Radium metal halide bulbs will not be produced anymore!

[Pyrogens]

There is a new company called Aqua Bright Solutions that will sell their own branded bulbs made by the same people and process involved, therefore same quality, as Hamilton did. The owners of Aqua Bright Solutions were 2 formal employees of Hamilton. The amazing customer service will be maintained!
They are waiting for the bulbs to be available some time this month.
The company already have some Radium lamps, either 250W or 400W, available for $99.00. It seems like Radium will keep making bulbs and will send exclusively to this company!
This is the best thing that happened yet this year and we are all hoping that a serious demand will bring back some brand new fixtures and ballasts! Nothing is impossible!

AQUA BRIGHT SOLUTIONS

Supplier of high quality aquarium products

aquabrightsolutions.com

This is good to know. I may eventually just pull the trigger on the Reefbrite 250watt pendants they sell new with their ballasts. I think I got my hopes up that someone would come out with new 60" or 72" fixtures with 3 250w under the hood.

Like I also said, I've run into a few people already selling old halide stuff but it's like they suddenly realize they have equipment that's in demand again and want WAY too much for used 10-15+ year old equipment. I'd rather buy new at what they want.

 

[jda]

You have to call Giesemann and order a Spectra if you want that.

 

[A. grandis]

This is good to know. I may eventually just pull the trigger on the Reefbrite 250watt pendants they sell new with their ballasts. I think I got my hopes up that someone would come out with new 60" or 72" fixtures with 3 250w under the hood.

Like I also said, I've run into a few people already selling old halide stuff but it's like they suddenly realize they have equipment that's in demand again and want WAY too much for used 10-15+ year old equipment. I'd rather buy new at what they want.

Spectra - Giesemann Aquaristic

High-End Aquarium LED Beleuchtung, Aquarium Hybrid Beleuchtung und premium Aquarien. Handgefertigt und made in Germany

www.giesemann.de

 

[Pyrogens]

Spectra - Giesemann Aquaristic

High-End Aquarium LED Beleuchtung, Aquarium Hybrid Beleuchtung und premium Aquarien. Handgefertigt und made in Germany

www.giesemann.de

I absolutely love this fixture. I would have to do some real convincing to the wife for this one as I know they are $$.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Spectra - Giesemann Aquaristic

High-End Aquarium LED Beleuchtung, Aquarium Hybrid Beleuchtung und premium Aquarien. Handgefertigt und made in Germany

www.giesemann.de

I can see that on a new WB7225 pen. Just sayin. Did they stop making bulbs yet?

 

[A. grandis]

I absolutely love this fixture. I would have to do some real convincing to the wife for this one as I know they are $$.

Well... The best convincing for the wife is that it is sleek and passive cooling, no fans, no noise. You need to hang from ceiling. The distribution of light is great! Looks amazing. You can use the T5s for most of the day and choose a short photoperiod for the halides, if you wish. Just can't go wrong with Giesemann Spectra! Serious equipment for serious tanks! Quality, built like a tank! Will last your lifetime!

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Well... The best convincing for the wife is that it is sleek and passive cooling, no fans, no noise. You need to hang from ceiling. The distribution of light is great! Looks amazing. You can use the T5s for most of the days and choose a short photoperiod for the halides, if you wish. Just can't go wrong with Giesemann Spectra! Serious equipment for serious tanks! Quality, built like a tank! Will last your lifetime!

I woold 8hr pp the halides and 12 hr
The t5 coverage.

 

[A. grandis]

I can see that on a new WB7225 pen. Just sayin. Did they stop making bulbs yet?

As far as I know, yes, they still produce their lamps. They are producing the Spectra and sending to US directly. Lot's of people are ordering the fixture. Their bulbs are not that popular in US.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

what’s the K? If it’s 10k like the old school aqualine buschke w some blue + t5 I think it’ll look real good and grow coral.

 

[A. grandis]

HQI Metal halide bulbs

shop.giesemann.de

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Ty. Appreciate the links

 

[njreefkeeper]

I have seen too many once-popular, widespread and moderate care corals (acros and some zoanthids) nearly completely disappear from the hobby to believe that type of light does not matter. They are now only really kept well by people with MH or high amounts of T5s lights - mercury. You can find a few who do OK with them under LED, but also many more who have seen the struggles with their eyes and have since added mercury based light sources that did not want to believe it at first. Again, there is the rule and the outliers and we have had enough time with the experiences and anecdotes to make some solid conclusions.

For example, if you wanted to take your time machine back to see Steve Tyree 20 years ago and get a bunch of his limited editions, you would likely fail with enough of them and have to take a second trip back once you added some other light types. Some would not care. Some do. Not everybody wants to keep these corals, but I think that this deserves mentioning to those that do.

Well put. I tend to stay quiet on this thread. I’m a long time stick head…don’t post much. I have 4 SPS dominated tanks (I need a 12 step program). Three of them share the same sump so same water, parameters, etc. One is lit with halide, one t5 and one led. I still enjoy my tanks to have a full spectrum look regardless of the tech, and then for a half hour or so at the end of the day I’ll enjoy their blue glow.

