. I bought one and hooked it up next to a m80, with pheonix 14k bulbs, can't tell the difference looking at them side by side. The m132/m154 warms up faster, by a few seconds. I bought 5 more incase I run out of m80s. No par or spectral data to share. Just that it didn't go blue(er) like a e ballast does.

 

[Nonya]

You don’t get this with led.

Of course you can. You're using reefbrites.

If I didn’t run elevated nutrients with led I burned corals with 350-400 par.

I would guess the blue-violet spectrum, with its higher energy photons, is to blame.

I’ll keep the radions to put over frags systems to appeal to newbs.

And why would they appeal to them? Perhaps the POP of the frags? Send me your halides and I'll use them when old people show up in their 1970s Buick boats. Send your Radions to me and I'll grow more SPS under a spectrum of my choosing.

 

[Nonya]

Hey you got any halide gear? Yup! How much? $40 take it all! I got 4 reflectors and 6 ballast and a handful of bulbs. The rest is history..

Lots of "herb" growers are dumping their MH systems on CL and FB cheap. You'll still need to find bulbs though.

 

[Nonya]

I'm sure there are.

Omaha Zoo Aquarium

Isn't that a plant light?
You should look at the Orphek website. They list 50 aquariums using their LEDs.

What I would really like to see is a list of public aquariums using MH or LEDs over live corals.

 

[Nonya]

I am waiting till the fever pitch maximizes then I am selling my ballasts, bulbs and fixtures. I call my stash "Halide coin"

Another pyramid scheme, Mr. Mr. Bankman-Freid?

 

[Nonya]

What’s Amazing is I just bought a brand new 6’ ati sunpower for $629. 6k in stratons to light a 6’ tank, or $800 (with bulbs) to light a 6 ft tank. It’s not like you’re selling yourself short with t5 either lol. Lighting costs with led got crazy. Until
You setup large systems, you don’t realize how absurd it is.

My solution. These were about a buck each. 3W Cree XP-E 450nm.

 

[jason2459]

Isn't that a plant light?
You should look at the Orphek website. They list 50 aquariums using their LEDs.

What I would really like to see is a list of public aquariums using MH or LEDs over live corals.

I've never used MH myself so you're barking at the wrong person

But I've seen outstanding reefs under all kinds of lights.

The Omaha Zoo Aquarium is excellent and highly recommend visiting.

They have a very nice large cylinder tank that is mixed reef. A nice tide pool reef that rushes in a reef crest and some other mixed reef exhibits. Along with a huge walk through shark tank and other species specific tanks.

 

[Troylee]

My solution. These were about a buck each. 3W Cree XP-E 450nm.

Been there done that! Check my posts in the diy forum.. built a huge one for a 180 gallon tank about 15 years ago and here I am with halides!

 

[Nonya]

Been there done that! Check my posts in the diy forum.. built a huge one for a 180 gallon tank about 15 years ago and here I am with halides!

So sorry you backslid.

 

[Z Burn's Reefing]

Been there done that! Check my posts in the diy forum.. built a huge one for a 180 gallon tank about 15 years ago and here I am with halides!

Me too...had some fun DIY projects with cree leds 15 years ago (reef central days), likely before most of you were even in the hobby...all in attempt to give me the look, shimmer, and success of a radium. Never could get there.

 

[djf91]

This is someone else’s photo but I was surprised when I went to the Shedd aquarium this year to see they still had some metal halides over some of their displays. The ecosystems and corals in these systems looked much healthier compared to the LED lit displays.

 

[oreo54]

Been there done that! Check my posts in the diy forum.. built a huge one for a 180 gallon tank about 15 years ago and here I am with halides!

What was the spectrum composition?.
Wattage?
What did you replace them with?
Sorry too lazy to dig through other threads.

I have no interest in a why really just a what.
A vs B...

Yes I sort of have an ulterior motive here.
Seen too many "replaced my 2 black boxes with 2 250mh boy did they take off"
Of course bb's are at best 110 total watts and most choke off at least 30 of those.
So 160 (2x80) watts replace with 500..
Gee go figure.

Oh and CREE whites suck for color. Strong output though.

 

[Troylee]

What was the spectrum composition?.
Wattage?
What did you replace them with?
Sorry too lazy to dig through other threads.

I have no interest in a why really just a what.
A vs B...

Yes I sort of have an ulterior motive here.
Seen too many "replaced my 2 black boxes with 2 250mh boy did they take off"
Of course bb's are at best 110 total watts and most choke off at least 30 of those.
So 160 (2x80) watts replace with 500..
Gee go figure.

Oh and CREE whites suck for color. Strong output though.

3w Crees way back in the day.. I wanna say 2 to 1 ration with royal blues.

 

[oreo54]

all in attempt to give me the look, shimmer, and success of a radium. Never could get there.

Not surprising.
2 of those are subjective. One is not.

3w Crees way back in the day.. I wanna say 2 to 1 ration with royal blues.

Hats off to you. Lots of work.
And expensive " back in the day"

 

[Nonya]

These are the raw materials for the next big LED build. I have two that I took from an old IT power conditioning cabinet. Aluminum 12" wide, 3 1/2 feet long, and fins up to 4". I estimate 50 pounds each right now. I'll cut them into 3" strips so I can span the entire tank front to back.