Radiums and Ballast

revhtree · Oct 5, 2007

Ok I was going to go with the ARO 250w ballast and do 14k Hamiltons SE. Now I am thinking I might want to go Icecap 250w ballast and Radium 20k's.

What do you guys think about this and is it doable or should I just stick with the aro ballast?

surfn · Oct 5, 2007

for a tank your size....you need as much PAR in the 14k range that you can get, esspecially if you want the upper half of the tank dominated by sps.

hamilton 14k SE has a good bit more PAR than the Radium 20k SE when both are run on an electronic ballast.

also, if you plan on supplementing with actinic lights, that will balance out nicely with the hamilton 14k. with the radium 20k, and actinics......everything is going to be crazy blue and your pinks/reds may get washed out and not look that great.

IMO....if you are willing to pony up the cash for the radium bulbs.......you may as well buy the Aquaconnect 14k bulbs, they are freakin awesome bulbs. they have ALOT more PAR than the hamilton 14k's on icecap electronic ballast. Aquaconnects would be my bulb of choice if and when i switch to an electronic ballast.

surfn · Oct 5, 2007

also, IMO icecap electronic ballast is way better way to go than the ARO electronic ballast for metal halides.

twon8 · Oct 5, 2007

ditto on recomendation for aquaconnects, they are pricey, but i've been running mine 18 months and everything looks good, growth is good; i'm planning to change them out, but it will be at least a month more;

they actually have more par than an ushio 10k if both are run on electonics.

surfn · Oct 5, 2007

twon8 said:
ditto on recomendation for aquaconnects, they are pricey, but i've been running mine 18 months and everything looks good, growth is good; i'm planning to change them out, but it will be at least a month more;

they actually have more par than an ushio 10k if both are run on electonics.

lol those bulbs must have 2 years use on them now........didnt you get them used?

thats sick dude! and you still get explosive amounts of growth.

now that fragfarmer and premium aquatics carries them, they are so easy to find. i'm tempted to make the switch, i'm tired of buying a new bulb every 5-6 months.