At any rate, there are definitely differences/nuances that develop in corals between the 3 technologies. If I were to give the most redeeming qualities of each tech, I’d say:

Halides:

1. The most natural looking form of light available.
2. I see more TRUE, rich color development
3. Sticks grow faster under halides for me.
4. Halide reveals whether an acropora coral is worthy. Just about anything can look good under royal blue and violet leds. Unfortunately, when full spectrum is used, many of the expensive and popular sticks these days are well…the emperor has no clothes.

T5:

1. Colonies are better saturated with light throughout and underneath.
2. Coverage is superior and more uniform than other light options
3. THE most dummy proof light source for SPS. It’s much harder to bleach corals under t5 than halide or led from my experience.

LED:
1. Ability to slowly ramp up and down
2. Adjustability of spectrums to suit the look you want
3. Best fluorescence

All that said, when I get frags from vendors or other hobbyists, I just assume they’re all using leds these days. If I’m putting that frag in the halide tank, it’s going in a back corner to acclimate. In my experience, ANY frag I’ve put under halides will be immediately stressed (even at lower par levels) if it sees halides for the first time. I believe not being exposed to any measurable UV light in an led tank has weakened them in some form or another and they need to be slowly acclimated (at least 2 months).

I definitely agree with you that old school sticks that look great under halides often struggle under LED’s or at least grow a little more lackluster. I’ve also felt that a lot of the reason so many of these old school sticks do better under halides is because they were many of the first SPS corals coming into the hobby. Collectors were grabbing the easy low hanging fruit in the shallows and halide most closely mimics those shallow reef flat OG sticks. They need white light too…not just high blue peaks. As time went on and the “blue light special” SPS corals started hitting the scene, collectors were diving deeper and to outer reefs trying to find the more unique things we haven’t seen yet. So, in essence, they were starting to collect acropora from deeper and deeper depths; often shining royal blue led flashlights on them to see if something would be worth collecting. Many of these lower light SPS simply don’t do well when hit with whitish looking halides that best mimicked shallow reef flats.

I’m happy with all 3 light sources, but if I was only allowed one, it’s halides all day long.

 

[oreo54]

I believe not being exposed to any measurable UV light in an led tank has weakened them in some form or another..

Weakened or just haven't produced enough " sunscreen"?
Are you weaker without sunscreen?
Sure more susceptible to cancer.
Also could be the zoo clade that is dominant from the old lights. Speculation.
Seems corals are very slow in adjusting to drastic changes of light intensity and spectrum or so I read.

TRUE, rich color development....

How does one determine " true" color?
Aren't shallow water corals mostly just brown in nature?
Some pink/violet chromoproteins and green.

There is plenty of " white light" in white LEDs. People just don't use it.
The white light is usually a poor quality for color rendering though.

Except for the 6500k-ish t5's most of the
color pop ones from the RGB trick of creating white . Or in their case more like blue green mostly amber. This is the " whitest" ati bulb I believe.
High k mh are similar.

Just food for thought.

 

[A. grandis]

Sorry Oreo, not the same, man... results won't lie.
If they are different and we prefer the halides' results, that's what we want!
More beautiful, more natural, better growth, true pigment formation, better tissue vitality. The whole system does better under halides, man!
Just can't believe that no one can even give their opinion here, by experience, without one of you guys come in trying to justify something here.
This is a halide thread, man... we will show how much they are important for the results we want! LEDs just can't give the same results! How many million times you like to hear that?... LOL!
The guy has the 3 types of light working in a connected system and halides give him the best for what he wants. Period.
You come with pictures showing brown corals in nature? C'mon, man!
Some of the best aquarists in this world will tell you how much halides make the system stronger in so many aspects. We are tired of discussing that here.

 

[oreo54]

Sorry Oreo, not the same, man... results won't lie.
If they are different and we prefer the halides' results, that's what we want!
More beautiful, more natural, better growth, true pigment formation, better tissue vitality. The whole system does better under halides, man!
Just can't believe that no one can even give their opinion here, by experience, without one of you guys come in trying to justify something here.
This is a halide thread, man... we will show how much they are important for the results we want! LEDs just can't give the same results! How many million times you like to hear that?... LOL!
The guy has the 3 types of light working in a connected system and halides give him the best for what he wants. Period.
You come with pictures showing brown corals in nature? C'mon, man!
Some of the best aquarists in this world will tell you how much halides make the system stronger in so many aspects. We are tired of discussing that here.

Sooo one can give an opinion as long as it toes the party line?

There are reasons things are different.
Sure. And each light offers a different experience..
Sure
I offered possible reasons for a FEW of these as a " food for thought"..

I don't think anything I said was an attack on mh.
Nor was anything I said actually in support of led.
Maybe years of paranoia on your part?

