20K Radium, Ushio, XM
- Thread starter FSOL
- Start date
bond007069
New member
actinics
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
What ballast/wattage bulb are you running for the Radium? You know that Radium "400's" are really only rated for 360 watts. http://www.radium.de/e/produkte_overview.html?pe_id=181&pcon_list=1854,1855,2498,2569
They are not 400 watt halides, which is why they have a notoriously short life span. The best results (and bluest) have been to use Icecap ballasts, but even they are overdriving the bulb some.
If you want an almost identical look to the Radium (er, rather, what its supposed to be), but the highest output and a true HQI 400watt SE bulb... get the Aquaconnect 14,000K...
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=28_35_296
It is the HIGHEST output 400watt bulb, considering its one of the few that is rated to work on a HQI ballast (In fact, I wouldnt suggest it unless you have HQI ballasts), and it is very blue.
They are not 400 watt halides, which is why they have a notoriously short life span. The best results (and bluest) have been to use Icecap ballasts, but even they are overdriving the bulb some.
If you want an almost identical look to the Radium (er, rather, what its supposed to be), but the highest output and a true HQI 400watt SE bulb... get the Aquaconnect 14,000K...
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=28_35_296
It is the HIGHEST output 400watt bulb, considering its one of the few that is rated to work on a HQI ballast (In fact, I wouldnt suggest it unless you have HQI ballasts), and it is very blue.
FSOL
New member
I am running 400W 20K Radium on Hamilton ballasts. I purchased IceCap ballasts yesterday and tried on IceCap, and no difference. It was still yellowish. W/ my actinics off, the 20K looked like a 14K bulb. There's nothing bluish about it.
I have brand new Ushio 20Ks at home that I will try for a week to see if they are any bluer, but I highly doubt it'll be a big difference.
So since the 400W radiums are really 360W, would that explain why they developed dark spots on the bulbs two months into usage?
I have brand new Ushio 20Ks at home that I will try for a week to see if they are any bluer, but I highly doubt it'll be a big difference.
So since the 400W radiums are really 360W, would that explain why they developed dark spots on the bulbs two months into usage?
FSOL
New member
NYREEF - I've never used aquaconnects. Maybe I'll try those next. Expensive bulbs though. $140 for one 14K bulb. Do they make these in 20K?
I've had phoenix 14Ks before but that was when I had 250W bulbs (still, great color).
I just want to get the deep fluorescent colors out of my corals to show up, hence I'm aiming for the blue 20K look.
I've had phoenix 14Ks before but that was when I had 250W bulbs (still, great color).
I just want to get the deep fluorescent colors out of my corals to show up, hence I'm aiming for the blue 20K look.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
The K rating is pure marketing, the Aquaconnect is actually bluer and more purple...
The main thing is that the Aquaconnect will last you a good year, the Radium will not. That $130 per bulb is right on the money for a HQI rated 400 watter. Your other option is the Giesemann... or maybe the Ushios, but thats about it for 400wattHQI bulbs.
The main thing is that the Aquaconnect will last you a good year, the Radium will not. That $130 per bulb is right on the money for a HQI rated 400 watter. Your other option is the Giesemann... or maybe the Ushios, but thats about it for 400wattHQI bulbs.
They are expensive, but for one bulb a year, mine are $115 for the 250 watt, it is worth it. I haven't seen a 20K Aquaconnect, but as hahnmeister points out the 14K is a misnomer and just marketing as the 14K is as blue as the 20K Radium, and almost as blue as the 20K Helios, both of which I have used. I actually prefer a lot of blue but the 14K Aquaconnect didn't disappoint me as it has pleny of blue and the corals grow like crazy with them, they are very bright.
FSOL
New member
wow, a 14K w/ a higher spike than the 20K radium. Man, nothing in this hobby is an exact science is it 
Well I guess you guys have sold me on trying the Aquaconnects. I think that'll be my next bulb replacement order. $140 per bulb for a whole year, and a bulb that supposedly says 400 and gives 400 isn't bad I guess.
Well I guess you guys have sold me on trying the Aquaconnects. I think that'll be my next bulb replacement order. $140 per bulb for a whole year, and a bulb that supposedly says 400 and gives 400 isn't bad I guess.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Oh, just want to check though... what kind of 400watt ballasts are you using? For the Aquaconnects, you want, no, need HQI. I wouldnt even consider e-ballasts to be enough (enough to start, but they will be severely underdriven).
Lo0seR
Premium Member
I have Helios 20k's that are 400 watt that are HQI. They are a little more blue than my old Radiums and love the fact that they are cheap compared to Radiums. I owned an Aquaconnect 400watt and did like it but at that price, and the price of SoCal power prices something had to give, still have the tank
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Good deal, that explains why your radiums are running so bright/white as well. 400watt HQIs run the bulbs at about 450 watts (sometimes as high as 500watts!), so your Radiums are being overdriven by about 100watts. Most people I know that stick with the Radiums use them on Icecap or Blueline e-ballasts to lower the wattage closer to spec and keep them blue longer. Aquaconnects 14,000Ks, Aqualine 10,000Ks, Ushio/BLV nepturion (non cwa models) in 10,000K, 14,000K, and 20,000K, and the Giesemann bulbs are the only true HQI 400s out there... so the Aquaconnects (or one of these few others) is the bulb you should have been using all along, er rather, the bulbs your ballast was made for. Regular 400watt probe start ballasts and bulbs are what most others are. The bulbs dont last nearly as long, or burn as bright (250wattDE bulbs compete with them because they are HQI and run anywhere from 270-350 watts! The 250wattSE Radium is a HQI 250).
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Well, are they HQI ballasts (M135/128/155), or probe-start (M59)?
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9972177#post9972177 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lo0seR
I have Helios 20k's that are 400 watt that are HQI. They are a little more blue than my old Radiums and love the fact that they are cheap compared to Radiums. I owned an Aquaconnect 400watt and did like it but at that price, and the price of SoCal power prices something had to give, still have the tank
Sorry to break it to you, but the Helios are not HQI bulbs... they are regular probe start/US spec bulbs designed to run on regular ole' M159 ballasts. Sometimes dealers loosely term all of their bulbs as HQI, when in fact most are not... they are all HID, but this simply means high intensity discharge... thats all.
My concern is that you are running probe start bulbs on HQI ballasts though... this will dramatically decrease their output over time as well as their lifespan. Probe start bulbs are best run on e-ballasts, even over M159 ballasts... so they last longer. You may not like the price of 400watt HQI bulbs like the G-mans and the Aquaconnects, but they do end up cheaper in the long run. The replacement time on a probe-start, higher pressure, HQI rated bulb is about 2x that of a lower pressure, lower quality, probe-start combo... and a probe start bulb on a HQI ballast... thats really shortening the lifespan. Sure, you might start out brighter, but its like running a car on jet fuel... after 9-12 months, that Helios prolly only has 40% of its output left, where the Aquaconnect prolly has 85%+ as is common with HQI bulb/ballast combos.
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