gregt
Premium Member
This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=4774729#post4774729
Metal Halide Ballasts, which one is which? Answers here:
- Thread starter gregt
- Start date
electric130
Active member
if you can find SE 150's, you could run them. SE 150's just aren't very common. DE 150's are a lot more common. that's what i was thinking.Shultz said:Thanks, he's running s/e 150w's on them so I think I'll pass on it, most grateful for your help
Cheers Shelton.
Electric130,
I want to do 3 - 250W DE pendants over my 7' tank.
I would also want to supplement with something else I think.
Anyway, I have a 24" deep tank and will do some SPS and soft.
Is there any reason for me to do an electronic ballast apart from being able to use it elsewhere? I have read a good portion of th previous thread and it sounds like you think the magnetic are the best for DE bulbs.
Any opinions on the different pendants out there?
I want to do 3 - 250W DE pendants over my 7' tank.
I would also want to supplement with something else I think.
Anyway, I have a 24" deep tank and will do some SPS and soft.
Is there any reason for me to do an electronic ballast apart from being able to use it elsewhere? I have read a good portion of th previous thread and it sounds like you think the magnetic are the best for DE bulbs.
Any opinions on the different pendants out there?
electric130
Active member
what do you mean by elsewhere? if you're talking about distance, magnetics can have wires upto 45 feet with tiny 18ga wire. if you bump it up to 14ga wire, you can go for 120 feet way. you can see a table here (mid page): http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/jg/jeasley said:
yes, for DE's, i do feel that magnetic M80's are the best. the only time i really feel electronics are better are for people that live in really high electricity cost areas like california. then they will see a difference in their electric bill, but they're still getting less performance out of the setup. for pendants, i like the Reef Optics III's from Sunlight Supply. a friend of mine has 6 RO pendants over a 300 and they're great. the PFO Mini Pendants are good too. they're about the same price though, so if i were buying them, i'd get the ROIII's.jeasley said:
electric130
Active member
compared to M80's, you're looking at ~2.2A vs. ~2.8A approximately 14% less electricity.jeasley said:
Shultz
New member
I've just got a couple of 2nd hand DIY units, but they have about 3mtrs of cable between the ballast & the actual light fitting!
I'm sure I read somewhere that ideally you should have no more than a mtr between ballast & light fitting? I'm going to shorten the cables as I need about 1Ã"šÃ‚½mtr on each one, should this be ok?
If it should only be a mtr what can/might happen with longer cabling?
Cheers Shelton.
I'm sure I read somewhere that ideally you should have no more than a mtr between ballast & light fitting? I'm going to shorten the cables as I need about 1Ã"šÃ‚½mtr on each one, should this be ok?
If it should only be a mtr what can/might happen with longer cabling?
Cheers Shelton.
electric130
Active member
no need to shorten them. what guage cable is used and what wattage are the ballasts? you should be able to run 10m no problem as long as the wire's not too small. with larger wire, you can have runs upto 30m if you needed. i'd just leave the wires. let me know the wattage and wire guage and i'll tell you the max length you can have.Shultz said:
electric130
Active member
do you know what that translates to in american wire guage size? i need to know that to get a distance for you.Shultz said:
electric130
Active member
there's no problem shortening them.Shultz said:
not really, as long as you didn't go too far. with 150's and fairly small wire, you could go upto 15 meters easily if you needed without affecting performance. if they are manufacturers cables, then i'm sure they're of proper wire size.Shultz said:
hey electric will the m80's make the pulse start bulbs last longer over electronics? I am running m138's with radium 250's and I can't see a visual difference between them and the ice caps I sold to run the m138s. the m58's I tried would not fire the radiums. do you think the m80's would shorten the life of the radiums compared to the m138's?
electric130
Active member
yes, the M80's will shorten the life a little. the M58's won't fire radiums cause M58 is probe start and radiums are pulse start. if you do get a radium to fire on an M58, you got lucky.robthorn said:
ChillingBoy
New member
I haven't heard anything about coralvue electronic ballast. I was wondering if this ballast is any good?
lighting for cube
lighting for cube
I have a 30x30" 120g cube tank. Currently have just a 250 HQI DE bulb run by an icecap 250 e ballast. I want to increase my lighting, so trying to thing if going to a 400w bulb is best or just getting another 250hqi DE?
If going to 400w HQI, is this item on ebay any good? I didnt think they made DE 400w bulbs? Any opinions? thanks
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4374626128&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
lighting for cube
I have a 30x30" 120g cube tank. Currently have just a 250 HQI DE bulb run by an icecap 250 e ballast. I want to increase my lighting, so trying to thing if going to a 400w bulb is best or just getting another 250hqi DE?
If going to 400w HQI, is this item on ebay any good? I didnt think they made DE 400w bulbs? Any opinions? thanks
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4374626128&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
electric130
Active member
you'd get better results by posting your own thread or doing a search first.ChillingBoy said:
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