best ballast for DE lamps?

[matt]

Anybody have an opinion about which ballast would be best for running either the XM 20K or geisemann 14.5K 250W DE bulb? I'm looking at either an icecap electronic or M80. (HQI tar balllast like PFO or sunlight supply)

Thanks.

[Ram_Puppy]

hey Matt,

I have the icecap ballasts, I am have only test fired them, running Ushio bulbs. fires them right up w/ no problem.

IMHO, there is not much out there that can compete w/ icecap. they have an excellent repuation, great warranties, and if I remember the graphs correctly, they are the most efficient ballast on the market.

If you want to come by and take a look at them sometime, let me know. I work nights, but am available in the AM on saturdays and all day on sunday. (or during the day on a weekday.)

[witecap4u]

Does anyone know where there are some ballast test results at? Im looking at getting some 250W electronic ballast to run some SE bulbs and would like to see some comparisons. Right now Im kinda leaning toward the Coralvue ballast from Polkster, or the reef fanatic ballasts.

cs

[hammondegge]

Does anyone know where there are some ballast test results at? Im looking at getting some 250W electronic ballast to run some SE bulbs and would like to see some comparisons. Right now Im kinda leaning toward the Coralvue ballast from Polkster, or the reef fanatic ballasts.

cs

Dr. Sanjay Joshi has started a forum on ReefCentral. I imagine that might be the best place to get the most current tests. lmk what you find.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=398

[matt]

I'm sure Sanjay has done comparative tests on all sorts of ballasts; I'm looking for more subjective observations. What I understand so far is that the bulbs wlll burn a little brighter on the M80, maybe a little bluer, but not last as long. I've also heard there are some issues with the icecap/XM combination, but it's possible the "new" style icecap has taken care of that, and if I'm not mistaken, maybe the real conflict was with the mogule bulbs; I don't know. As far as power draw, I think it's around 2.2 amps for the electronic and 2.8 for the M80. That's a consideration, but I want to get best performance out of the bulb. Not sure if I'm going to run XM20k (XDE, actually) or the megachrome 14.5k.

[TexasTodd]

Hey Matt, I'll try to post a link directly to Sanjay's testing. It really varies by bulb and ballast.

I've found his data to be very helpful....after seeing them "live" in my tank.

The Standard mag ballast puts out more PAR for the xm20kk than an HQI does..weird, but true on this one lamp.

The xm20kk's are too blue for me by themselves but nice with a mix of 10kk.

Are you going to run any VHO actininc?

If you want to come see my tank I have the following bulbs currently running: VHO actinic, Coralvue Reeflux 10kk on HQI 400w, XM 10kk on HQI 250w, XM 20kk on std mag 400w.

If you're setting up a Zoa/ric/softie tank, the best looking bulb I've seen is the DE Ushio 20kk. Very nice without actinics too.

I'll probably only buy HQI magnetic ballasts from now on. "Generally" you get the best color and output with them IMO.

FWIW,

Todd

[JimD]

matt, The newer Coralvue epoxy filled electronic ballasts work very well with se bulbs like the xm or Reeflux, its my personal preference for that application, for de's like the Geissemans, the M-80's the only way to go for 250 watters. Icecap had issues with the xm's in the beginning but have since made an adjustment, I believe that issue has been resolved.

[brewercm]

Matt,
Just for info purposes, I've been running mine with the Hellolights ARO ballast with no problems with any bulb so far. Bulbs that I've run on them have been 10K XMs, 15K Coralvue(may be 14K), and 14K Hamiltons and all fire right up and burn fine. Like Todd said though, there's different results of course between ballasts and bulbs.

[TexasTodd]

Ah, got side tracked.

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

Todd

[matt]

Thanks Todd, man you can really burn up some time on that site. Anyone familiar with the Geisemann 13k lamp? It blows away all the 20ks in PPFD, like double.

[JimD]

I have one in a ROlll pendant with an M80 ballast and its extremely bright!

[Ram_Puppy]

RO3's are very nice!

[matt]

It looks like I'm going with the M80. Next question, what bulb would you choose with no actinics, just a single pendent, for a mixed reef/mostly SPS tank? Looking for ideas on the best color really. I'll check out Sanjay's site to see if he's tested the bulbs I get interested in.

One thing for anyone who has not looked at those tests, it's amazing how much PPFD (measure of light intensity, liike PAR only supposedly more accurate) you lose going to higher temp bulbs. Like from around 100 for some DE10ks to under 40 for some 20ks.

One last question; what kind of ballast is in the geisemann nova pendents, and to anyone that's got one, is it worth the extra cost for that set up?

[TexasTodd]

Hey Matt, what size and dimensions, will the new tank, or tank this is going over, have?

If your tank is large enough, nothing beats the LumenarcIII pendants with a SE bulb...nothing.

If you're set on DE then the best combo I've seen are the Coralvue 20kk DE...you can see them live in 400w version up at CB Pets over their SPS tank...super nice color and bright still.

Best SE bulb without actinics is Coralvue Reeflux 10kk. Must be the "Reeflux" version though.

T

[GaryP]

Matt,

With no actinics I would suggest you take a look at the spectrum of the bulbs as well as the PPFD. Color is nice, but the corals will never develop good color without a good 420 nm peak. I have been having problems with my VHO actinic ballast and I just got it up and running a few weeks ago. The corals are really starting to color up from the added actinic. Its amazing. That's another thing I don't like, besides the PPFD, about 20K. The spectrums I have seen on the 20K have almost no 420 nm. Its almost all in the 450-460 nm range.

I am using XM 10K now. I chose them for their broad spectrum as well as 420 nm production. What I did not know at the time was that they also have some consistency problems. One of the bulbs I got last fall was pretty yellow when I first put it on, but this has seemed to reduce since it has burned in. That may have more to do with my eye becoming accustomed to the color then the actual spectral output.

[gjuarez]

Reeflux 10k for best color IMO. I dont like the bluish look, but I do like the crisp white a just a small hint of blue.

[matt]

It's a corner tank, about 30" wide, maybe 20" from the corner overflow to the front, kind of an odd shape. 20" deep. I'm definitely going DE 250W, no actinics.

[matt]

Another question; is there anything special about the geisemann ballasts? I'm trying to decide between the geisemann nova pendant and the PFO with geisemann bulb.

BTW, on Sanjay's site it looks like the ushio 10k and the geisemann 13k bulb test out to almost identical color temp with the M80, around 10k. The XM 10k is quite a bit lower in temp. Go any higher, any of the 15k-20ks, and the PPFD plummets. Also, the ushio and the geisemann have a nice spike at right around 420 nm, where the 20ks all seem to spike at 440-450.