20K Radium, Ushio, XM

[hahnmeister]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9972271#post9972271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tanya72806
does the AC actually good up to a year ?

I shouldnt say it like that... but yes. You can run any bulb after a year, right? Its just a matter of how much light is still being made...lol. Many HQI bulbs retain about 85% of their output after a year. Many of the better 10,000K HQIs are good for two years... but the bluer bulbs, not quite as much. Still, they last much longer than probe start bulbs, so their extra cost is easily offset by their longer life, greater output/efficiency over that life, etc. My personal rating for a Aquaconnect 14,000K is one year, as Im okay with a 15% loss (heck, Im okay with a 30% loss almost). So time ratings are really useless without a percentage to go with the time. There are those that freak out when they lose 8% of their bulbs output (Iwan lasser replacing T5 bulbs every 6 months that still have plenty of life if he only accepted slightly less percentages...lol), and there are those that will run a bulb into the ground before replacing it.

 

[hahnmeister]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php

I consider 400 watt bulbs to be the most confusing, messed-up light systems to have to deal with. You have DE bulbs which arent really HQI (true HQI 400s were and still are SE like the probe starts because there was never a DE format adopted like with 250watters until recent years). The 400wattDE bulbs are a marketing scam, and worse bulbs than many probe start 400s.

Add to this the fact that US HQI ballasts arent really HQI technically (250 and 150s are though, so no worries there), but actually MV ballasts that are 'close enough'. Its just a mess.

Thats why I stick with 250wattDE bulbs, which can light up to a 3' tall tank anyways, and 250s and such dont have nearly as much confusion. If its DE, its HQI. If its SE, its most likely probe-start, but there are a couple exceptions (Ushio, Radium, etc)... but at least if you go DE w/ HQI ballasts, you cant go wrong. With 400s, its just a freakin' mess. Yeah, I like the blue look, and Aquaconnects are the highest output HQI out there, but watt for watt... a 250wattDE with a 10,000K bulb is enough. Combine a few blue+ T5s with those halides, and you have just as much if not more output and blue than a Aquaconnect.

 

[foshizzle]

Hahn,
I assume you run the 250DE bulbs only on HQI ballasts?

Beyond the phoenix any 250w bulb with a lot of blue and high PAR you would recommend?

 

[hahnmeister]

Yes, 250wattDE only on HQI, thats what they are made for.

The pheonix is the king for blue and high PAR. It does appear to 'wash out' colors though, so I went with the EVC 20,000K... very similar in output, but more purple/actinic, but about 20% duller. The pheonix 250wattDE has more output than the Ushio 10,000K though... thats pretty 'wow' considering how blue it is. It does it at the expense of any actinic output though... Loads of blue, but less actinic than anything (read: none!).

The new Iwasaki 14,000K is interesting, and may be the new king if it follows Iwasaki's prior success of the 175watt 15,000K.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=9943290#post9943290

Sanjay is quickly testing onw right now.

Seriously though, for may of you looking for bluer bulbs, I would strongly urge you to consider a more 10,000Kish bulb for your halides, even a ushio 14,000K, and then suppliment with a few rows of blue+ T5 bulbs. The blue bulbs have a huge impact. My personal favorite ratio is a 250watt 10,000K/14,000Kish bulb for every 54watts of T5 actinic and every 54watts of T5 blue+... the end result is very 'day-blue', unlike anything a halide alone can get because there is still a full spectrum of daylight there, its just got loads of blue to go with thanks to the T5s. I have never seen corals grow faster, or with more color than with this combo.

 

[FSOL]

HAHN - my ballast says Pulse Start Ansi M135 on it. So given this, you are recommending that I run anything but the radiums? So go w/ aquaconnect 14K or even ushio/xm 20K? Would these bulbs light close to 400W ?

 

[hahnmeister]

You CAN run probe start, but they have a shorter life to begin with, and will have an even shorter one on a HQI. The best option is to stick with HQI rated bulbs...

The list is short...
Aquaconnects 14,000Ks, Aqualine 10,000Ks, Ushio/BLV nepturion (non cwa models) in 10,000K, 14,000K, and 20,000K, and the Giesemann bulbs (13,000K, 14,500K, 20,000K megachromes) are the only true HQI 400s out there.

That list from Advanced Aquarist is confusing still....
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php

It lists the DE 400s as HQI as well... well... thats not true. They are pulse start (they dont have a probe starting mechanism), but they arent high-pressure or designed to run on HQI ballasts. If you look at the suggested ballasts for these 400wattDE bulbs, they are all e-ballasts. Most of them still have crappy lifespans. The only true 400wattDE that is HQI is that Radium that runs at 5000K. As you can see though, there is a whole slew of Ushio/BLV bulbs that are HQI/pulse start.

 

[smatter]

I just put a G mann Coral in my 250w fixture, it is bright. I don't have any actinics so I was looking for a good stand-alone bulb. I like the way it looks, but would I be better off with the EVC 20K for SPS?
I remember when the AB 10K came out in the 90s people thought it was too blue lol. I have had great success with that bulb over the years, but have always used it coupled with actinics.

 

[FSOL]

Hahn - I'll give the aquaconnects a try, but I wasn't sure if you answered my question w/ your above post or somebody else's.
I mentioned that my ballast says "pulse start ansi M135" on it. Can I run the 400W SE 14K aquaconnects on this, and if so, what will be the characteristic of this setup? Would the bulb be overdriven/underdriven, would it light at 400W or less or what?

Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[hahnmeister]

The AC 14,000K will run just fine on that ballast FSOL. Its as good as you can get in the US just short of importing a euro-made HQI ballast.

smatter, what it really comes down to is PAR, and the G-man 14,500K has more PAR/output than the EVC 20,000K. The EVC is the highest ouptut 250watt 20,000K, but its still not as good as a 14,000Kish bulb. You mention the MH/actinic combo, hey, the best combos I have seen are the UShio/XM 10,000Ks (or Ushio 14,000Ks) with a few rows of actinic/blue T5 bulbs. Awesome combo... even better than the AB + VHO actinics.

 

[TandN]

Sorry for the lond delay in a response Hanh I use the M59. I do have 2 T5's on my tank BUT thats all I can fit in my hood so I want to stay with a 20k

 

[TandN]

sorry shouold of said the 20k LOOK

 

[FSOL]

Thanks Hahn. You know your stuff when it comes down to lighting.

By the way, any idea on the quietest 4" fans out there ? Price no issue.

 

[hahnmeister]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1122965

^^ I put the info in this thread.