HQI metal halide question

[adamRS80]

I've read a couple of times before that HQI type bulbs put out more light than the standard type of bulb. Is is true that a 250 HQI has an output near that of a 400 w mogul? Also does anybody know if the IceCap 250w ballast will work for 250w HQI. I have two of them, one less than a year old, another almost 2 years old. Have the IceCap ballasts always been ale to run either HQI or others? I think they can run either but I just wanted to check. Last question...does anybody know of a spider type reflector for HQI style bulbs? I could only find socket type at hellolights.com. Thanks everybody.

[scuba_steveo]

We just went over this a few weeks back and found that we seem to disagree on a few things. Here is what I know for sure.
1. HQI is not a type of bulb but instead refers to the ballast instead
2. The bulb you are talking about is double ended or DE
3. You can run an DE bulb on an electronic ballast but it will not be HQI
4. 250 DE on either electronic or HQI ballast is a very nice setup that does not put put as much par but does put out far less heat than 400 mogule

here is the thread I was talking about
http://www.maast.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=7722&high light=

[oceancube]

okay so lets put it this way, what would yall recommend a good combo as far as retrofits and pendant, im talking ballast light combo!!

[adamRS80]

Thanks everybody for the great response. I think I'm going to start building a new light for my next tank so this info will serve me well. Since I've got the ballast I'll go with the double ended 250, probably aqualine and 2 65 watt actinic PC's. I think that would be a good combo of light and color. The tank will be 36" L, 24" or less high, and 24" wide. I'm trying to minimize lighting costs, electricity bills, all that stuff. It looks like I'll only be running about 4-5 watts per gallon, but the lights will be very close to the surface of the water, and there will be a 3" sand bed. I'll be keeping SPS and clams only. Also the majority of corals will be towards the middle of the tank. I guess I'm stretching it a little too thin. It's the length that is making the difference, otherwise I think there will be plenty of light for the middle 24" of the tank, with the last 6" on each side being a little thin, but having the PC's staggered to reach both ends of the tank. What do you guys think? Trying to maximize light while not running more than 1 250 watt MH...since I already have the ballast. Any other ideas? Thanks everybody

[360Reef]

I would like to just give my two cents about IceCap 250W ballasts. IceCap is a great company and I have used there ballasts exclusively for 5+ years but was disappointed with the 250W electronic ballasts as they are not tuned to run all bulbs. I an other have had problems with IceCap ballasts firing XM's and CoralVue bulbs inconsistantly or not firing them at the proper temperature.

I will say that the DE bulbs are very bright as Josh has said. My 150 gallon tank is 48"L X30"WX24"H and I have replaced my two 250DE setups with one 400W DE setup. But if I had to make the choice I would go with DE bulbs.

-Greg

[Brett Wilson]

I too would choose DE over SE.
However, I'm almost all T5 on my 115g tank and my SPS are starting to look great now that the new tank is maturing.
Lighting options are endless aren't they ;)

[360Reef]

Brett,
Just curious, how many T5's are you running over your 115?

-Greg

[Brett Wilson]

Right now I have a weird combination of bulbs...
I have 4 T5s, two Coralvue actinic 03's and two ~6000K that are aging, one T8 Osram Blue, and one T12 phillips 6500K (daylight deluxe).
Eventually, I'll get three 10000Ks and one more actinic 03 to replace my old bulbs and finish out my setup. I'm still looking for a good price on the nicer T5 reflectors like sunlight supply sells.
Thanks,
-Brett

[Brett Wilson]

I immagine they are cheaper in part on where they are made... most of the 'older' DE's were from Germany and a few people got to add their markup before finally making it to a retailer here.