I've made a terrible (but beautiful) mistake

[Velcro]

I have been running a giesemann spectra with a 250 watt radium on an m80 ballast for a couple weeks. I also had a lumatek 400w selectable watt ballast and a new radium 400 watt radium bulb laying around.

I got bored and hooked up the 400 watt and turned it to the 400 watt superlumen setting. My God it is beautiful. The terrible part will be less bulb life and higher power bill :*(.

Colors look a bit less washed out as compared to the radium 250 on m80. This is on a 93 gallon cube (30x30x24). Running 2x KZ blue bulbs and 2xATI actinic with it.

With the 250 radium I was swapping out one of the blue bulbs with a ati purple plus, but I don't think it is necessary with the 400 radium.

I also have a ushio 400 watt 20k bulb I need to try out.

 

[mcarroll]

Some good people I know swear by the 400's.....to the point they use them in places where you have to question them a little. But I think they're just onto the same thing you just saw – Radiums on the right type of ballast are amazing.

 

[ilovetank]

I don't think it will reduce the bulb life that much. I run my 400w on the super lumen setting and I have been doing that for a couple years with yearly bulb replacement. Everything seems fine.

 

[Velcro]

I don't think it will reduce the bulb life that much. I run my 400w on the super lumen setting and I have been doing that for a couple years with yearly bulb replacement. Everything seems fine.

I've heard mixed results. I'll be watching it with a PAR meter. What T5s (if any) do you supplement with?

 

[ilovetank]

I don't supplement with T5's. I've been considering it and if I do it would be with ATI Blue Plus. Right Now I have a 400W Radium on both sides of a standard 125 and a SB LED in the middle. The blues on that look pretty good.

 

[bklynreef]

Im running 8 x 400 watt 20k radiums on 2 x luxcore selectable ballasts and the other 6 left with life in them on the old galaxy ballasts that are now discontinued. I have never switched it to the Super Lumens setting and now your making me wonder what the color is like. Is it less blue or more blue in the super lumens setting?

 

[Velcro]

Im running 8 x 400 watt 20k radiums on 2 x luxcore selectable ballasts and the other 6 left with life in them on the old galaxy ballasts that are now discontinued. I have never switched it to the Super Lumens setting and now your making me wonder what the color is like. Is it less blue or more blue in the super lumens setting?

I would assume it should be less blue.

 

[ilovetank]

I think it's just brighter!!

 

[bklynreef]

well, tbh i have more than enough blinding light in my tank and id rather have more blue and that color pop on my corals than the brightness but what is proven to me in all lighting schemes ive ever had was 400 watt 20k radiums grow corals and color them up nicely. Leds mainly for viewing those corals you have grown with MH's.

 

[Velcro]

I think it's just brighter!!

My understanding with these bulbs is that the more you overdrive them the less blue they are. This is why radium 250 watt bulbs are more blue on an electronic 250w ballast compared to the 250w HQI which runs them at 280ish watts.

Edit: I said "overdrive" but the m80 250w ballast doesn't overdrive, it runs them at spec.

 

[mcarroll]

Something to think about is that you're simply liking a brighter tank. More light = more color even if the color profile doesn't change.

(This is also going on, whether or not there was also a change in the character of the light.)

 

[ksc]

Something to think about is that you're simply liking a brighter tank. More light = more color even if the color profile doesn't change.

(This is also going on, whether or not there was also a change in the character of the light.)

When I restarted my tank I ran 250's on an m80 ballast. One of the ballasts failed so I hooked up an electronic ballast, 250/400. I also found a pair of brand new 400's in the closet so I popped one in. If you weren't looking for the difference, they looked almost the same.

Also, when the tank is covered with coralline, there's no need for any actinic/purple supplemental lighting.