discretekarma October 22, 2007 October 22, 2007 I am getting 400 watt metal halides soon but I want to replace the bulbs once I get them. Does anyone know what bulbs would be good to get. I prefer a whiter 10k bulb in general and then I add blue in with my VHO Actinic. Is 400w XM good and I also heard about Ushio. Thanks.
traveller7 October 22, 2007 October 22, 2007 I am getting 400 watt metal halides soon but I want to replace the bulbs once I get them. Does anyone know what bulbs would be good to get. I prefer a whiter 10k bulb in general and then I add blue in with my VHO Actinic. Is 400w XM good and I also heard about Ushio. Thanks. Ballast makes a huge difference, but I tend to like the XMs.
Gadgets October 22, 2007 October 22, 2007 Depends on your ballast. What kind of ballast is it? 1. m59 = XMs are Fantaastic 2. Electronic = XMs are great too. 3. HQI = DE bulbs only, so I am not sure what a good choice would be. The only SE bulb that ca be run on this type of ballast is a Radium, but it is 20k and you are looking for 10k.
gastone October 22, 2007 October 22, 2007 Here's my opinion. If you're sold on using XMs with VHO actinics I'd go with 20k. Not the crisp white you're looking for but here's why: From Sanjay's website 400W XM 20k on a M59 ballast: Notice the huge peak at 450nm. VHO actinics peak at 420nm, making a nice complement. IME I don't use XM 10k with VHO actinics as XM 10k (on an M58 ballast) spike at 420nm, conflicting with the VHO actinics. Instead I use T5 blueplus lamps. Ahhhh... the horror of it all. Garrett.
Leishman October 22, 2007 October 22, 2007 Look at members tanks then decide. I ran 400w 10k XMs for 5 years w/VHO and loved them. The growth is insane. Last month I switched to 400w 14k Ushios w/the VHOs and I'm very happy with the new look. One draw back is that I can't take a photo of the tank for the life in me with the new color bulbs. Ony you can decide what you like. FWIW I have 3 400w 10k XMs you can borrow to see if you like them. I say borow, as I run my bulbs 10-11 months at 6 hours/day and keep them reserve bulbs should I have a bulb blow.
geofloors October 22, 2007 October 22, 2007 In the past I had always used Ushios but these days I like the XM brand too. Either is a good choice for good coral color and growth. George
discretekarma October 22, 2007 Author October 22, 2007 The ballasts are PFO 400 Watt Single HQI Metal Halide Ballast. Even though it says HQI it still has a SE bulb on the site with the bulb. Depends on your ballast. What kind of ballast is it? 1. m59 = XMs are Fantaastic 2. Electronic = XMs are great too. 3. HQI = DE bulbs only, so I am not sure what a good choice would be. The only SE bulb that ca be run on this type of ballast is a Radium, but it is 20k and you are looking for 10k.
dschflier October 22, 2007 October 22, 2007 I am the person who Scott is looking at buying the ballasts from. When I saw the HQI response as to being double ended only, I did a bit of reaserch and this is what I found. I did very little reaserch so if anyone has more info please feel free to post what info you may have. These ballasts were set up on a persons tank and running with single ended bulbs. I have assured that they also work fine. The following I found doing a quick search on the subject. Well, there have been a few different thoughts circulating the internet community, and its become apparent that even many of the Manufacturers which have stateside reps are unsure what its exact meaning is, so I went over to the source, the engineers and this is what I found. The following is a cut and past from a RC thread I posted it on. ....Lets settle this HQI thing once and for all. HQI, in the lighting industry, refers to High Quartz Iodide,metal halide bulbs. whether they be double ended(most common), fibre optic reflector, or single ended halides. People have thought differently on the topic, and there has been a widespread confusion (which I myself have been guilty of assisting). All HID lamps have an inner arc tube contained within an outer galss sleeve, borosilicate in mogul lamps (most at least) and quartz in the double ended lamps. The mogul/medium lamps offer better (although in many cases still not enough as per some of the experts opinions) UV protection. (that can be debated) The arc tube consists of a starting electrode, a main electrode, a starting gas, and arc metal. Mercury vapor HID lamps contain an all quartz arc tube filled with mercury arc metal and argon as a starting gas. Newer metal halide lamps lamps contain less mercury and are even more efficient than mercury vapor lamps. Halogen quartz, or Quartz Iodide bulbs have a tungsten filament in a nitrogen-argon gaseous medium to which bromine has been added (halogenated!), enclosed in an envelope generally made from quartz. This doesn't mean they are HQI halide bulbs. Typical halide salts are sodium iodide, scandium iodide, thallium iodide, and indium iodide. When the iodides vaporize in the arc they form different colored layers around the mercury arc. So, HQI is NOT limited to just DE lamps. What does the socket have to do with the gaseous composition of the lamp? Nothing really. Its becoming more common knowledge but it needs to be recognized by all, especially those looking to DIY.
discretekarma October 23, 2007 Author October 23, 2007 Thanks for coming out as the person selling the light setups to me and thanks for doing this research for me. I feel very confident that you are a great person to buy from and that I am getting quality merchandise when I buy from you. If this was ebay, I'd give you an AAAAAAAAAAAA+++++++++++++++++Great seller++++++++++++++++AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
discretekarma October 23, 2007 Author October 23, 2007 I just ordered 400 watt 10k XM bulbs from Premium Aquatics. They were $150 for both bulbs and 2 day shipping. Thanks for everyones help
Gadgets October 23, 2007 October 23, 2007 Someone correct me if I am wrong. You can run SE bulbs on those ballast, but because most SE bulbs aren't spec'd to run on an HQI ballast the ballast will overdrive them. In other words, you can use the XM 10K bulbs you just ordered, but they will be run and a much higher wattage than 400watts. This simply means they will not last for 10-12 months for which they were designed to. You WILL have to change the bulbs out at about 6 months instead. Hope this makes sense.
discretekarma October 23, 2007 Author October 23, 2007 It does make sence. I will see if I like these bulbs during the 6 months you refered to. If I do I will figure out a way to make them last longer. Similar spectrum HQI bulbs or something else. Thanks. Someone correct me if I am wrong. You can run SE bulbs on those ballast, but because most SE bulbs aren't spec'd to run on an HQI ballast the ballast will overdrive them. In other words, you can use the XM 10K bulbs you just ordered, but they will be run and a much higher wattage than 400watts. This simply means they will not last for 10-12 months for which they were designed to. You WILL have to change the bulbs out at about 6 months instead. Hope this makes sense.
dschflier October 23, 2007 October 23, 2007 If any electritians or someone that really is familer with the inner workings I would love to hear what you might have to say on the subject.
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