Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides

[d2mini]

So preliminary researching leads me to conclude these setups would be good....?


All in one route:

72" Cebu Sun 3x250w 10k plus 4 T5 actinics ~$1k

What brand/type mh ballast does this use?
How's the longterm quality on the T5/MH ballasts?
Are the reflectors as good as the individual pendants?
The big downside to this to me is the selling point - its an all-in-one which probably limits its flexibility and if something fails it hampers the whole unit as opposed to having three completely separate units....




Individual route:

Hamilton 250w HQI M80 ballasts $150/each ~ $450
Phoenix 14k 250w DE bulbs $45/ea ~$135
Sunlight Supply LumenMax 3 DE 250W HQI Reflector $150/ea ~$450
Did I miss anything there? Need any other cords/cables?

Total ~$1035

($885 if the reflectors are $100/ea instead of $150/ea)



From what I have read it sounds like I would get better performance from the individual route; true?

Is the Sunlight Supply LumenMax 3 DE 250W HQI Reflector worth the money over some other $100 reflector - Say a PFO 250 Watt Double Ended HQI Metal Halide Pendant for $96?

It would be a smig'n cheaper on the electric bill to not run the T5's (320w savings there), except that a M80 ballast actually over drives the bulbs meaning they run higher watts right?



As I consider MH I would add with my current setup (two Reefbreeder Photon 32's) I really don't like the bluish strong purple hue it gives (only fixed by running the whites higher than the blues which is not advisable they say). So I don't want to end up with a MH setup that gives that windex look; which is why I'm not really interested in running MH + Actinic T5's (as the T5's will just add to the purple hue, right?).



Thanks

The Cebu uses Hamilton ballasts. They are very good.
I have no idea what the T5 ballasts are or how long they will last. They are hidden behind the reflector.

You won't necessarily get better performance from separate components. As someone was explaining earlier, it depends on your tank dims. My tank is 7'x2'x2'. The cebu might be considered just a tad short in length for my tank but its fine and it spreads the light very well. What its perfect for is my front to back width, especially with my internal coast to coast overflow. And the depth is only 2' so i don't need more downward penetration than it offers.

If my tank was more than 30" front to back and deeper, I'd probably look at some bigger separate reflectors for more spread and penetration. And that's what she said.

 

[DavidinGA]

The Cebu uses Hamilton ballasts. They are very good.
I have no idea what the T5 ballasts are or how long they will last. They are hidden behind the reflector.

You won't necessarily get better performance from separate components. As someone was explaining earlier, it depends on your tank dims. My tank is 7'x2'x2'. The cebu might be considered just a tad short in length for my tank but its fine and it spreads the light very well. What its perfect for is my front to back width, especially with my internal coast to coast overflow. And the depth is only 2' so i don't need more downward penetration than it offers.

If my tank was more than 30" front to back and deeper, I'd probably look at some bigger separate reflectors for more spread and penetration. And that's what she said.

Does the location of the mh on the cebu match the openings on a dual brace (so three sections looking down from the top into the tank) 72" long tank?


Can the cebu run the popular Phoenix 14k bulbs?

 

[d2mini]

Does the location of the mh on the cebu match the openings on a dual brace (so three sections looking down from the top into the tank) 72" long tank?

My tank is 84" and it matches up fine.
If you want to tell me how far your braces are from the ends of your tank, I could probably let you know about where the MH will fall in relation.
But I would bet you'll be fine.

And the cebu can run any mogul bulb, just get the correct ballasts.

 

[DavidinGA]

My tank is 84" and it matches up fine.
If you want to tell me how far your braces are from the ends of your tank, I could probably let you know about where the MH will fall in relation.
But I would bet you'll be fine.

And the cebu can run any mogul bulb, just get the correct ballasts.

Are these the m80 magnetic ballasts?

 

[d2mini]

Are these the m80 magnetic ballasts?

I think electronic are the standard but you can swap out to the m80 magnetics, which is what I did.

 

[03sonicstang]

At least for the Fixtures, the Standard Ballast is magnetic. I up upgraded to Electronic for $50 per ballast

 

[stancfii]

The mogul 250w phoenix is designed for an m80 ballast, it will run best on this ballast. You could run it on an electronic ballast, but it will be more blue and the life span will be decreased. The compromise is a selectable ballast that you can run 250 or 250hqi(labeled as super lumen on some) to try out any kind of 250w bulb.

 

[DavidinGA]

The mogul 250w phoenix is designed for an m80 ballast, it will run best on this ballast. You could run it on an electronic ballast, but it will be more blue and the life span will be decreased. The compromise is a selectable ballast that you can run 250 or 250hqi(labeled as super lumen on some) to try out any kind of 250w bulb.

I think the Phoenix 250w 14k is only a DE bulb though right? If so, it won't work on the cebu sun's SE setup anyway right?

 

[d2mini]

At least for the Fixtures, the Standard Ballast is magnetic. I up upgraded to Electronic for $50 per ballast

It was the opposite for me when I ordered the Cebu through ReefGeek. I had to specifically request the M80 ballasts. It was a $90 upgrade (including the Radium bulbs) total for all 3.

 

[GroktheCube]

It was the opposite for me when I ordered the Cebu through ReefGeek. I had to specifically request the M80 ballasts. It was a $90 upgrade (including the Radium bulbs) total for all 3.

The upgrade cost from ReefGeek is for the Radium bulbs themselves, not the ballasts. I got the same deal when I ordered my Cebu Sun from the them. The magnetic ballasts themselves are $0. They're considered the "standard" ballasts, as they're less expensive than the electronic, though most vendors seem to stock/sell the electronic ballasted version of the fixtures, despite Radiums running best on M80s.

