Best DE bulbs - Ushio, XM, Coralife, CoralVue?

[J_G]

I am posting this thread to find out what everyone thinks about the many types of bulbs

[alexwolf]

you might want to move this to the general forum.

[Tim Marvin]

I have been using the megachromes and have been happy. I recently put on Coralvue T-5's and am getting great results! If the coralvue halides are as good as the T-5 that is definately my next bulb. The Ushios I had were too yellow, XM's were lousy, and I haven't tried the corallife.

[360Reef]

One word on the CoralVue bulbs, neither IceCap and ARO electronic ballast fire these bulbs properly (too yellow, where these bulbs fire white/blue with CoralVue ballast), as both I (IceCap) and Alex (ARO) can atest to with our 14K 250w DE bulbs. After talking to the owner of CoralVue about this problem he has stated that these bulbs should fire correctly with all other ballast. I personnaly am going to upgrade my IceCaps to CoralVue electronic ballast this week, not only for the bulb tuning, but because CoralVue ballast draw almost half the amps as the IceCaps and have the same 3 yr warranty. Also the CoralVue ballast will fire all bulbs including XM's. I will be taking before and after pictures of my tank when I change the ballasts.

I just want to be upfront and let people know that IceCap and ARO electronic ballast are not tuned to fire the 14k CoralVue bulbs correctly. I will be glad to offer a great price to anyone who wants to make the switch to CoralVue ballasts and bulbs.

-Greg
360 Reef Farm

[J_G]

I know that ARO and Icecap have a problem firing the German made bulbs because of the voltage standards of Europe is different than the U.S. Are the CoralVue bulbs a german made bulb?

[bumpintj24]

how much for a coralvue ballast? I'll make the switch to coralvue, I have one of the new ballast and love it. I have a new icecap sitting waiting to be hooked up. So I would love to switch to a coralvue ballast.

[360Reef]

For anyone who wants to start using CoralVue electronic ballast I will here is what I can do:
175W $100
250W $110
400W $130

These are all brand new, 175W-250W have a 3yr warranty and the 400W has a 2yr warranty. These ballast will fire SE or DE bulbs of all makes. Let me know.

-Greg

[beareef19]

Are these single or double ballasts, retro kit or enclosed? any pics or links we can check out ?
Barry

[360Reef]

These are single electronic ballasts which are enclosed units. Here is a link to pictures:
http://www.coralvue.com/Images/ballast400large.gif

The ballasts are wrapped in a heatsink and have two internal case fans. I know these ballast draw less amps then IceCap electronic ballast with the 400w model only drawing 3.2 amps.

-Greg

[360Reef]

Actually I checked my prices and I can get these ballast prices lower for a one time group buy if anyone is interested.
175W $95
250W $105
400W $120

So let me know if anyone is interested. This is a limited offer so let me know.

-Greg

[scuba_steveo]

can you get dual ballast? HQI? I do not think any electronic ballast are HQI.

[alexwolf]

These ballasts will fire any bulb from what I understand.

[360Reef]

Alex you are correct! These will fire mogul or HQI bulbs and have been newly tuned to fire any brand bulb including XM. Unfortunitly CoralVue does not make dual ballasts only singles.

-Greg

[scuba_steveo]

There is actually no such thing as an HQI bulb. DE bulbs are often refered to as HQI bulbs but that is incorrect. HQI refers to the ballest. And from what I understand only magnetic ballast can be HQI. Electronic ballast can run DE bulbs well but not as good as a HQI ballast.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201570

this is the best source I have found for information.

[alexwolf]

Electronic. ahhh, the great electronics. these will run any bulb at the rated wattage: probe start, pulse start, iwasakis, DE (double ended-HQI). if you think you might change your mind in the future, get an electronic. you can change bulbs to whatever you want and not have to worry about the ballast being the wrong type. electronics run cooler (a magnetic MH ballast will burn your hand if you touch the coil after it's been running for awhile). they also use less energy.

This is right off that page. I dont see anywhere where it says that the HQI ballast will run it better. It clearly states that the HQI ballast will shorten the life of a bulb to 6 useable months. Thats insane buying new MH bulbs at 6 months.

[scuba_steveo]

I asked if I should get a PFO 250 watt HQI or and electronic ballast. Here is his responce
"if you run 250w DE's, you'll want the magnetic HQI ballast. electronics can run the DE's, but they're not ideal for the job."

