M80 Ballast replacement. Am i screwed?

[Kevy792]

Before I get flamed for bringing up an old topic... Yes I did read and research other forums, but no one really had any concrete answers so im hoping that years later maybe someone has found something other than "they don't exist".
I have a 300G Reef Tank with an old 6ft Maristar from sunlight supply running 3 250W DE HQI on 2 M80 Ballasts. A single and a duel. The duel has decided that its going to fry out and only leave me with one bulb. I hired a electrician that took apart the ballast and swapped things around and got one of the duel lights to fire. So now I have 2 bulbs running. He is looking into replacement parts. But in the mean time I have corals bleaching out :*(
I have called every store by my house both aquatic and hydroponic and no one has any m80 ballasts. The closest I could find was a selectable Galaxy ballast but it was for M58's. The plug was the same but I wasn't sure what would happen if I used this ballast. Does anyone have any advice while I keep my fingers crossed that my electrician can fix the problem.

 

[Kevy792]

Sorry in my frantic post I forgot to put what advice I as seeking.
1. Can I use the Selectable Galaxy Ballast? If so is there any downfall. I read a lot about the m58 vs the m80. What I got is that the m80 is better, but don't really understand why. If I can use it temporarily why I wait on my electrician I would do so.
2. Does anyone know of any retailers selling the M80's

 

[oreo57]

Sorry in my frantic post I forgot to put what advice I as seeking.
1. Can I use the Selectable Galaxy Ballast? If so is there any downfall. I read a lot about the m58 vs the m80. What I got is that the m80 is better, but don't really understand why. If I can use it temporarily why I wait on my electrician I would do so.
2. Does anyone know of any retailers selling the M80's

Maybe..
http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Metal-Halide-HQI-250-Watt-M80-Assembled-Ballast-378

 

[alton]

http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Metal-Halide-HQI-250-Watt-M80-Assembled-Ballast-378

Darn to slow

 

[Kevy792]

WOW thanks guys!! are they they only ones? it seems odd that the M80 is just gone now. Is it asking to much for a duel 250w ballast lol

 

[acrohead500ppm]

Look for used aquamedic oceanlight ballasts or aquamedic "cubes" they are ANSI M80. You will have a vary hard time finding them new in the US as I beieve the good ol' EPA put the kybosh on them.

I wouldn't say they are necessarily better, but they are the best ballasts to use with euro spec bulbs, most notably radiums.

Your electrician should be able to fix yours by replacing the capacitor/ starter though.

 

[vhuang168]

Here is a used one for sale.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2494888

 

[Kevy792]

Thanks I just PM'd him, If he will deliver that's awesome if not I will probably go with Hamilton link

 

[tkeracer619]

Go with the hamilton. As much as I would love to get that pfo ballast myself at this point if it's used it probably has a ton of hours on it. PFO has been out of business for years. They do not last forever unfortunately. The aquamedic reflex cube m80s were good ballasts, I still use some. However they always seemed cheaper to me than the pfo and hamiltons.

AFAIK that is the only m80 source in the states, probably a good idea to support them if you can.

 

[moondoggy4]

I have a Maristar 2 and the plugs from my Hamilton M80 ballast plug right into the Maristar 2 light fixture.

I also have a dual 175 Hamilton ballast that can be upgraded to a dual M80 ballast but a right away solution it will not be. Expensive to ship twice.

 

[Bpb]

Another vote for the Hamilton m80 ballasts. Love mine. You can be fine with running electronic ballasts on Hqi setting, but the m80 ballast is the only one to run European bulbs at the correct amperage with a pulse start. The main difference will be higher par on the m80 with correct color spectrum. Driving them with different than spec ballasts will result in a color spectrum different from what was intended

 

[Tweaked]

Hamiltons!

 

[Kevy792]

So the Hamilton will burn the bulb the same way and color that the Blue Wave did? Last comment from me and I will place my order for the Hamilton. I have Pheonix 12K's and I just want to make sure that the whole aquarium will have the same color and not have one side different.

 

[Bpb]

In theory yes since they have the same spec. From what I understand all m80 ballasts are identical (as much as they can be), and when you're buying one brand vs another, the difference is only in the housing and who is collecting you money.

 

[tkeracer619]

Yes, it should be the same color as the blue wave. If there is a difference it is likely caused by the age of your old ballasts but i've never seen them side by side to really tell you for sure there will be no difference. I have a mixture of m80 ballasts and they are indistinguishable.