Radium metal halide bulbs will not be produced anymore!

[djf91]

Just got the same email from them. Sold out on the 250 watt DE bulbs they carry. Wonder what brand they are as I don’t see it listed.

 

[A. grandis]

Radiums in stock, grab them while you can...

Radium 250 Watt 20,000K bulb

RADIUM Metal Halide 250W 20000K Bulb German made 250 watt HQI lamp by Radium Deep blue appearance Brings out fluorescence in fish and corals Provides the aquarium with an attractive, actinic look Must be used with a 250 watt HQI M80 ballast or 250 watt electronic ballast - cannot be used with a...

aquabrightsolutions.com

All I can say is that you can trust the company!
It's a new company that will take over the market with the same quality Hamilton had.

 

[A. grandis]

Fair enough, I just didn't want to give the false impression that I had ordered from them before...not sure how I got on their email list, but glad to see some bulbs in stock...seems they got about 40 left of the 250s.

They will get more Radiums...
I'm sorry, but they contacted me and I know the owner.
They asked me to wait... I wanted to announce them so bad, but you guys found them.
You can trust the company!
I'll be able to tell more when they allow me to.

 

[A. grandis]

I don't know if aqua bright solutions is some spin off from hamilton or what...I just got a random email from them they had bulbs in stock...seems their site is brand new and they appear to be solely focused on metal halide product...maybe someone can chime in if they know more about this group.

And my apologies for the sudden flood of this thread.

Yup, they are legit! They will get all the left over Radiums from Germany!
They will have their own brand of halide lamps available soon.
Sorry, I can't say too much, but I know the owner.
You guys will know when they allow me to spread the good news.

 

[A. grandis]

Just got the same email from them. Sold out on the 250 watt DE bulbs they carry. Wonder what brand they are as I don’t see it listed.

Yup, you can trust them, yes!

 

[Overboard]

Yup, they are legit! They will get all the left over Radiums from Germany!
They will have their own brand of halide lamps available soon.
Sorry, I can't say too much, but I know the owner.
You guys will know when they allow me to spread the good news.

So good to have a strong reference and even better that they will be offering their own line of bulbs! Glad to get the Radium’s but nice to get a fresh source of new bulbs.

 

[A. grandis]

So good to have a strong reference and even better that they will be offering their own line of bulbs! Glad to get the Radium’s but nice to get a fresh source of new bulbs.

Yes. Remember when I asked you guys lst year to send emails to Hamilton asking for the halide gear? I strongly believe that demand was the main drive for this company new to emerge! The next steps are electronic and magnetic ballasts, new fixtures, and also replacement part available to get back to normal! They can sell everything from their website. I hope they can see the growing demand and have that boost for the rest of the gear!

 

[Overboard]

Yes. Remember when I asked you guys lst year to send emails to Hamilton asking for the halide gear? I strongly believe that demand was the main drive for this company new to emerge! The next steps are electronic and magnetic ballasts, new fixtures, and also replacement part available to get back to normal! They can sell everything from their website. I hope they can see the growing demand and have that boost for the rest of the gear!

I see they have other items listed like chillers and pumps (maybe placeholders for future use?). It would great to have a solid source of everything halide!

 

[Kfactor]

i have been running my radium bulb now for about a year and only 4 hors a day when should i change it ?

 

[A. grandis]

i have been running my radium bulb now for about a year and only 4 hors a day when should i change it ?

At 4 hours a day you can easily run it for 2 years.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I just bought 2 250 watt radium bulbs from Aqua Bright Solutions. The website is nicely done and I paid through PayPal.

I’m feeling pretty safe about the deal. Why would anyone go through that much effort to scam like 2% of the reefing population still using halides?

Radiums arrived today. Box was very well packed.

 

[Madison Reef]

I'm having some difficulties finding quality bulbs and I need your help. I am currently using hamilton 20k which is not available anymore. I do not know when they will come back but it seems like they are getting out of business(?). Now I am considering whiter spectrum. I was suggested agromax 6500k bulb by @oreo54 but I want to try bulbs that were tested for aquarium use.

One consideration is Ushio 250w 10000k (E39) which is still in stock.
Another consideration is Iwasaki 6500k. According to @Battlecorals, the one he used (still use???) is MT250DL-E39/41 R. I could not find them but I found MT250BH-E39/41 R and MT250DL-E40. (Does any one know what "DL" and "BH" stand for in lighting world?)

For MT250DL-E40, can it be used interchangeably with E39 mogul base? The only difference is, besides 1mm physical difference, intended voltage but does it matter?
I use electric ballast lumatek lk400. It says input is from 110 to 220v.