Sure most wouldn't care why something is different. Some do though.

I do find the thing about color interesting though, for baby reasons.

I was just in bermuda actually which is what made me bring this question up haha. And sure there are some colorful but where i was it was mostly only the gorgonians. If you notice a lot of the colors are a yellowish tan which is the zooxanthellae

colors of coral in nature vs our aquariums

hey everyone, Ive been looking around but couldn't find an answer to this. I don't understand why corals lack so much color in nature but have a ton of color in aquariums. I understand why they don't have color in nature: they push the Zooxanthellae to the surface to allow better...

forums.reefcentral.com

And yes I don't think color is a particular judge of health. Well except for if they are white or " all colors"

Years ago I had a 180 with 6500K 400 watt Iwasaki bulbs. I was known as the guy with giant brown SPS corals. As I gave away frags my friends with higher color temp lighting were getting pinks,blues and purple colors I never saw from my corals. I also suspect that's a result of manipulation of tank chemistry in some instances but that's for the chemistry specialists to address.

As the hobby evolved and people saw the colors that could be generated with specialty lighting demand grew for more comlorful corals. The collectors and distributors are just filling that demand (at increasingly higher prices and higher profit margins.

Maybe I was about too simplistic..

The Secrets Behind Coral Coloration in Aquariums

Coral reefs are not only one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth; they also rank among the most visually captivating. Achieving vibrant coloration in corals within aquariums merges the complexities of science with the finesse of artistry, captivating both hobbyists and professionals.

topshelfaquatics.com

 

[bobnicaragua]

Weakened or just haven't produced enough " sunscreen"?
Are you weaker without sunscreen?
Sure more susceptible to cancer.
Also could be the zoo clade that is dominant from the old lights. Speculation.
Seems corals are very slow in adjusting to drastic changes of light intensity and spectrum or so I read.


How does one determine " true" color?
Aren't shallow water corals mostly just brown in nature?
Some pink/violet chromoproteins and green.

There is plenty of " white light" in white LEDs. People just don't use it.
The white light is usually a poor quality for color rendering though.

Except for the 6500k-ish t5's most of the
color pop ones from the RGB trick of creating white . Or in their case more like blue green mostly amber. This is the " whitest" ati bulb I believe.
High k mh are similar.

Just food for thought.

Corals have deeper, richer colors under halides and the “flesh” is thicker and less translucent. You can clearly see that they are healthier. This cannot be explained away.

All you need is a 4 -6 hour peak with halides to get the benefits. My primary lights are LED.

 

[Troylee]

Weakened or just haven't produced enough " sunscreen"?
Are you weaker without sunscreen?
Sure more susceptible to cancer.
Also could be the zoo clade that is dominant from the old lights. Speculation.
Seems corals are very slow in adjusting to drastic changes of light intensity and spectrum or so I read.


How does one determine " true" color?
Aren't shallow water corals mostly just brown in nature?
Some pink/violet chromoproteins and green.

There is plenty of " white light" in white LEDs. People just don't use it.
The white light is usually a poor quality for color rendering though.

Except for the 6500k-ish t5's most of the
color pop ones from the RGB trick of creating white . Or in their case more like blue green mostly amber. This is the " whitest" ati bulb I believe.
High k mh are similar.

Just food for thought.

Every frag I’ve gotten this go around comes from a led tank… I blast them under halides in my tank and not a single one has cared about 500+ par under Intense halides and just take off.. no acclimation no nothing but reach for the stars so to say they need to adjust is false under halides in my experience.. halide to led I’ve seen some burn which is weird to me!

 

[oreo54]

Corals have deeper, richer colors under halides and the “flesh” is thicker and less translucent. You can clearly see that they are healthier. This cannot be explained away.

All you need is a 4 -6 hour peak with halides to get the benefits. My primary lights are LED.

I never said they weren't. I really was referring mostly to color differences.
What is also true is that color and thicker tissue is a response to a hostile enviroment.
Not sure why people don't get that.
Leds, halides, doesn't matter..,

Why are corals so colorful? - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

One of the most striking things about coral is its bright coloring. But many are a dull green or brown. So, what gives some corals their bright hues?

www.whoi.edu

Coral pigments also protect the algae by acting like a sunscreen. The pigment proteins filter out harmful UV rays. Corals make more of these pigments when they’re exposed to very bright light. It’s similar to how a person with fair skin responds to the sun. More pigment means better protection from harmful UV.
.

 

[oreo54]

Every frag I’ve gotten this go around comes from a led tank… I blast them under halides in my tank and not a single one has cared about 500+ par under Intense halides and just take off.. no acclimation no nothing but reach for the stars so to say they need to adjust is false under halides in my experience.. halide to led I’ve seen some burn which is weird to me!

Weird to me too.. Needs an answer why..

 

[Troylee]

Strawberry shortcake acro has always been a real finicky coral to color up and like to go brown and nobody knows why.. I got one cheap from a radion lit tank.. first pic. under halides it glows!