What 20K bulbs are the sps reefers using?

[Giovanni]

FWIW, Icecap says that the 220v 400 electronic ballast I have runs the bulb at the rated voltage not over or under driving it.

[sdoggssf]

I use to run 400w Radium on a pulse start ballast, but now i switched to an Electronic ballast (Galaxy). The techs at sunlight supply told me that the designed the Galaxy ballast to run specifically the 20k radium and the 10k ushio to its specification. I have no complaints and cant tell a big difference between the electronic and the pulse start ballast.

[t5Nitro]

Do 20k radiums only come in single ended bulbs?

[johns]

dos anyone have any info on running the 250w radium bulb and the galaxy electronic ballast? I have been told the 250w radium is designed for hqi, but did sunlight supply design the 250w galaxy ballast to run this bulb to specification, similar to what they did for the 400w version? or is the 250w radium meant for hqi only?

[Canarygirl]

I have Coralvue 250 watt e-ballasts and mini-Luminarcs. Which (if any) of these 20K bulbs do you think would give me half-decent growth in addition to great color?

I see that tfp said,

250w Helios on Icecap E-ballast atm.

I suppose there would be some huge difference between my ballasts and the Icecap...??

I run 10K Reeflux right now and sometimes it still looks a bit yellow or pink to me...or something.

[raddogz]

Will be moving to Aquaconnects or Helios 20k

[flyingphish]

this post has been inspiring. thank you.

please critique this build i put together at premium aquatics:

pfo pendant with 2 vho's w/pfo e-ballast (2 actinics)
400w pfo hqi ballast
400w 20K Radium bulb...6-8 month life span.
2 ice cap adjustable fans

there are many ways to skin this cat...XM's on icecaps, Radiums on Galaxy, etc...

also i cant find a nicer pendant that accommodates a 400w SE bulb...

[UltimateFrag]

Originally posted by tunaluver
how does the helios compare with the xm?

A lot better par and nice color since I were using 400k 20 xm.

[Canarygirl]

Which of the 250 watt 20K SE bulbs have the best PAR? Is there any difference among them in that area? Helios, Radium, XM....I would have them in mini Luminarcs but I still wonder if the PAR would be terrible...

what say you?

[cweder]

So if the SLS Galaxy 400 watt elecronic ballast was designed to run the Radium to spec. How long can we go before replacing it now?

[ChurchBoy]

My 400w Radiums on PFO HQI's are excellent and am very pleased with how my corals are coloring up.

[davelin315]

I use the 20,000K 400W Helios SE bulbs on PFO HQI ballasts in Lumenarc III reflectors. This is my first foray into 400W bulbs and this bulb has certainly sold me. It's very blue at first but then it burns in to a nice crisp white with a tiny bluish tint and it makes all of the corals fluoresce. I have not run it over my tank yet, it's only over a frag tray, but the colors that have come out of some of my corals is awesome. This bulb really makes the corals pop. In comparison, I have used 10,000K Ushio bulbs on 175W that were very yellow and were used on magnetic ballasts (old Coralifes) and 150HQI Aqualine Buschke and Coralife bulbs run on Coralife Electric ballasts and the colors didn't compare. The Helios bulbs need some burn in time to develop their best color, but again, these bulbs are fantastic (in comparison, they somehow make 03 Actinic TRU 96W PC bulbs look fairly dull and boring). By the way, I chose these bulbs because of the results that they are getting at Fragfarmer.com and Reefermadness.us. Both of these companies use these bulbs and I know why now that I have them.

[Canarygirl]

My understanding is that Eric at Fragfarmer.com uses the 250 watt 20K Helios, not the 400 watt, and they are still working well. I don't know how tall his tanks are though.

[invincible569]

Im using a Giesemann 250w SE 22K Megachrome Blue on Magnetic Ballasts and I was dissapointed at first. I've grown to like this bulb as it sits in the middle of 2x13K's and makes anything under this bulb fluoresce. It's PAR rating is not as high as I would of thought for a Giesemann bulb. It's almost half the PAR compared to its brother the 13K Marine. It looks more like a white blue and not the deep blue I was targeting for. Im sure if I had electronic ballasts, it would be more deep.

[panic]

3x XM 20k in LAIII - best when 9mo old and less

[docwells]

Now that we have a good response to the poll and various opinions, I think it is time we see some tank pictures. If you have pictures to post, that would add much more to this thread in my opinion.

[flyingphish]

400 watt radium 20k. pfo hqi ballast. 4X24w T5 (2 fiji purple, 2 giesemann actinic+)

[kdblove_99]

250W Radium on HQI ballast. Love the color!

Might give Helio's a try next round, heard good things and they are about $20 cheaper

[ejocam]

Originally posted by Canarygirl
My understanding is that Eric at Fragfarmer.com uses the 250 watt 20K Helios, not the 400 watt, and they are still working well. I don't know how tall his tanks are though.

Hope this helps everyone. We used 4 - 250's in Luminarc Mini's in our 180 display 72 x 24 x 24 with great results. Our new systems are only 14" tall and still works great. We use 3 Minis per 72 x 24 x 14 tank.

The 400's look almost identical to the Radiums with a little more more par. Surprisingly the Electronic Galaxy Ballasts really burn them just as bright as the HQI's. At least to the eye not they would test the same. The corals like it though. And another plus is the Galaxy is 1.3 amps lower than HQI

As for the 250's they are definitely bluer than the Radium 250's. I see the Helios as a 20k and the Radium more of a 14k color. I love both and use both. Having the luxury of getting these at cost, I alternate every 6 months between the Helios and Radiums. I also burn my bulbs for 8 hours in the summer and 6 hours in the winter.

Hope this helps out anyone that is on the fence. You cannot go wrong with either bulb

[orangekush4]

I just started using Helios 250 on Icecaps and so far i like the look and color of the corals.It is bright for a 20k,more like a Phenix 14k.

[slovan]

Originally posted by ejocam

As for the 250's they are definitely bluer than the Radium 250's. I see the Helios as a 20k and the Radium more of a 14k color. I love both and use both. Having the luxury of getting these at cost, I alternate every 6 months between the Helios and Radiums. I also burn my bulbs for 8 hours in the summer and 6 hours in the winter.

Hope this helps out anyone that is on the fence. You cannot go wrong with either bulb

Hi Eric, are you using SE or DE Helios?

[docwells]

Flyingphish,
Thanks for the picture. Your tank looks nice.

Orangekush4,
Are you using DE or SE? I have used phoenix 14k DE with icecaps in the past. I thought the color was good but dim.

[johns]

ejocam- can you clarify just a couple things.

The 400's look almost identical to the Radiums with a little more more par.

are you comparing the color and par of Helio's 400's to Radium 250's or Radium 400's?

Surprisingly the Electronic Galaxy Ballasts really burn them just as bright as the HQI's.

are you refering to using galaxy ballasts with Helios only, or is your experience similar using Radium on the galaxy ballasts. I've been searching/asking for information about Radium 250's on HQI vs Galaxy electronic ballasts - differeces in color and bulb life on each.

I also burn my bulbs for 8 hours in the summer and 6 hours in the winter.

just curious, why longer in the summer? seems like for heat issues you'd go the other way around.

thanks

[orangekush4]

Docwells,I have SE on Icecaps.

[docwells]

Is anyone using T5 or vho supplementation with their 20k bulbs?