Metal Halide 400 Watt Ballast (radium bulb)

[MobileLightning]

Ive searched for the last couple days and there are tons of post regarding metal halides and ballast...so I apologize up front if Im re-asking for something thats already been answered.

Im looking to change the LEDs back to MH on my tank and plan to run the Radium 20K bulbs. Tank is 3' deep and 4' front to back (10' L-R). Ideally, it seems that the best configuration is the 250W bulb with the M80 ballast. Unfortunately, I think the tank may be a little too deep. Looking at the 400 watt bulbs, the decision isnt as easy. From what I read, the M135 is good for about 360 Watts (which I guess that matches the bulb). Ive read both good and bad about the electronic ballast. Most of the ballast mentioned in this forum are from a few years back and dont exist anymore. I see IceCap offers one with a superlumen mode. I see hamilton offers 1 with a 440 watt selection.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[nikon187]

the m135 is the proper ballast for the 400w radium

the electronic ballasts will run the bulb differently( color) and shorten the life

 

[MobileLightning]

Thanks. I was reading where some were over-driving them to get a crisper whiter look and were having good success. Think most of those were the 250 watt bulbs.

 

[Zacktosterone]

Thanks. I was reading where some were over-driving them to get a crisper whiter look and were having good success. Think most of those were the 250 watt bulbs.

doesn't matter what you read..... it will still shorten the bulb life. if you want a whiter colored bulb don't use a 20k. there's nothing special about a radium other than the desire for the colour to appeal to the human. get a 14k bulb if you want a whiter look

 

[nikon187]

yes the 250w will be whiter than its 400 counterpart as it is being driven at 330? watts from the m80 ballast. much more blue with an electronic ballast and shorter life ( would run an xm 20k if i wanted a bluer radium 250w instead of the wrong ballast )

 

[MobileLightning]

I think Im stuck with running the 400 Watt bulb due to the 36" depth. Sounds like the best combination for the bulb will be the M135 ballast. Plan is to ditch the 18 ea. Black Box 300w LED lights (actually just under 150w each), and run 6ea 400w radium 20K and Cozumel Sun Pendants.

Regards,
Jeremy

 

[tkeracer619]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

400w radiums used to be overdriven and it shortened the life of the bulb dramatically. They have changed the construction of the bulb and they no longer handle the overdrive like the old bulbs did.

The 250w radium runs on a m80 and is designed to be driven like that, they last a long time (up to 18 months).

A radium 250w /m80 and a radium 400w /m135 are pretty similar in total output, with the 250w bulb producing about 6% less total output. The 250w bulb will produce a higher intensity in the actinic range while the 400w will produce a much higher spike in the 450nm range, so they will be bluer.

 

[tkeracer619]

Something you may want to look into is a 400w Giessman Megachrome 21000K on an 400w HQI ballast. The bulbs look a lot like the overdriven radium 400w, have great par, and will last over a year. I'd say it's probably the best 400w bulb combo right now.

Also, Kelvin ratings are just a rough guide. They aren't absolute and each type of ballast will drive it differently.

 

[MobileLightning]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

400w radiums used to be overdriven and it shortened the life of the bulb dramatically. They have changed the construction of the bulb and they no longer handle the overdrive like the old bulbs did.

The 250w radium runs on a m80 and is designed to be driven like that, they last a long time (up to 18 months).

A radium 250w /m80 and a radium 400w /m135 are pretty similar in total output, with the 250w bulb producing about 6% less total output. The 250w bulb will produce a higher intensity in the actinic range while the 400w will produce a much higher spike in the 450nm range, so they will be bluer.

Thanks for the info. Graph was very helpful. Tank is 10' x 4' x 3' deep.

 

[MobileLightning]

Something you may want to look into is a 400w Giessman Megachrome 21000K on an 400w HQI ballast. The bulbs look a lot like the overdriven radium 400w, have great par, and will last over a year. I'd say it's probably the best 400w bulb combo right now.

Also, Kelvin ratings are just a rough guide. They aren't absolute and each type of ballast will drive it differently.

Thanks. I will look into it now.

 

[tkeracer619]

How do you have the tank aquascaped? Were you planning on running them in a single line of 6 or two rows of 3?

My 8x4x32 that is strictly sps will be running...
4x 250radium /m80 ballast /hamilton cabo sun & 8x54wT5
My aquascape is pretty minimal with all rock in two islands along the center of the tank so covering the front and back aren't really important

What are you keeping? How many black boxes did you have?

The 440w setting on the electronic would probably drive the 400w Giessman Megachrome 21000K really well. You can however still put together the old magnetic ballast everyone was overdriving radiums with, there is just a minimum qty of 6(iirc). They drive those bulbs perfectly. If that is something you would consider I can put you in touch with the right people. That combo puts out a TON of light, with those reflectors you would probably only want to go with qty5.

 

[MobileLightning]

How do you have the tank aquascaped? Were you planning on running them in a single line of 6 or two rows of 3?

The aquascape is basically a bare bottom with live rock starting low in the front gradually stacking up to high in the rear (some places as shallow as 8" under the water surface). The plan was to run 1 row of 6 with Cozumel Sun Pendants

My 8x4x32 that is strictly sps will be running...
4x 250radium /m80 ballast /hamilton cabo sun & 8x54wT5
My aquascape is pretty minimal with all rock in two islands along the center of the tank so covering the front and back aren't really important

What are you keeping? How many black boxes did you have?

I have a mixed batch of LPS and SPS...and a couple softies. I currently am running 18 Black Boxes (3 rows of 6)

The 440w setting on the electronic would probably drive the 400w Giessman Megachrome 21000K really well. You can however still put together the old magnetic ballast everyone was overdriving radiums with, there is just a minimum qty of 6(iirc). They drive those bulbs perfectly. If that is something you would consider I can put you in touch with the right people. That combo puts out a TON of light, with those reflectors you would probably only want to go with qty5.

That sounds outstanding! A minimum of 6 would not be a problem as I was planning on purchasing 6 anyway.

Thanks for the help,
Jeremy

 

[brvheart]

Reviving an older thread with a question...

It has been said here, and I've read elsewhere as well –*that a 250w Radium bulb's lifespan is shortened considerably when ran on an electronic ballast. I'm just wondering if anyone can explain why that is. A general assumption would make you think that overdriving the bulb would be the thing that would result in a shortened lifespan.

Thanks!

 

[hottuna]

get a 400 watt iwasaki 6500k and load it up with a blue light bar from orphek....watch ur stuff grow like crazy !