 

[03sonicstang]

Reefgeek is out now...I did not know that until now....

 

[stancfii]

I think the Phoenix 250w 14k is only a DE bulb though right? If so, it won't work on the cebu sun's SE setup anyway right?

Nope, BRS has them as mogul.

 

[jda]

Yup. You can get phoenix 14K in SE as well.

 

[d2mini]

The upgrade cost from ReefGeek is for the Radium bulbs themselves, not the ballasts. I got the same deal when I ordered my Cebu Sun from the them. The magnetic ballasts themselves are $0. They're considered the "standard" ballasts, as they're less expensive than the electronic, though most vendors seem to stock/sell the electronic ballasted version of the fixtures, despite Radiums running best on M80s.

Ahhhh, good to know!

Reefgeek is out now...I did not know that until now....

Yep, they shut their doors! Sucks!!!

 

[DavidinGA]

Yup. You can get phoenix 14K in SE as well.

Wow I just googled and see that you can get it in SE but it's way more per bulb than the same Phoenix 250w 14k DE bulb... Why is that?

SE is $70
DE is $45

 

[sirreal63]

I'll probably be in for one once a chinese company copies it and has it for 1/3 the price...

When is the Chinese knock-off at a 1/3 the cost coming out? I'll buy then...

So preliminary researching leads me to conclude these setups would be good....?


All in one route:

72" Cebu Sun 3x250w 10k plus 4 T5 actinics ~$1k

What brand/type mh ballast does this use?
How's the longterm quality on the T5/MH ballasts?
Are the reflectors as good as the individual pendants?
The big downside to this to me is the selling point - its an all-in-one which probably limits its flexibility and if something fails it hampers the whole unit as opposed to having three completely separate units...





Individual route:

Hamilton 250w HQI M80 ballasts $150/each ~ $450
Phoenix 14k 250w DE bulbs $45/ea ~$135
Sunlight Supply LumenMax 3 DE 250W HQI Reflector $150/ea ~$450
Did I miss anything there? Need any other cords/cables?

Total ~$1035

($885 if the reflectors are $100/ea instead of $150/ea)



From what I have read it sounds like I would get better performance from the individual route; true?

Is the Sunlight Supply LumenMax 3 DE 250W HQI Reflector worth the money over some other $100 reflector - Say a PFO 250 Watt Double Ended HQI Metal Halide Pendant for $96?

It would be a smig'n cheaper on the electric bill to not run the T5's (320w savings there), except that a M80 ballast actually over drives the bulbs meaning they run higher watts right?



As I consider MH I would add with my current setup (two Reefbreeder Photon 32's) I really don't like the bluish strong purple hue it gives (only fixed by running the whites higher than the blues which is not advisable they say). So I don't want to end up with a MH setup that gives that windex look; which is why I'm not really interested in running MH + Actinic T5's (as the T5's will just add to the purple hue, right?).



Thanks

Odyssea or Fish Street, at least one third the price and way less with the Odyssea. They even have knock off bulbs for way less. :wave:

I prefer individual reflectors designed for spread but the Cebu will do the job. There is more material in the SE version than the DE version, as well as being a little more difficult to manufacture and they sell more of the DE version. It makes a difference on the price.

The LM3 and the PFO pendant are more of a spotlight, (same as the reef optics3) but Hamilton does have a reflector similar to the LumenArcIII Mini, which is ideal for a tank your size. Good spread and if you are interested I will go look them up. They should be about 11x11x7, I just forget the name of them.

 

[d2mini]

They should be about 11x11x7, I just forget the name of them.

Cabo Sun Mini? Those are the ones i picked up, due to their smaller size.

 

[sirreal63]

I believe so Dennis, it is either that or the Cayman Sun. I am on my iPad with cell Internet, not the best for looking things up.

 

[overexposed]

I'm ditching my DIY LED fixtures after discovering about 1/3 of my diodes have quit. A local reefer has been trying getting rid of 4 DE 250w MH pendants with M80 ballasts since May, so I decided to make him an offer of 50 bucks and he has accepted! I'm getting the units tomorrow morning and making the switch when my bulbs come in.

I'm going to put 2 of the units over my 90 gallon SPS tank and leave in the 2 supplemental T5 bulbs if they fit. My current fixture has a ton of royal blue and violet LEDs being supplemented by 2 ATI Blue Plus bulbs. I'm trying to find a MH bulb that will put out as much blue and violet as my fixture currently does but I'm having a hard time finding a good match. May have to put together a strip of leftover royal blue and violet diodes that still work to get my 420nm spectrum... but I hope it doesn't come to that!

Given all that, I wonder if any of you guys have bulb recommendations? I'm debating between the Phoenix 14k and XM 20k. Radium's are sadly out as these pendants have the double ended sockets.

Found this thread while searching for Phoenix 14k pictures.

Here's a picture under the current lights to give an idea of the colour I'm trying trying to match:

If you look closely you'll notice that the left hand side is more blue... that's thanks to some whites and violets burning out on the left, and some blues burning out on the right.

 

[jda]

The Phoenix 14K will make the corals look really good, but make the tank water look clear and crisp. If you are looking for blue, Windex-like water, then you will likely not be happy. It looks almost exactly like a 20K Radium to me.

If you want the Windex Blue look, then you will need some supplements, but my guess is that you will like the Phoenix 14K just fine... it is a solid looker and performer.