Lighting for a 92 corner tank

[MikeD]

Hi,

I was looking at the icecap MH - USA retrofit kit you sell. Will this, along
with two 55 watt CSL Retrofit kits (4 bulbs total) be sufficient for a 92

gallon corner tank (48"x36"x24" LWH) in terms of keeping clams in the sandbed (about 3 inches deep sand bed), LPS, and possibly some SPS? The MH I plan on getting is the 250watt version.

My concerns are the quality of icecap ballasts as opposed to blueline
eballasts.. I've read some threads on how icecaps have failed etc. Also,
does your retrofit come with the reflector that is pictured on your webpage?
I sure hope so because I feel that's what I'd need as opposed to simply a
flat reflector. Lastly, how is that coralife German 10K 250 watt bulb? I
saw a post from icecap that said there may be problems with that bulb.

Lastly, does PA sell the icecap MH for HQI double ended bulbs? I may be interested in that if that's a better option for me. Same specs, 250 watt/10K.

Any help ASAP would be great. The tank is getting setup next monday and it's just impossible to gather all this info in this short a time. I never had to
deal with all of this working with PC lamps. I just got the retrofit kits
and away I go. Now, I have to think about the ballast, bulbs, and even the
reflector!



Thanks for you help,

Michael Deleon

 

[jasonfrey]

Hi Michael,

<<<,I was looking at the icecap MH - USA retrofit kit you sell. Will this, along
with two 55 watt CSL Retrofit kits (4 bulbs total) be sufficient for a 92 >>

That should work very well for mixed corals and sps corals.

<<<My concerns are the quality of icecap ballasts as opposed to blueline
eballasts.. I've read some threads on how icecaps have failed etc.

Icecap really pushes the limits on halide ballast and there is more chance of failure, although they are very good on fixing any problems. You'll get 20% more output in light with icecap, so really just depends if it's worth the extra risk to get that output. It's similar to a new car and old car, where the new car runs better and better milage, but more electronics means more things can go wrong. So i would choose Icecap if you want maximum light for the wattage and can live with occasion problems. I would choose Eballast if you want to save on the electric bill, there output is the same as standard. Eballast can still have problems as well, but are pretty stable except for X10 interference. If you want a system that has about a .5% failure rate, i would go with PFO standard ballasts, just not much can go wrong with them.


<<<Also,
does your retrofit come with the reflector that is pictured on your webpage?

It comes with the Optimal perpendicular pendant. We can upgrade to other types if you want as well.

<<Lastly, how is that coralife German 10K 250 watt bulb? I
saw a post from icecap that said there may be problems with that bulb.

It's a very blue bulb, looks similar to Blueline 10K's and 12" bulbs. I would recommend having the ballast special tuned for a 12K Sunburst if you want a real blue color or blueline 10K, or the new 10K Ushio bulb for a nice crisp white. The 65K Iwaski is nice as well and less money.

<<Lastly, does PA sell the icecap MH for HQI double ended bulbs? I may be interested in that if that's a better option for me. Same specs, 250 watt/10K. >>

Yes, we special order that ballast, it's 179.95. It's still pretty new though. So i would ask around on the hqi's and really icecap in general. Many people love them and many don't.

The Eballast can't run the hqi if you decide to go that route, but Icecap is possible, PFO makes an hqi ballast and LN makes an electronic ballast that will run hqi, but needs wired.

jason

 

[MikeD]

Hi Michael,

<<<,I was looking at the icecap MH - USA retrofit kit you sell. Will this, along
with two 55 watt CSL Retrofit kits (4 bulbs total) be sufficient for a 92 >>

That should work very well for mixed corals and sps corals.

What about clams in the sandbed (Bed depth=about 3 inches)?

...So i would choose Icecap if you want maximum light for the wattage and can live with occasion problems.

They don't blow bulbs right? I mean, if it's a problem with the ballast or whatever, I would send that in, they'd fix it and I'd get it back ASAP. Now if they blew up my bulbs, that would mucho dinero... Are they okay with the bulbs and does it seem to be ballasts that may get problems?

I would choose Eballast if you want to save on the electric bill, there output is the same as standard.

IceCap's don't save on the electric bill? Are they electronic? Or does that even matter? Do I have a lot to learn!

Eballast can still have problems as well, but are pretty stable except for X10 interference. If you want a system that has about a .5% failure rate, i would go with PFO standard ballasts, just not much can go wrong with them.

Heat is a major issue for me, I want as little heat as possible. I have no chiller and don't want the tanks overheating so much. And I guess the ballast would add to that because I can't mount them remotely in the basement like some people. It'll probably reside somewhere in the tank stand.

It's a very blue bulb, looks similar to Blueline 10K's and 12" bulbs. I would recommend having the ballast special tuned for a 12K Sunburst if you want a real blue color or blueline 10K, or the new 10K Ushio bulb for a nice crisp white. The 65K Iwaski is nice as well and less money.

So I could order the retro kit, and send the ballast to icecap to get it tuned for the 10K Ushio bulb??? Do you sell those bulbs/how much/can you replace the Coralife bulb in the kit for the Ushio and leave it up to me to send the ballast to icecap? Lastly in this part of the question, I was told by icecap that the ballast you sell with the Coralife German bulb (AKA icecap MH USA on your website) is specially tuned for the Coralife ballast and is a different product than the standard icecap MH ballast. I think they mentioned they had 3 or for models, one for Coralife (IceCap MH-C?), one for other bulbs, one for Iwasaki's and one for HQI as you told me here on the forums.

