anyone using magnetic ballasts anymore?

K

kdc527

New member
I am trying to decide weather to use magnetic or electronic MH ballasts? I am planning on running 2 250 watt MH on my 120 with 2 or 4 t-5 actinic lighting. What would be the best ballasts for that application. I have heard some people say magnetic ballasts run some bulbs better. If that is true what ballast runs what bulbs the best. What are the benefits to using an electronic ballast. I assume there must be some sort of benefits or everyone would just run magnetics right?
 
Electronic ballasts use and waste less electricity, but won't always run the bulb to their spec wattage. Phoenix or Radium bulbs run best on HQI/M80 ballasts, running them on electronics will run them dimmer and bluer. Any bulb not meant to be run on HQI ballasts will overdriven- they will appear whiter and lose life quicker.

I use a dual magnetic ballast to run my bulbs, and have no complaints about it whatsoever. They use a trivial amount more electricity than electronics, it amounts to about 2-3 bucks a month, and I have fairly high electric rates. The case gets no hotter than electronics Ive had in the past.

I would choose a bulb(s), and pick the ballast for it after. There is a chart in the link that shows the correct ballast for many popular bulbs.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php
 
I use magnetic ballast as well. I like them because they are very simple. A capacitor and a coil. That's it. Nothing much to break and if it does, replacement parts are very easy to find.
 
thanks james77 I was thinking abouy doing magnetics for a while now. I think i will probably end up running Radiums anyway. So here is another quick question how much to the m-80 ballasts cost I hope cheaper than an electronic. How does your 120 do with 2 250 MH's do you use any supplemental lighting?
 
I'm running Phoenix 14K's off HQI M80 ballasts and love 'em. Thought about swapping them out with electronic to try them out but it ain't broke so why mess with it.
 
kdc527 said:
thanks james77 I was thinking abouy doing magnetics for a while now. I think i will probably end up running Radiums anyway. So here is another quick question how much to the m-80 ballasts cost I hope cheaper than an electronic. How does your 120 do with 2 250 MH's do you use any supplemental lighting?
Click to expand...


You can get a dual Blue Wave 7 for ~$180 shipped on the auction site, at least thats what I got mine at. They are a bit bigger than electronics, my dual is about the size of a shoebox. My tank does great with 2-250's, and I use VHO actinic for dawn and dusk, although I may be switching to T5s soon for better spectrum control. I use LumenMax 2 pendants, and they cover the tank very well. Radiums are great bulbs, I found them not blue enough. I am trying EVC 14ks right now, and so far like them. They are similar to the Radiums in Sanjays graphs, but have much more actinic in them.
 
I have used both magnetic and electronic ballasts. I have had better experiences with magnetic ballasts. I find them much more reliable and usually produce higher PAR ratings. I have had too many issues with electronic MH ballasts crapping out on me to suggest them.

Right now, Premium has great prices on Sunlight Supply magnetic ballasts. You should seriously consider buying one of those while they are on sale. Hard to beat the prices...

Seriously....a 175 watt MH ballast for $65. That is a steal.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=sunlightballast
 
Make sure you get the right bulb with the ballast My Ushio only lasted 3 months on my Hamilton mag ballast, but I love my XM bulb.
 
I run Icecap electronic ballasts simply due to space and heat constraints. I have been very happy with them for several years now.
 
I have three MH in my main system... two on PFO and one on ice-cap. The PFO I have is at least 10 years old and run just fine. The ice-cap was three years old and failed and my buddy loan me his ice-cap to use currently. Just purchased a Lumatek and it is DOA.

So... as someone said earlier, the Magnetic is simple in design and just keep ticking. Or maybe just need to find a good manufacture of electronic ballast.

s
 
i have 3 mgnetic balast from aquamedic they run quite and they do run any bulbs brighter, if that's what you lookingto do. buying good bulbs at all times it saves you money!!than just trying cheaper ones !!
 
I was considering changing from magnetic to electronic on my VHO's, and was advised against it. As has already been stated, electronic ballasts under drive the bulbs. Also, the savings in power are so minor, that it would take a long time to recoup the investment of the electronic ballast.
 
well for vho bulbs i would use eletronic !! i ahve in the past Ice Cap and it helps longivity of the bulbs and the run bright!!
 
I run M80 bluewave 7s, used to run phoenix then I longed for something with more pop. Ive tried it all, first adding 800watts of VHO actinic, corals looked a little better, but the overall color was still too white for my enjoyment. so then I tried adding 20k bulbs, tried helio(failures), xm, and ushio. xm and ushio started out good, but within 2 or 3 weeks the color burned in and became very white again, most likely due to being overdriven. I just havent found a 20k bulb designed for HQI use that stays in the 20k spectrum.

Im trying out T5s now, I want more color!
 
I use them, and I will never use electronic ones.

Good magnetics overdrive the bulbs. More wattage(around 440-480 for standard 400w's), more par, and a bit whiter color out of the bulbs)

HQI magnetics go even further, pushing up to 540w for a standard 400w

it all depends on the bulb you want to run, for example 14k phoenix look like crap on magnetic balasts.
 
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