Am I crazy for thinking MH + t5 ?

[Jeremy Luke]

Good news thanks to @Bulk Reef Supply great service, the hamilton will be on its way back to verify it's having an issue and they will refund it. And I'm ordering the giesemann as a replacement today. While issues are rare, when things do happen it's great to have the good service BRS provides, and it's why I buy from them!

I hadn't logged in for a few days and just caught up through this thread. I'm guessing it is most likely a ballast issue. I know someone that has the Cebu Sun fixture (72") and a large tank full of happy SPS under it. He used ATI T5/LED for a while and went back to the Hamilton fixture. Having said that.. BRS has tested the Spectra with Radiums and ATI T5 bulbs in it and the numbers are impressive. Also, the Spectra sure does look nice over the tank. Think through your Luxcore choice. I went with the 250w which allows me to overdrive the 250w Radiums on "Superlumens" but also prevents me from using a 400w. If you get the 400w Luxcore and use a 250w Radium you cannot overdrive it. In most cases, I really think a 400w Radium is not necessary. I'd definitely not use one on a tank shallower that 24". They also produce a lot more heat than the 250w.

 

[Velcro]

I hadn't logged in for a few days and just caught up through this thread. I'm guessing it is most likely a ballast issue. I know someone that has the Cebu Sun fixture (72") and a large tank full of happy SPS under it. He used ATI T5/LED for a while and went back to the Hamilton fixture. Having said that.. BRS has tested the Spectra with Radiums and ATI T5 bulbs in it and the numbers are impressive. Also, the Spectra sure does look nice over the tank. Think through your Luxcore choice. I went with the 250w which allows me to overdrive the 250w Radiums on "Superlumens" but also prevents me from using a 400w. If you get the 400w Luxcore and use a 250w Radium you cannot overdrive it. In most cases, I really think a 400w Radium is not necessary. I'd definitely not use one on a tank shallower that 24". They also produce a lot more heat than the 250w.

The only thing I didn't like about my spectra was that it is blinding if it's hung above eye level due to the thinness of the fixture. The cebu seems to shield this a bit more. If I were boom I would be all over a couple cozumels or lumenbrite larges. The t5 is not needed with radium bulbs, especially in a frag tank!

 

[BoomCorals]

They are just ***** if you like any reasonable amount of white light. AB+ looks like a rave.

I never used their programs. I basically just cranked all channels to 100% for the most part, except maybe red/green.

 

[BoomCorals]

I hadn't logged in for a few days and just caught up through this thread. I'm guessing it is most likely a ballast issue. I know someone that has the Cebu Sun fixture (72") and a large tank full of happy SPS under it. He used ATI T5/LED for a while and went back to the Hamilton fixture. Having said that.. BRS has tested the Spectra with Radiums and ATI T5 bulbs in it and the numbers are impressive. Also, the Spectra sure does look nice over the tank. Think through your Luxcore choice. I went with the 250w which allows me to overdrive the 250w Radiums on "Superlumens" but also prevents me from using a 400w. If you get the 400w Luxcore and use a 250w Radium you cannot overdrive it. In most cases, I really think a 400w Radium is not necessary. I'd definitely not use one on a tank shallower that 24". They also produce a lot more heat than the 250w.

The 400w luxcore has the 250w overdrive selector. It's listed as "250wHQI". At least according to the info I found, the 250wHQI is basically just 300W which is the same as the 250W "super lumens" setting on the 250w luxcore.

That said I did go with the 400w ballasts and radiums, so at the least if I decided 400w was too much, I can drop to 250w. I have zero concerns over heat. I live in wisconsin and these tanks are in my finished basement where it's always cool.

 

[jda]

Unless you really need to go deep or wide, skip the 400W and get 250W HQI and run Radium 20K. 400W is overkill on most every tank, but especially in a frag tank unless you need to cover like 3' by 3'... and then you need a huge reflector to match.

The bulbs DO NOT look the same on electronic "HQI" as they do on M80. It is not the same.