Thanks in advance!

 

[oreo54]

E39 E40 and EX39 are all called mogul base.

What is the difference between them?

Well, E39 E40 are almost the same, they are compatible with each other, just the E39 is for North American market and E40 are for Europe market.

While EX39, the diameter of the base is the same with E39 E40, but the tip on the base is longer, so their socket is different in depth. Therefore, they cannot be compatible with each other’s screw socket.

If you buy mogul base wrongly and the cost to replace a correct one is expensive, then you’d better to buy a E39 to EX39 adapter

From the above E39 vs E40. noo problem
From what I remember the answer is " sometimes" and the sometimes is one vs the other but not the other vs one if you get my drift. See don't remember which crossover.
Think it would be unusual though.

I found this ..

Made in Japan (Iwasaki MT250DL-E39/41R version for aquarium trade) Designed to run on Mercury Ballast, standard halide will run the bulb with little color or output loss. This new 41R bulb actually specs out around 7600K, but is still listed as 6500K.

Soo the "aquarium" one.
So dl vs bh may be the code but....????
Could be like (b)lue (h)alide and (d)ay (l)ight

Cheap bulbs.

EYE Multi-Metal 250w Metal Halide Lamp MT250BH-E39/41R | eBay

<p>EYE Multi-Metal 250w Metal Halide Lamp MT250BH-E39/41R. </p><p>Purchased from a business that closed its doors after many many years</p><p>If you have any questions please ask</p>

www.ebay.com

Catalog attached...

 

[spsick]

I'm having some difficulties finding quality bulbs and I need your help. I am currently using hamilton 20k which is not available anymore. I do not know when they will come back but it seems like they are getting out of business(?). Now I am considering whiter spectrum. I was suggested agromax 6500k bulb by @oreo54 but I want to try bulbs that were tested for aquarium use.

One consideration is Ushio 250w 10000k (E39) which is still in stock.
Another consideration is Iwasaki 6500k. According to @Battlecorals, the one he used (still use???) is MT250DL-E39/41 R. I could not find them but I found MT250BH-E39/41 R and MT250DL-E40. (Does any one know what "DL" and "BH" stand for in lighting world?)

For MT250DL-E40, can it be used interchangeably with E39 mogul base? The only difference is, besides 1mm physical difference, intended voltage but does it matter?
I use electric ballast lumatek lk400. It says input is from 110 to 220v.

Thanks in advance!

Ushio 10k is has always been a great bulb with great spectrum I think you’d be much happier with that then a 6500k. Buy 4 as I believe they are discontinued now.

 

[Reefering1]

I'm having some difficulties finding quality bulbs and I need your help. I am currently using hamilton 20k which is not available anymore. I do not know when they will come back but it seems like they are getting out of business(?). Now I am considering whiter spectrum. I was suggested agromax 6500k bulb by @oreo54 but I want to try bulbs that were tested for aquarium use.

One consideration is Ushio 250w 10000k (E39) which is still in stock.
Another consideration is Iwasaki 6500k. According to @Battlecorals, the one he used (still use???) is MT250DL-E39/41 R. I could not find them but I found MT250BH-E39/41 R and MT250DL-E40. (Does any one know what "DL" and "BH" stand for in lighting world?)

For MT250DL-E40, can it be used interchangeably with E39 mogul base? The only difference is, besides 1mm physical difference, intended voltage but does it matter?
I use electric ballast lumatek lk400. It says input is from 110 to 220v.

Thanks in advance!

Iirc, which I'm pretty certain I do, e39 bulbs fit e40 sockets and e40 bulb does not fit e39 sockets(most times ; -) Pick your bulb then sort out the base if necessary, bases are cheap and easy to replace. Most would prefer the ushio 10k, still a very white light but more fluorescence will show that the Iwasakis. There was a post within the last page of this thread with a source that seems to have more stock than most others. They still had radiums available the other day..

 

[Reefering1]

Actually, the site is quoted in the post above yours

 

[Madison Reef]

From the above E39 vs E40. noo problem
From what I remember the answer is " sometimes" and the sometimes is one vs the other but not the other vs one if you get my drift. See don't remember which crossover.
Think it would be unusual though.

I found this ..

Soo the "aquarium" one.
So dl vs bh may be the code but....????
Could be like (b)lue (h)alide and (d)ay (l)ight

Cheap bulbs.

EYE Multi-Metal 250w Metal Halide Lamp MT250BH-E39/41R | eBay

<p>EYE Multi-Metal 250w Metal Halide Lamp MT250BH-E39/41R. </p><p>Purchased from a business that closed its doors after many many years</p><p>If you have any questions please ask</p>

www.ebay.com

Catalog attached...

