150 watt DE MH lamps compared

[Narkon]

I can understand where you are coming form, we didn't know shipping would shift coloration, but we did know age and burn in process would.

And I would not have wanted to do it til after the holidays, don't want the package to get caught in the xmas rush.

But your probably right, think I will just go with the AC14K, when we need another one.

 

[traveller7]

One round of IC10K I burned in on M81 and the Blueline were so different you could not run them side by side on M81's anymore. It was either the burn in or defective bulb, but it was annoying. So the ballast may significantly contribute to the coloration as well. fwiw: I am not trying with any more of mine to confirm the suspicion

I'll post comparison pictures of the bulbs over the Christmas break of some RBTAs, LPS, ricordia, etc. lit by the bulbs after some of the new ones burn in.

Cheers.

 

[Narkon]

That would be great, I really won't need a new bulb until around July.

 

[CJ]

For what it's worth:

I changed my lighting from 10k to 20k Ushios DE 150W and was very worried that my clams which are on the sand bed would not like it. This was several months ago and to my surprise they are doing better than ever, growing and better colors. My tank is 20" deep. The clams are about 22" from the lights.

 

[madmike]

did i read correctly that the Ice Cap electronic 150W ballast will not fire the radium DE 20K bulbs? If so, why does sanjays site give a par value for the combo? Any help would be appreciated as i am about to purchase the two.
Mike

 

[moonpod]

will not fire it reliably. Again, it has something peculiar about the tube volume that doesn't register right with the ballast. You can search the IC forum. I asked about it once. they gave a specific answer to why it won't work.

 

[madmike]

so what ballast would you recommend to fire the radium 150 on a reliable basis?
Thanks
Mike

 

[moonpod]

m81

 

[traveller7]

m81

Yep. Worked like a charm.

 

[madmike]

Is the M81 a standard ballast or the HQI, or something different altogether?
Mike

 

[madmike]

Ok, search enine finally fired up and i know that it is the HQI ballast. I am curious though, some data given on these bulbs is shielded vs unshielded. My understanding is that the DE put off UV that would harm inverts if left unshilded by UV glass? Is this the shielding they are talking about, and if so, why even bother to test unshielded and give figures?
Thanks
Mike

 

[moonpod]

hqi.

 

[traveller7]

My understanding is that the DE put off UV that would harm inverts if left unshielded by UV glass? Is this the shielding they are talking about, and if so, why even bother to test unshielded and give figures?

Mike,

The UV from double ended bulbs could pose harm to the tank inhabitants, but also your skin, eyesight, etc.

Yes, the UV glass is the shielding they are referring to when discussing double ended bulbs.

I am not sure why Sanjay tested with and without shields. I have seen a variation between the PFO and the AquaMedic shields and it was nice to know the differences.

That stated, no one run a double ended bulb without proper UV shielding.

 

[Sanjay]

I am not sure why Sanjay tested with and without shields. I have seen a variation between the PFO and the AquaMedic shields and it was nice to know the differences.

Scott:

You said it yourself.... there are differences between the shields. I wanted to provide a baseline comparison that was independent of the shields. Then given that we know what the shields remove, it would be easy to model the spectrums with a different shield without having to re run tests.

I have put almost all the data online now(spectrum and performance) at

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com

If you see any lamps that I am missing and are willing to send me, let me know and I can run them on the spectroradiaometer to get the spectral plots.

sanjay.

 

[traveller7]

Sanjay,

Thanks for dropping in and your new site is a treasure trove of great information

Regarding the shields, lucky guess on my part and I certainly did not want to speak for you ;>)

In 150wt DE, it appears I have 5 bulbs, one ballast, and one UV shield that can be added to the reference list.

I'll send you a PM so we can work out a good time and complete list of goodies to send up to your lab.

Thanks again,

Scott

 

[42un81]

Tagging along

 

[david8956]

Any update on this test ? Any photo's ever get posted somewhere ?

 

[gliebig]

Will a Blue Wave III 150 HQI ballast fire an Icecap 150 10k properly? Sorry if that is a dumb question, I'm new to this MH thing.

 

[bowfront]

Should work fine. The Icecap 10k DE's are great bulbs for the price IME.

 

[traveller7]

fwiw: The M81 (HQI) Ballast and the IC10K is still my main150wt combination. Lots of bang for the buck and it appears to go 12-18 months before a color shift.

My first tracked IC10K bulbs from 10-2003 are just getting replaced this month and appear to have yellowed a bit.