 

[Velcro]

The 400w luxcore has the 250w overdrive selector. It's listed as "250wHQI". At least according to the info I found, the 250wHQI is basically just 300W which is the same as the 250W "super lumens" setting on the 250w luxcore.

It's still not quite the same as a true m80 ballast. If i remember correctly the m80 drives the radium at it's spec of like 330 watts and the 250HQI is in the 275 watt range.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

The 400w luxcore has the 250w overdrive selector. It's listed as "250wHQI". At least according to the info I found, the 250wHQI is basically just 300W which is the same as the 250W "super lumens" setting on the 250w luxcore.

That said I did go with the 400w ballasts and radiums, so at the least if I decided 400w was too much, I can drop to 250w. I have zero concerns over heat. I live in wisconsin and these tanks are in my finished basement where it's always cool.

I didn't realize that, I would definitely pay the few bucks more for the 400w Luxcore then, it gives you choices. I was able to get a deal on my ballasts at the time and could only get the deal on the 250w models.. so to me there was only one choice.

The only thing I didn't like about my spectra was that it is blinding if it's hung above eye level due to the thinness of the fixture. The cebu seems to shield this a bit more. If I were boom I would be all over a couple cozumels or lumenbrite larges. The t5 is not needed with radium bulbs, especially in a frag tank!

For certain Radiums alone will grow the coral.. but adding the T5s allows you to adjust color temperature. It also allows for some dawn/dusk which also allows you to only run the halides for 6 hours or so if you choose. I run my T5s for 8 hours and my halides for 6 hours.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

It's still not quite the same as a true m80 ballast. If i remember correctly the m80 drives the radium at it's spec of like 330 watts and the 250HQI is in the 275 watt range.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

It's still not quite the same as a true m80 ballast. If i remember correctly the m80 drives the radium at it's spec of like 330 watts and the 250HQI is in the 275 watt range.

Superlumens gives you 300w.. and yes, magnetic gives you 330w. Also, the higher you drive them, the whiter the light.

https://premiumaquatics.com/articles/radium

 

[BoomCorals]

Superlumens gives you 300w.. and yes, magnetic gives you 330w. Also, the higher you drive them, the whiter the light.

https://premiumaquatics.com/articles/radium

Unless you really need to go deep or wide, skip the 400W and get 250W HQI and run Radium 20K. 400W is overkill on most every tank, but especially in a frag tank unless you need to cover like 3' by 3'... and then you need a huge reflector to match.

The bulbs DO NOT look the same on electronic "HQI" as they do on M80. It is not the same.

It's still not quite the same as a true m80 ballast. If i remember correctly the m80 drives the radium at it's spec of like 330 watts and the 250HQI is in the 275 watt range.

Well I went with the 400w because I am covering a 4' by 2' tank with two radiums, and this is the spectra fixture reflectors vs say a pendant reflector which will always be more efficient/higher par. And yea it's a frag tank, so while the coral are only 5" deep, I can hang the light pretty high if need be since there is nothing above the tank but the ceiling, and light spill isn't going to bother anything where this tank sits. If it's too much I can just swap the bulbs out for 250W radium and just turn down the ballasts accordingly. I figure the 400w gives me the most flexibility in choices. I feel like ultimately this was the fixture I should have gone with the first time, but I believe I had hamilton in the past and they seemed to work fine.

 

[Velcro]

Well I went with the 400w because I am covering a 4' by 2' tank with two radiums, and this is the spectra fixture reflectors vs say a pendant reflector which will always be more efficient/higher par. And yea it's a frag tank, so while the coral are only 5" deep, I can hang the light pretty high if need be since there is nothing above the tank but the ceiling, and light spill isn't going to bother anything where this tank sits. If it's too much I can just swap the bulbs out for 250W radium and just turn down the ballasts accordingly. I figure the 400w gives me the most flexibility in choices. I feel like ultimately this was the fixture I should have gone with the first time, but I believe I had hamilton in the past and they seemed to work fine.

They are awesome ballasts and likely what I will use if I go to a lumenbrite large with a 400 watt radiums over my 30x30x24 cube.