Yes, we special order that ballast (HQI), it's 179.95. It's still pretty new though. So i would ask around on the hqi's and really icecap in general. Many people love them and many don't.

What would the cost of the retro be, if I wanted an icecap MH HQI capable w/spiderlight and bulb? I was also thinking of the standard IceCap MH w/Ushio 10K 250 watt bulb retro w/spiderlight reflector (I'd have to get the ballast fine tuned right?) Finally, a blueline (am I correct? like what Champion has?) E-Ballast w/Ushio 250watt 10K w/spiderlight reflector if possible. BTW, when I say spiderlight, I think I just mean the reflector that is angled to help maximize light going in the tank. The other kits I've seen just have a sheet of aluminum or whatever metal as the reflector and it's FLAT?! What good is that? Sorry Jason to bombard you with all these questions... So much to ask and it feels like so little time. Pretty much, ballast choice seems to obviously be between IceCap and Blueline E-Ballast, and bulbs.. well I don't know.. HQI, or Ushio? I'd like the color to be white with a hint of blue but not very blue... (sigh)

Thanks for all of your help!

Mike D

FYI if you remember: I'm the customer with the blown sen pump who bought a replacement impeller from you.... You saved my tanks!

 

[jasonfrey]

Hi Michael,

<<What about clams in the sandbed (Bed depth=about 3 inches)?

Should be fine with 250watt, with clams and SPS going 400watt wouldn't hurt, they love light, but 250 will do very well.

<<They don't blow bulbs right? I mean, if it's a problem with the ballast or whatever, I would send that in, they'd fix it and I'd get it back ASAP. Now if they blew up my bulbs, that would mucho dinero... Are they okay with the bulbs and does it seem to be ballasts that may get problems?


I haven't heard of any bulb failure from there ballasts, so would just be the ballast you would need repaired and they are very good on fixing them and shipping back.

<<IceCap's don't save on the electric bill? Are they electronic? Or does that even matter? Do I have a lot to learn!

They are electronic, but looks like rather then energy savings, they went for maximum light output. A recent study on PFO standard ballast, Eballast, and Icecap ballast showed, PFO and Icecap uses the same electric but Icecap had a greater light output. Eballast had the same light output as PFO, but was lower on the electric.

<<<Heat is a major issue for me, I want as little heat as possible. I have no chiller and don't want the tanks overheating so much. And I guess the ballast would add to that because I can't mount them remotely in the basement like some people. It'll probably reside somewhere in the tank stand.

Icecap does run the coolest on the ballast, then Eballast, then PFO. Shouldn't effect the tank temp too much though. Would try and get them outside the stand if possible, avoid humid conditions, etc.

<<So I could order the retro kit, and send the ballast to icecap to get it tuned for the 10K Ushio bulb??? Do you sell those bulbs/how much/can you replace the Coralife bulb in the kit for the Ushio and leave it up to me to send the ballast to icecap? Lastly in this part of the question, I was told by icecap that the ballast you sell with the Coralife German bulb (AKA icecap MH USA on your website) is specially tuned for the Coralife ballast and is a different product than the standard icecap MH ballast. I think they mentioned they had 3 or for models, one for Coralife (IceCap MH-C?), one for other bulbs, one for Iwasaki's and one for HQI as you told me here on the forums.

IceCap can special tune for just about any bulb, the ballast we have instock are for 250watt coralife bulb and we have them for 65K Iwaski bulb. We can special order the ballast in as well, just might be faster for you to sent to icecap, but we can do it either way. It's hard for us to keep up with standard ones they offer now, i believe they have one standard for 12K, then 10K usa, then 65k.

<<What would the cost of the retro be, if I wanted an icecap MH HQI capable w/spiderlight and bulb? I was also thinking of the standard IceCap MH w/Ushio 10K 250 watt bulb retro w/spiderlight reflector (I'd have to get the ballast fine tuned right?)

The ballast would be $179.95, we could order that in, probably take about 1-2 weeks. Ballast would be the same price for any bulb. The 10K ushio bulb is 99.95. The 10K 250watt ushio that is double ended is 99.95 as well.

We have an Optimal reflector similar to Spider and Mogule socket and bracket with cord for $39.95. If you don't want to do any wiring, we have a IceConvert plug for 11.95 that makes it fully wired.

If you go HQI, youwould need a PFO mini-hqi pendant for 109.95, it's not available as a retro kit. We will have hqi sockets only, but will only sell them with an agreement "at your own risk" because hqi is very dangerous bulb and needs to be protected.

<<Finally, a blueline (am I correct? like what Champion has?) E-Ballast w/Ushio 250watt 10K w/spiderlight reflector if possible.

Correct, Champion is a distributor for blueline. So if you went Eballast, would be $149.95 for the ballast, 39.95 for the socket/reflector (is the special bend ones) and $99.95 for the bulb. You will have to wire 3 wires on the eballast since they do not have a quick connect on the socket lead, just on the ballast.

jason

p.s.
If you have more questions, please email me at sales@premiumaquatics.com. The message board is hard for me to follow on big questions and hard to referrence prices, etc. thanks

 

[MikeD]

What color can I expect on the tank if I went 65K Iwasaki w/ 2 24in VHO actinic compared to a 10K iwasaki.. If there is such a thing?

I'm at a tossup now between icecap's ballast and PFO's ballast.. what to do!?!