Aquamedic aquaspacelight question.

[us2000ua]

I have 72" Aquamedic aquaspacelight 3x250+4x24W. What kind of MH ballast do they use in this fixture? Can I use any kind of HQI bulbs?
What is your bulb recommendation. I'm thinking to order Phoenix 250W 14K.

Thank you.

[manderx]

it uses a mag HQI ballast/firestarter in it. you can run any 250w DE bulb. phoenix seems to be the bulb to beat, i'm going to try them on my next bulb swap.

start looking into getting remote ballasts for it...

[us2000ua]

Thank you, manderx. Are you suggesting to get remote electronic ballasts? I've heard, that Phoenix bulbs run better on E ballasts, then on Mag ballasts. Am I mistaken?

Thank you.

[manderx]

i like HQI ballasts over electronic in general. i think the P runs bluer on electronic, so if that's your thing it would be worth considering.

my main point is that the aquaspacelights are fires waiting to happen. when they converted them to 120v for here in the states, they threw in voltage transformers rather than swapping the ballast. apparently they didn't account for the extra heat. after a few years, the plastic components inside turn to dust and bad things happen.

[mpdharley]

Any recommendations on a remote ballast?

[manderx]

open it up and see if they are heat damaged yet. the components have platisc terminals on them that turn to dust. if they are still fine:
there's no reason you couldn't pull them out, make a box, and run them remote. i like ammo boxes, i'd probably use one for each ballast. or you could put them all in an old computer case. this would give easy ventilation, and a 12v power supply for fans and leds and stuffs.

but if they are already questionable:
if you want electronic, go icecap. they actually have a retro kit, look around in their sponsor forums for details. otherwise i'd recommend a sls bluewave mag-hqi to match what you're pulling out. you can get cables with sls quick disconnects to go from the ballast box to the fixture all nice and pretty.

[us2000ua]

manderx , are you saying, that I can pull out existing mag. ballasts and put them in comp box remotely? that way I should run 3 cables from fixture to remote ballasts? I think it'll look kind of ugly with this type of fixture? Bunch of wires?? May be I don't understand it correctly? and one more question. If I wold buy Ice Caps, can I install them to this fixture? And my thoughts about E ballast vs Mag ballast - Most people say Mag drive bulb better , but more heat, Electronic uses less electricity and less heat. What is your thoughts?

Thank you.

[reefkeeps]

along for the ride

[manderx]

yup, that's it, remote box and a few wires. i actually have no idea if the icecaps mount inside, check the icecap forum. you can get some wires with several conductors inside so it won't look so ugly, maybe just 2 cables, even including the PC wires. and you have the mag vs electronic issues nailed, it's pretty much a personal decision at that point. i like brighter lights (ran mine with icecaps for a while and wasn't happy till i switched to a SLS hqi). i don't mind the heat, actually i like it. i have a cold house and when it does get too hot i have a free chiller- cold wellwater plumbed through a plastic coil in my sump. might be different if i was in town without the wellwater. though one more issue is the electronics aren't anywhere near as reliable. all it takes is one thunderstorm to knock them out. but icecap is excellent in turning around the RMA, they understand that your corals can't go too long without light (which is why they are the only electronic i would consider).

[ZippyBoy]

Manderx,

I'm thinking of converting my 72" aquaspacelight to external ballasts. Before I waste my time, how can I tell if the internal parts (excluding the ballasts) are still viable?