[alexwolf]

i didnt see that, ill go back and read again

[alexwolf]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by kruxy
will i get more light out of a 250 watt hqi ballast running the same bulb as a 250 watt electronic ballast?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

no


This is what I am basing my info on. The 250w, not the 400.

[alexwolf]

according to the data sheets at advance, hellolights and icecap,

the 250: ------ Icecap--- blueline ---- ARO ----- M80
input watts: --- 255 ------- 241 ------ 250 ------ 290
input current --- 2.35 ------ 2.1 ------ 2.35 ----- 2.60

the 400: ------ Icecap --- blueline --- SON Agro
input watts: ---- na ------ 365 ------- 490
input current ---- na ----- 3.16 ------- 5.2


according to this, the M80 does over drive the bulbs. also, though, according to advance's data sheets, the M58 runs at 295 watts. according to these numbers, the M58 should be brighter than an electronic. on my tank, i have run an Iwasaki on M58, ARO and Icecap. In every case, the Iwasaki appeared brighter and whiter on the electronic ballasts than it did on the magnetic.

anyone else confused yet? the 400's are no comparison though. if i had to guess at the specs on the 400 (this is scientific stuff here....lol) i'd guess at 415w and 3.5-3.6A. clearly, the 400 "HQI" overdrives the bulbs, but it isn't a 400w ballast to start with. it's a 430w. i know power factors impact all of this, but i didn't want to make this too technical. if you know what the power factors are, and know how to figure them in, you can do the math yourself and you'll see that my number comparison with the M58 Vs. electronics still holds up.


__________________

[scuba_steveo]

I am not saying that you cannot run 250 DE bulbs off an electronic ballast. You can it it will be fine. But if you want the most out of your bulb, brighter and more PAR, then you need a magnetic HQI ballast. IMO, the PFO dual magnetic HQI ballasts are the way to go.

[alexwolf]

No, you are saying that on a 250w, the HQI will make it brighter. This is not the case. It doesnt say that anywhere.

[scuba_steveo]

The numbers show the watts on the HQI are far higher which will give off more par. Read my discussions with him on page 22.

Question:
This is the ballast I want to run 250 DE bulbs, right?
PFO 250 watt Dual HQI Metal Halide Ballast
Or should I get this:
IceCap 250watt NEW Style Halide Ballast

Answer:
if you run 250w DE's, you'll want the first ballast. electronics can run the DE's, but they're not ideal for the job.

[alexwolf]

But also dont forget about thge problems with the Icecap ballasts. Thats a comparison between the 2, not between the elec. vs. magnetic HQI in general.

[alexwolf]

Jeez, too many pages on that post :confused: Plus, he has contradicted himself many times

[Tim Marvin]

I am running a dual PFO/HQI pulse start ballast on two of my 250w DE megachromes, and an IceCap ballast on the other one. I can tell virtually NO difference. The growth seems the same in both tank set-ups and they are almost identical as far as flow and parameters. I'm not so sure I beleive much from ReefCentral anymore. It seems like everyone there has the answer and all this data, but when I actually do some of the things myself it doesn't match up.

[scuba_steveo]

I think his last post sums it up. Like I was saying, electronic are fine but if you want the max out of your bulb then you need a magnetic HQI ballast. It is just natural to get more PAR with more watts on an overdriven ballast. Here is his last post:

"the M80 ballast is the best ballast to run DE's to their specs. electronics have a tendency to underdrive the DE's. now, if you already have the ARO's, i wouldn't run home and throw them out the window. they are great ballasts. i have one personally. they may have slightly lower PAR, but you're still going to have good results with the setup you have."

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=3630570#post3630570

[Tim Marvin]

I agree, both seem fine. I do have a white and blue acro that seems to stay white thus far. The same coral under my IceCap ballast would have been changing to a green base probably, from what I have noticed in the past. So I think over all it probably doesn't matter between my two ballast types, but specific corals may need that extra PAR.

[scuba_steveo]

http://www.phishybusiness.com/packages.php?strFunc=item&strID=10

here is the way to go!!!

[360Reef]

I have 3 400w DE sun replicators coming in with my order. Selling these for $350 each with electronic ballast, bulb and pendant, ready to plug and play.

-Greg

[scuba_steveo]

I have 3 400w DE sun replicators coming in with my order. Selling these for $350 each with electronic ballast, bulb and pendant, ready to plug and play.

-Greg

Wow, that's awesome! How long util you think the prices will come down on these? A year? Maybe more? I would love to switch from 400 mogule to 400 DE, that would rock.