HPS Lighting

[phljess]

I came across some old 150 watt HPS ballasts and bulbs do you guys think they would work for a grow-out system? BTW, I also found some 70 watt MHs and was thinking about using them over my refugium. I was wondering if I should switch out the 130 watt PCs I have over it right now to the two 70 watt MHs.

 

[WVfishguy]

Do you mean High Pressure Sodium lights, like on streetlamps? I've seen attempts to use these on aquariums, but the results were disappointing. It was years ago, and I can't remember the details, but I know I had no desire to try it. Since we now have compact fluorescents and halides, why bother? HPS were never designed for aquarium use. And I'll bet the ballasts take a lot of electricity to run.
You might want to see how much it will cost to replace those 70 watt MH bulbs before switching the CFs. Where would you buy them? The smallest MH bulbs in my catalogs are 100 watts.
It will be interesting to see what everyone thinks of HPS. I have not thought about this in many years.

 

[mcox33]

hey philjess I am interested in finding a 70 watt mh so if you have a good source let me know where to get them.

 

[grendl]

Do you have ballasts & bulbs? Are they screw in or DE? I would like to have a nano with a good, lower priced MH on it, & was thinking DIY 75ish MH, but hadnt checked priced or anything.

 

[fishmon]

HPS hight pressure sodium doesn't require different ballasts at all so the electric consumption would be the same, the only difference between MH and HPS is the coloration of the bulb, sodium bulbs are really yellow(Parking lot lights) when used in plant growth MH is used for the growth cycle of the plant and HPS are used for the flowering cycle, again thats for plants and not coral. I would think that it would look like someone took a whiz in your tank if you used them, kind of like using a 5000k MH bulb but worse.

 

[WVfishguy]

Jim's right - I forgot that. Halides for leaves, HPS for flowers. That's how marijuana growers grow pot indoors. Halides replicate the summer sun, and HPS replicates the autumn sun - when plants "go to seed".

 

[MattG]

I think that HPS ballasts will run most Euro bulbs to spec. American bulbs would be yellow as stated.

The PFO 400 watt HQI ballast, which many use, is actually a HPS ballast

 

[coralreefer]

:bum: What Fishmon and fishguy said :bum:

 

[MattG]

here is a good thread for anyone interestred. VERY LONG.

This is a link to pg 3 where they talk a little about HPS.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201570&perpage=25&pagenumber=3


EDIT: Figured i just put the important quote reguarding HPS right in the thread. Lots of good info in the thread above

This was written by PaulErik in the thread linked above.

An ANSI S50 (250-watt HPS) ballast will operate Double-Ended and Single-Ended European lamps (ANSI M80 lamps). The main difference between S50 and M80 is the ignition voltage and Open Circuit Voltage (OCV).

Lamp manufacturers generally recommend against using an ANSI S50 ballast to operate ANSI M80 lamps.

See this post for more info: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...threadid=223528

The S51 (400-watt HPS) ballast will operate European (High Current) Single-Ended lamps. The S51 ballast has the same problem. The OCV and ignition voltage is lower than the European lamps are designed for.

If the ballast to lamp wire length is kept short as possible lamp starting shouldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t be a big problem. For best performance a special superimposed or a modified ignitor should be used in place of the ignitor that comes with those ballasts. The problem is finding the correct ignitor and they usually cost a lot because no one currently manufacturers them in North America.

Replacing the equipped ignitor (standard HPS) with a Pulse Start MH ignitor will not work. The ignitors commonly used in North America (impulser type) are dependent on the OCV and the number of windings on the ballasts secondary coil.


Here is a list of lamps that will operate/run on those ballasts:

Ballast: ANSI S50 Constant Wattage Autotransformer (CWA)

250-watt MH lamps:

AB Daylight DE
AB 10,000K DE/SE
Airam Daylight DE/SE
BLV Daylight DE/SE
BLV 10,000K DE/SE
Osram Daylight DE/SE
Radium Daylight SE/DE
Radium Blue (20,000K) SE
Ushio Daylight DE/SE
Ushio 10,000K DE

Ballast: ANSI S51 Constant Wattage Autotransformer (CWA)

400-watt MH lamps:

AB 10,000K SE
Airam Daylight SE
BLV Daylight SE
BLV 10,000K SE
BLV Blue (20,000K)
Osram Daylight (BT type ONLY) SE
Radium Daylight SE
Ushio Daylight SE
Ushio 10,000K SE

DE = Double-Ended Lamp
SE = Single-Ended Lamp

I did not list every lamp that will work. Other lamps will operate. The Radium 400-watt Blue is not listed because the S51 ballast will overdrive that lamp.

NOTE: For optimal and most reliable performance only use the ANSI ballast the lamp manufacturer has designed the lamp for.

The lamps I listed will operate/run but you may run into starting/ignition problems if the standard HPS ignitor is used. Usually lamp starting is not a problem when the lamp is new. When the lamp ages it requires a higher starting voltage. Starting reliability will vary with different model/make ballasts.

I canââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t comment on the ballasts you listed because for some reason my catalogs do not list the specifications for them. I personally have not tested any ballast that has an OCV lower than 185 (ANSI S50) and 190 (ANSI S51) because I almost always use a superimposed ignitor that has a cutoff voltage at 180.


Hope that helps

 

[phljess]

I was not talking about putting the HPS over my home tank, I was talking about putting them over a grow-out tank. I frankly would not give a crap what they look like. I am only interested if they would grow corals. I think they will, especially if they have a close to "daylight" bulb in them. The only reason I asked the question was to see if anyone knew if they would work,not how they would look. BTW, you can purchase 70 watt halides at about any electrical store or Lowes, I know the color might not be what most people like but they will work. You can also buy brand name 70 watt bulbs on the internet like AB and Ushio. The cost for the bulbs are about 25.00 and IMO should well out perform any PCs or VHOs for a refugium light especially when you are trying to keep flora in the refugium.

 

[WVfishguy]

phljess, I'll bet you never thought you'd open such a can of worms!
Seriously, I think it would be an interesting experiment to see how corals grow under HPS lighting. You can read about another person's hypothesis on any subject, but until you actually do it yourself, you'll never really know whether or not it works.
I say go for it. If the corals do well, you might be able to slowly wean them away from HPS to Halides in order to put them in a display.
Thanks for the heads up on 70 watt halides. I might try that on refugiums.

 

[phljess]

I already put the 70 watt halides over my refugium this weekend. I did not take the time to order any bulbs from the internet, just used some sylvanias from Lowes. They look like they are about 5k so they are fairly yellow but I think they will be great for macro-algae. I dont know what I will do with the HPS ballasts but I might try one of them on a grow-out tank and see if they will work. I always like to experiment with stuff just to see what will happen.