175 MH ballast recommendations

[Justin74]

Hey folks, Im in the market for a ballast and bulb combo preferrebly 175 SE,but open for a good item and deal on 150 DE.

As far as coloration, I'm shooting for a very crisp 10k w/ slight blue?And no more blue than a 14k.But, like I said Im very open to whats out there. Give me you opinions please :)And if you know of any good deals going on please let me know too. I saw some magnetic ballasts on Ebay for super cheap, but no one here on RC had any reviews of them yet.

Also if you got one sitting around and thinkin of selling it let me know that too ;)

-Justin

[Wee-Reef Master]

I really like the Hamilton 14K bulb. It seems to be the perfect combo of crisp white (though enough yellow to set off the greens and reds) and blue. 20K is too blue to my eye and 10K is too yellow w/o actinic supplementation. Hamilton's electronic ballast runs super cool and super quiet. I do hear great things about the Ice Cap ballast.

Hope this helps!

[rutz81]

I ru 175's. I use an ARO electronic ballast from hellolights.com. Works really good. As far as bulbs, I use the XM 15K, they appear to me to be the color that you are describing(Super White/Blue).

HTH,

Dave

[CaliforniaDreamer]

First I should say that I am using 250Watt not 175 Watt bulbs so this may not apply to 175’s. In any case, I have tried both Hamilton and Phoenix 14K bulbs with ARO and IceCap electronic ballasts and I prefer the Phoenix with the IceCap Ballast. Both bulbs seem to have very similar color (Very blue white with no hint of purple) but the Phoenix and IceCap combination seems brighter. I don’t have a meter so that is very subjective. In any case I don’t think you could go wrong with either the IceCap or ARO electronic ballast, I have had no problems with either. They both always fire any bulb I have tried (Ham-14K DE, Phoe-14K DE, AB-10K SE, XM 10K SE, XM 20K SE). The lamp choice is the most subjective part of your selection. Your best bet is to see some of the bulbs in action. My only other input is that one of the Hamilton’s I got “blew out� after about three weeks. I have never had a similar problem with any other of the bulbs listed above. Hope this helps a little.

-- Edit --

BTW don't forget to look at YourReef.com, John has the best prices on ballasts around.

[TotalKhaos]

Dont let the Electronic and Magnetic ballast argument stop you from taking a good deal on magnetic... There are pros and cons yes - But You cant beat a good deal and they are BOTH good choices.

if you do go with an ebay seller just be sure to look at their feedback on similar items they sold.

[Justin74]

Well at a hundred bucks a pop the electronics are out of the question.Im not attempting to compete in any PAR contests, just want some cheap but good barebones actually. Hence my reason for looking through some of ebays "cheap chit" ;) Thanks for the replies, keep em coming, this "cheap @$$" is still looking :D

-Justin

[robertloop]

Hey Justin... You also might give marinedepot.com a check out. About 4 years ago I needed a cheap DIY set up. Went with a PFO 175w mh set up. Got a 12KK bulb. IMO for the money.. PFO is a great ballast. It is not electronic however. Either way it runs cool and very quiet. The PFO heat sink box is made of heavy aluminum and I was impressed with the quality. Now I run 1 175w 20,000k XM and 1 400w 20,000k XM . Both ballasts are quiet and cool. The e -ballasts have thier advantages. Pulse/start ballasts are cheaper and are not what they used to be. For bulb choice, check out some reefers tanks with different bulbs and see what color temps you like. One more side note.... Spring for the 175w bulb instead of the 150 dual end. <---- IMO.

[robertloop]

BTW..just checked yourreef.com ....has the PFO stuff at a better price than marine depot ...also.... On the above post I meant "standard" instead of "pulse start".. whoops!

Robert

[CaliforniaDreamer]

The only thing nice about the electronics is that they will fire any bulb, any color, probe start, pulse start, and HQI. They also run cooler and use less electricity. But as you say they are expensive. If you want a good cheap solution go with YourReef un-mounted M57 assuming that you can wire it yourself. If you need help with wiring I would be glad to help with it.

-- Edit --

I checked Yourreef and the PFO and unassembled is the same price $69.00. PFO is a better buy.

[Justin74]

What do you think of the hamilton ballasts? Theres a guy selling one for 60 bucks.Its used :/, would I be better off getting the pfo new and have my newly found electrician(thnx John ;) ) help me wire it?Let me know.

-Justin

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Originally posted by Justin74

Also if you got one sitting around and thinkin of selling it let me know that too ;)

-Justin

BTW Justin, I do have a mogal socket and mount (sorry no reflector) that you can have if you want it.