Metal Halide Ballasts, which one is which? Answers here:

[gregt]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...29#post4774729

[electric130]

Originally posted by Shultz
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.

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]

Originally posted by electric130
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.

Oh I see, you can get 'em ok this side of the pond

Cheers Shelton.

[jeasley]

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?

[electric130]

Originally posted by jeasley
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?

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/

Originally posted by jeasley
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?

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]

Sorry. i was unclear. By elsewhere i meant on different lights.
How much less electricity do the electronics use?

[electric130]

Originally posted by jeasley
Sorry. i was unclear. By elsewhere i meant on different lights.
How much less electricity do the electronics use?

compared to M80's, you're looking at ~2.2A vs. ~2.8A approximately 14% less electricity.

[Shultz]

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 1½mtr on each one, should this be ok?

If it should only be a mtr what can/might happen with longer cabling?

Cheers Shelton.

[electric130]

Originally posted by Shultz
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 1½mtr on each one, should this be ok?

If it should only be a mtr what can/might happen with longer cabling?

Cheers Shelton.

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]

ballasts are 150w & the cable has N/H05RR-F 3G1 mm2

Cheers Shelton.

[electric130]

Originally posted by Shultz
the cable has N/H05RR-F 3G1 mm2

do you know what that translates to in american wire guage size? i need to know that to get a distance for you.

[Shultz]

Tbh I have no idea..... I don't want a load of spare cable under my tank so do you think I'll be alright shortening them to approx 1½mtrs?

Am I correct in thinking it would cause more of a problem if I wanted to lenghten the distance?

Cheers Shelton.

[electric130]

Originally posted by Shultz
Tbh I have no idea..... I don't want a load of spare cable under my tank so do you think I'll be alright shortening them to approx 1½mtrs?

there's no problem shortening them.

Originally posted by Shultz
Am I correct in thinking it would cause more of a problem if I wanted to lenghten the distance?

Cheers Shelton.

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]

Thanks

Cheers Shelton.

[robthorn]

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]

Originally posted by robthorn
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?

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]

nope they will not fire the radium .that is why I got m138 ballasts.

[ChillingBoy]

I haven't heard anything about coralvue electronic ballast. I was wondering if this ballast is any good?

[ghever]

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...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[electric130]

Originally posted by ChillingBoy
I haven't heard anything about coralvue electronic ballast. I was wondering if this ballast is any good?

you'd get better results by posting your own thread or doing a search first.

[electric130]

Originally posted by ghever
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...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

i'd get a second 250. you'll have better light coverage with 2 bulbs.

[ghever]

electric130...thanks..that is what i was leaning towards...just thought one bulb of 400w is cheaper to replace than 2 of the 250s....was gonna decide between 2 250s or a 400 with some actinic supplementation...might still have actiniic sup with the 2 250s as well..

G

[robthorn]

wouldn't 30 x 30 be an easy cover with a 400 and a large diamond reflector? a regular spider reflector is good for like 24 inches at I think 6 inches from the surface? the higher you raise the reflector the more spread you get right? why not use a larger reflector that gives more light? is the tank 30 inches in hieght? if so you need a 400w to penetrate that depth of water anyway. according to what I have read at least.

[ghever]

it is 30 x 30 x30...so yah, 30 inches high... that is what i thought too, i would need 400w to reach the bottom... what do others think? Will a 250hqi be enough to penetrate to the bottom of my tank? Or maybe I can keep lesser light needing corals at the bottom?

[RedEyeReef]

It all depends on the corals you plan on keeping. If you want bright and one bulb to cover the whole tank, a 400w SE bulb in a LumenArc III is the only way to go for the spread you are looking for and still able to punch the bottom of your tank with bright light.