Your guess on what DL stands for probably is correct after reading the catalog. Still confused with with what BH stands for.
The bulb you that's on ebay is the "BH" version. Since I do not know what that means, I will try the "DL E40" version and I will report back here.
Thank you so much @oreo54 for your knowledge in metal halide. Your comment always helps me a lot.

Iirc, which I'm pretty certain I do, e39 bulbs fit e40 sockets and e40 bulb does not fit e39 sockets(most times ; -) Pick your bulb then sort out the base if necessary, bases are cheap and easy to replace. Most would prefer the ushio 10k, still a very white light but more fluorescence will show that the Iwasakis. There was a post within the last page of this thread with a source that seems to have more stock than most others. They still had radiums available the other day..

My second option is to go with Ushio 10k. It's just that I wanted to try the infamous 6500k bulbs for just to see how fast I can grow sps. I will buy them both and report back. The website you mentioned is legit for sure but is also overpriced. I believe they only have radiums and few unbranded generic bulbs. There is another source that still have radiums and whatnot.
I am still hesitant to try out radiums just because I use electric ballasts which I know is not designed for radium specifically. If I remember correctly radium 250 watt can last up to 2 years with M80 which is not the same period when they were used with anything else than M80 ballast.

Should I just go with Radium? If not Ushio? then iwasaki?

 

[A. grandis]

I'm having some difficulties finding quality bulbs and I need your help. I am currently using hamilton 20k which is not available anymore. I do not know when they will come back but it seems like they are getting out of business(?). Now I am considering whiter spectrum. I was suggested agromax 6500k bulb by @oreo54 but I want to try bulbs that were tested for aquarium use.

One consideration is Ushio 250w 10000k (E39) which is still in stock.
Another consideration is Iwasaki 6500k. According to @Battlecorals, the one he used (still use???) is MT250DL-E39/41 R. I could not find them but I found MT250BH-E39/41 R and MT250DL-E40. (Does any one know what "DL" and "BH" stand for in lighting world?)

For MT250DL-E40, can it be used interchangeably with E39 mogul base? The only difference is, besides 1mm physical difference, intended voltage but does it matter?
I use electric ballast lumatek lk400. It says input is from 110 to 220v.

Thanks in advance!

There is a new company called Aqua Bright Solutions that will have exactly the same bulbs Hamilton had. Same manufacturers and same qualities. They said they will have the new stock in couple of weeks.

AQUA BRIGHT SOLUTIONS

Supplier of high quality aquarium products

aquabrightsolutions.com

This new company will probably be the next step on halide gear available to hobbyists and hopefully bringing some fixtures and ballasts in the future, according to the demand.
They have Radium lamps for $99.00 available now!

 

[BradR]

I use 400w radiums with an eballast and they light just fine, tons of par. Switched the noisy ballast fans to quiet same sized ones. Actually haven’t changed the bulbs for maybe 5 years. Sanjay had plotted bulb par vs hours and after a while the par seemed to barely decrease. Don’t know about the spectrum but the sps seem happy and look great.

 

[A. grandis]

Your guess on what DL stands for probably is correct after reading the catalog. Still confused with with what BH stands for.
The bulb you that's on ebay is the "BH" version. Since I do not know what that means, I will try the "DL E40" version and I will report back here.
Thank you so much @oreo54 for your knowledge in metal halide. Your comment always helps me a lot.

My second option is to go with Ushio 10k. It's just that I wanted to try the infamous 6500k bulbs for just to see how fast I can grow sps. I will buy them both and report back. The website you mentioned is legit for sure but is also overpriced. I believe they only have radiums and few unbranded generic bulbs. There is another source that still have radiums and whatnot.
I am still hesitant to try out radiums just because I use electric ballasts which I know is not designed for radium specifically. If I remember correctly radium 250 watt can last up to 2 years with M80 which is not the same period when they were used with anything else than M80 ballast.

Should I just go with Radium? If not Ushio? then iwasaki?

The ballasts originally not designed for Radiums are called electronic ballasts, not "electric ballasts". You can use electronic ballasts with Radiums. They run them a bit differently and will alter the spectrum to the bluer side. Some electronic ballasts are better designed and with better quality materials than others. They are not the original recommended ballasts, nor something to replace what the original magnetic ballasts would offer, but they are usable. I used electronic ballasts with German bulbs for years. They are not the OPTIMAL, but acceptable.

Hey, we can only hunt with what we have! If no dogs, get a cat, LOL!