Lumatek adjustable 250w

[RokleM]

There's been a few thread where people have been discussing the new Galaxy/Lumatek ballast and the fact the 250/HQI change in settings "don't work". I did this quick video using our PAR meter (membership has it's benefits ) to show how it worked, so I figured I'd post it here as well.




Here's a video showing me switching between the two settings.

"250" - 270w 1450-1460par
"HQI - 310w 1650-1660par

~13-15% increase in par between the two. At the end as I'm looking at the bulb adjusting, but there's a flash of light as you adjust as it goes brighter. The video doesn't do a great job of picking it up though.

Those that believe they aren't getting any different results between the two should either use some tools to actually confirm that as a fact, or if they have contact the manufacture....because it does indeed work.


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[jh2pizza]

Interesting. I wonder what shelf life effect it would have on my bulbs if I overdrive my Reeflux 20Ks,

 

[Perched Urchin]

Thanks for doing the work on this, Eric!
I had just read a long thread on RC about the proper ballasts to use with Radium bulbs and the success folks had using the HQI setting on these ballasts. It was convincing enough that I sprung for a Galaxy Select-a-Watt for my new tank and I am really interested to see the differences in the visible color when I ge thing set up. Consensus seems to be that the Radiums are noticably less visibly blue with either the HQI setting or a magnetic ballast, but still are blue enough to not need actinic supplements.

 

[UWUALineman]

Eric, what is the length of your cord? I am trying to figure out to what significance in loss of output when you deal with a longer run of cable.

 

[RokleM]

I didn't have a ton of luck with the Reeflux 20k's, even normally driven... but that was before they "fixed" them. Probably won't know until someone tries and tests for 6+ months.

Hollback is running his on an IceCap and I have mine on this adjustable as a couple of options on possibly seeing how they look in person. I'm guessing more of us are running radiums, but can't recall who off the top of my head. I've ALWAYS been an actinic T5 supplementation guy on every single tank I've had. Period. That being said, absolutely no plans on one for this new setup at this point

Stock whatever comes with the Lumenmax Elite. 15' or so?

 

[jh2pizza]

The length of the cord would also depend on the quality as well. A heavier, better grade wire will have less line drop than a shorter, less quality cord. The factory sunlight supply cords are very long, but very high quality.

 

[jh2pizza]

I bumped my reeflux 20K to the HQI setting. Crisp White. Looks great with a good difference in brightness. Question now is how long before the PAR drops through the floor.

 

[hollback]

I like the color of my 250 Radiums on my IceCaps. I like it even more than the color they produce when overdriven. If I was overdriving them I would want to run actinics with them. More watts and more bulbs doesn't fit in my equation. I also have them in Lumen brights and can't keep my LPS in the top 1/3 of my tank so no need for more par in my situation.

 

[RokleM]

I'm running at the 250 setting as well Jason. I'm running it under spec and it still has more than enough PAR for my LPS. I have to take an updated picture of the porkyspawn, which REALLY is happy with this bulb.

 

[UWUALineman]

Although not broken in I can vouch with Jason on the Radiums. My 400's switched from 400 to HQI are noticeably brighter/whiter. Once the PAR meter makes its rounds I will see how big of a difference as you have Eric to get a baseline on PAR, then revisit in 6 to 8 months. . Overdriven and supplemented with 2 110 Super Actinics makes it look great. My Radiums make a racket when on the HQI setting, which I do not know what that is all about.

 

[Perched Urchin]

I am far from an expert beyond the reading I have done on this at this point, but just for clarification, the 250w Radiums are HQI bulbs, so technically, running them at 250 (if they are really running at 250 and not something higher) is actually under-driving them, not running at specs. According to specs, running on a magnetic or HQI ballast, which lets them draw around 275w or more will extend the life of the bulb and deliver the intended spectrum. However, the 400w bulbs are not HQI and they actually draw something like 370w, so using an HQI setting for them will overdrive and burn through them faster.
Of course this doesn't mean anything if you don't like the look or prefer one look over the other, so it is really more academic than anything else. And again, this is all only from reading info on my part - no personal experience as of yet.

 

[Perched Urchin]

And, this is what makes the Galaxy or Lumateks so cool, because you have the option to try out the different settings!

 

[RokleM]

Rob, your post would be pretty much spot on. Many people state "overdiving" the 250w radium (overdriving in comparison to other 250w SE's), but it's actually driven correctly at HQI spec. Just a conflict in how people are referencing the word overdriving. I'm actually agree with Hollback on the look though, I like it technically "underdriven" at just 250, which gives it a little more blue. At 250 or properly driven at HQI, many state 12 months his a good life expectancy for this bulb.

Radium 400's are actually 370w roughly, and are an amazingly unimpressive bulb... UNTIL you go crazy and way overdrive them on a HQI ballast (roughly 100w higher than the should technically be driven). They don't last a ton of time (6months roughly), but are absolutely AWESOME been abused this way :lol: I ran them for a while, but the cost of frequently swapping them out at 4-5 months wore thin on me.

 

[hollback]

I agree guys, the Radium 400w bulbs are an entirely different ball game.

 

[ws6kid]

I was thinking about doing a radium 400w on a Galaxy Ballast, would you say there is something better than the radium PAR wise and color wise for the 400w? I thought that the Galaxy Ballast usually slightly over drives everything, but I will be honest and say that Im not 100% sure