 

[Velcro]

They are awesome ballasts and likely what I will use if I go to a lumenbrite large with a 400 watt radiums over my 30x30x24 cube.

Though I don't think this will happen since my tank is really warming up to the reefbreeders.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

my tank is 47.25"Lx31.5"Wx19.5"H and I can cover the tank well with the fixture at 10" above the water but the few montis I have seem to like it better with the fixture at 12" above the water. I have the 250w Radiums and run them on the Superlumens setting.

 

[jda]

It is just more power. 150W HQI could cover that same 2x4 area at 5" deep with less than half of the wattage and probably get 300 PAR everywhere... 250W 14K Phoenix on M80 gets me 275-325 PAR in the sandbed on a 24 inch deep tank and 500+ up top (on an Apogee 510 without any correction factor). At 5 inches deep, that would probably be closer to 600 on the meter and with the 1.32 correction factor that is more like 800 under the reflector and maybe 650-700 to the sides.

If you end up not liking the power or heat, just remember that you choose to go with way more than you needed to, so include this in your review or recommendation - if everybody used right-sized Metal Halides, nearly nobody would have switched to other light sources. Also put in your recommendations that you did not drive the Radiums to spec if you go 250W. I know that this sounds doochie, but it will help other people to make decisions in the future... just like any light source, the fine details make all of the difference and people who used Odyssea T5 and don't mention that can affect decisions for people looking at ATI and the experience will not even be close to the same.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

my tank is 47.25"Lx31.5"Wx19.5"H and I can cover the tank well with the fixture at 10" above the water but the few montis I have seem to like it better with the fixture at 12" above the water. I have the 250w Radiums and run them on the Superlumens setting.

Of course, all of that is so dependent on alk level, nutrient levels and acclimation. I have to keep my PO4 right around .05ppm to keep my corals in good color. I have some corals that really have their best color at near 0 PO4 but some that start bleaching when it's that low.

 

[Centerline]

What type of ballast we should use to make sure the bulb will have it's maximum efficiency with the PAR, spectrum and savings?
Grandis.

I'm voting for a Corelvue Luxcore!
The "Selecta Watt" ballast work pretty good. I have a set of the 250/400s that have been running for about 3 years now with no problems.

 

[jda]

Which bulb? They each are built to a spec. It is best to drive the bulb with the ballast that it was made for.

 

[Centerline]

Ok guys I need help. This new cebu sun is NOT working right. That's the only way I can explain the numbers. I'm using the seneye for par/lux measurements, and 7" below the light in open air, I am lucky to find spots under the light that give me 400 PAR / 15,000 LUX. I have the fixture 17" above the water, and 5" below the water, every spot in the frag tank barely gets 100 PAR. The fixture has two 250W 14k bulbs and four 54w T5s. The bulbs I'm using are the stock bulbs that come with the Cebu Sun fixture. In addition, the tank looks DARK, so even with my naked eye this does not look like any halide I've ever used before. Thoughts? Ideas? The fixture is pulling 6A, about 700Watts, which is pretty much dead on for what it should be. But the fact that 7" below the fixture in open air I barely get 400 PAR makes me think there is something wrong.

You probably checked this already but if that's a selecta watt ballast the plastic knobs sometimes slip and if so you may actually be using a lower setting than indented.

 

[Jeremy Luke]

You probably checked this already but if that's a selecta watt ballast the plastic knobs sometimes slip and if so you may actually be using a lower setting than indented.

That is so very true for the Luxcore ballast. For mine I realized it is best just to start from maximum counter clockwise and then count clicks to ensure I had the selection that I wanted. For Boomcorals though, he was using the Hamilton electronic ballast and I do not think there's a dial on those.. could be wrong though

 

[Centerline]

Good news thanks to @Bulk Reef Supply great service, the hamilton will be on its way back to verify it's having an issue and they will refund it. And I'm ordering the giesemann as a replacement today. While issues are rare, when things do happen it's great to have the good service BRS provides, and it's why I buy from them!

I have a Giesemann, its a work of art and you will love it.