4 250W RADIUMS ON M80 hqi OR 4 400W ELECTRONIC

[machote]

hi im going to buy my MHS tomorrow but i can't decide between

4 RADIUMS WITH 4 HQI 250W M80 BALLAST MAGNETIC (hamilton m80)

VS

4 ELECTRONIC BALLAST WITH 4 RADIUMS OR OTHER BULBS,

plese help me

i know radiums at m80 last like 14 months but are the hamilton m80 ballast noisy?

are the electronic select a watt a better option?

i dont care about the $$ electricity
i just want the better but the long life of bulbs is great for me
please advice me what i should go?

magnetic 250 route or 400w electronic

already have 4 LUMERNBRIGHT REFLECTORS

my tank is 32" tall 92" long

are the magnetic hamilton noisy? are the electronic cooler?
which one will get my reef more hot? tnkz for your opinions and experience

 

[gcarroll]

I was also very happy with the 250W Radium running on the Galaxy select a watt ballast. I didn't see much difference with the performance of the Radium 250 when compared to HQI.

 

[jda]

The 400w will make more heat. The M80 ballasts get warm to the touch, but they don't give off IR and heat like the bulbs. I have Aquamedic m80 and they are not noisy - they have a fan in the cube and you can hear that... barely.

 

[acesq]

I had the same decision to make just a couple of weeks ago. I went with Galaxy 250/400 select a watt electronic ballasts and will either go with 250 or 400 watt Radium bulbs. I'll start with the 250s in the HQI setting and see what par I am getting as I would prefer to go with those -- less heat and electricity.

I have a magnetic ballast and have had them in the past as well. They run much hotter than the electronic and do make a buzzing sound while the electronic are silent.

I know that the Radiums are supposed to run better on the magnetic but Sanjay did not do much (if any) testing that I could find with the Radiums on the Galaxy or Lumantek electronic ballasts and many people report good result using those combinations. Plus, the select a watts have two setting for each wattage which gives you the ability to come close to matching the output of the appropriate magnetic ballast.

HTH

 

[tallreefguy]

I've been thinking about the same thing -
Has anyone gone from a 250w Radium to 400w or vice versa and noticed a difference in coral color or growth?

I'm wondering if the 400w are excessive, and a 250w on a longer light cycle would be just fine.

 

[jda]

Yes, the 400 will grow coral faster. The color should be about the same unless your tank is really deep or you are putting efflos on the sand.

250W Radiums are fine on most tanks... but so are 400W.

 

[mos90]

400w radiums, for me only lasted 6 months on a galaxy select a watt ballast. par dropped nearly 40% . 250 w radiums are close in performance and last a lot longer.

 

[acesq]

Mos90, what setting did you have the ballast on? I understand the 400 radius are designed to be run at 400 or a little lower and if run at the higher HQI setting they will not last as long.

 

[mos90]

I had them on the lower 400 setting.

 

[machote]

Any one knows if another Brand of bulb lást longer and how much 250 radiums live on lumatek?

 

[tkeracer619]

I see no question here as to what you should go with. 250 all the way on m80.

Since your reflectors are more focused I don't see an issue with getting par to the bottom.

A m80 radium vs a 400w radium on an eballast is roughly the exact same light output, maybe 5-6% difference. The 400w will have a larger spike in the 450nm range but the bulbs won't last as long.

FWIW running a radium on an eballast won't really save you much money in relation to light output. Sure it will use less energy but it will also put out less light. I have run them side by side and even on the hqi setting they are not the same but are close. You will probably end up changing bulbs sooner but by how much I don't know. I was changing the bulbs out at a year on eballasts but that was probably a bit early.

 

[mos90]

I agree. 250's

 

[d2mini]

I have a magnetic ballast and have had them in the past as well. They run much hotter than the electronic and do make a buzzing sound while the electronic are silent.

The hamilton m80 magnetic ballasts are completely silent.

 

[acesq]

The Hamilton M80 I had was not. I guess they aren't all the same. I currently have a Hamilton m81 that buzzes at 78db. Definitely defective, but the M80 I had made a similar albeit much quieter noise.