Reef Brite halide system users.

[Reefinny Verified Sponsor]

yes so far so good except I came home today to my GFCI tripped! UGH I am only drawing 11 amps on this line. It is running through a EB832 and no issues with the EB832 or fuse in the Ballast?

I tracked down my issue to what looks like a bad GFCI. Not the ballast. I switched it out and when the ballast fired it did not pop. I did however stagger the start up by 5 minutes - so left fires, then right fires. We will see at 10:00 am when they kick on.

 

[justingraham]

The Radium has lower PAR than the ReefBright bulb?
Are both bulbs 20K?
The ReefBrite bulbs looks brighter to our eyes?
What ballast is that, again? ReefBrite ballast, right?
Very interesting indeed!!

Reefbrite ballast

Both 20k

Way brighter like I thought the radium bulbs were bad but the ballast just can’t power the radium bulbs right

 

[KJoFan]

Reefbrite ballast

Both 20k

Way brighter like I thought the radium bulbs were bad but the ballast just can’t power the radium bulbs right

Is that just based on your visual assessment or actual par readings?

 

[A. grandis]

Reefbrite ballast

Both 20k

Way brighter like I thought the radium bulbs were bad but the ballast just can’t power the radium bulbs right

Wow, I knew that would happen, but not that bad!
Would you be able to post pictures showing that?
Thanks.

 

[A. grandis]

Is that just based on your visual assessment or actual par readings?

PAR measurements would be great to have.

 

[justingraham]

Is that just based on your visual assessment or actual par readings?

Both

 

[justingraham]

Wow, I knew that would happen, but not that bad!
Would you be able to post pictures showing that?
Thanks.

When I change my bulbs out I’ll do it

 

[justingraham]

Here found this picture from when I switched from Hamilton’s to radiums and lost 60 par I then went from radiums to reefbrites and jumped up to 365 par

I have no idea where my par meter was at I think it was on my little cliff halfway up the tank but there was a noticeable loss of par

And for the Brightness ur just going to have to beleive me because it won’t come thru a photo

The radiums need to be run at 275 watts the Reefbrite ballast will only go as high as 255 so the math doesn’t add up and u loose a lot of par because of it

 

[A. grandis]

This is good info for this thread! Thanks for sharing!
The Radium bulbs shouldn't be used with electronic ballasts as we already know.
It's clear now that, due to the specifics of the ReefBrite ballast, it should be used with the ReefBrite bulbs for better performance.
The Radium bulbs can be used with many electronic ballasts and will run, but not as it should.

Great part of the uniqueness of the ReefBrite system is the low heat and that, I believe, is related to the low voltage used and hopefully still giving the proper PAR and normal visual appearance. That's what the new technology offered by ReefBrite is.
I wanted to try the system, but the many complaints in regards to ballast/bulb performance are still pushing me away from it.

Actually the Radium needs to be run at about 328W - 330W, and that's what using the right ballast will give.

 

[justingraham]

With bulbs that are not meant to be overdriven the Reefbrite ballast works fine

 

[sghera64]

The Radium bulbs can be used with many electronic ballasts and will run, but not as it should.
. . .

Actually the Radium needs to be run at about 328W - 330W, and that's what using the right ballast will give.

What did you mean by “not as they should”?

I run my 250 Radium on HQI setting of a Luxcore ballast. It fires up every single time for about 18 months now. When running, is there a “symptom” I can look for (e.g. sub-par P.A.R., buzzing, flickering, color)?

I just bought a new Radium bulb, and I have 3 slightly used (3-9 mo.) Hamiltons I could check against.

Thx

 

[justingraham]

What did you mean by “not as they should”?

I run my 250 Radium on HQI setting of a Luxcore ballast. It fires up every single time for about 18 months now. When running, is there a “symptom” I can look for (e.g. sub-par P.A.R., buzzing, flickering, color)?

I just bought a new Radium bulb, and I have 3 slightly used (3-9 mo.) Hamiltons I could check against.

Thx

He’s talking about on a Reefbrite ballast

 

[sghera64]

He’s talking about on a Reefbrite ballast

I will check it out, but I’m pretty sure my Luxcore can not deliver 328-330v sustained. Maybe it can at startup. But the Radium bulb’s packaging says it should be run at 250v.

I’m guessing Grandis does mean all electronic ballasts because they are not the same at the old M80 magnetically which overdrive up to the 330V.

I’m going to switch back to my old Hamilton bulbs to see how the PAR changes. I do like the blue of the Radium better.

 

[A. grandis]

What did you mean by “not as they should”?

I run my 250 Radium on HQI setting of a Luxcore ballast. It fires up every single time for about 18 months now. When running, is there a “symptom” I can look for (e.g. sub-par P.A.R., buzzing, flickering, color)?

I just bought a new Radium bulb, and I have 3 slightly used (3-9 mo.) Hamiltons I could check against.

Thx

250W Radium bulbs are designed to be used with specific M80 HQI magnetic ballast.
The electronic ballast will run it but still not enough to get to it's best performance.
They can be used with many different ballasts and will lit.
There is a huge difference in performance when used properly.
It's PAR and longevity will hold much better.
It's not a "250 bulb", it's more than that and falls in it's own category.
The sign: 250W Radium with M80 will be much brighter (whiter) than your Luxcore HQI setting (bluer).
Not a big deal to many people. Just pointing out what we have been learning about that HQI.

 

[A. grandis]

I will check it out, but I’m pretty sure my Luxcore can not deliver 328-330v sustained. Maybe it can at startup. But the Radium bulb’s packaging says it should be run at 250v.

I’m guessing Grandis does mean all electronic ballasts because they are not the same at the old M80 magnetically which overdrive up to the 330V.

I’m going to switch back to my old Hamilton bulbs to see how the PAR changes. I do like the blue of the Radium better.

The M80 does the 328W - 330W.
Luxcore and most electronic ballasts like it is 275W.
The ReefBrite is less.
250W 20K Hamilton looks great to me with electronic.

 

[sghera64]

250W Radium bulbs are designed to be used with specific M80 HQI magnetic ballast.
The electronic ballast will run it but still not enough to get to it's best performance.
They can be used with many different ballasts and will lit.
There is a huge difference in performance when used properly.
It's PAR and longevity will hold much better.
It's not a "250 bulb", it's more than that and falls in it's own category.
The sign: 250W Radium with M80 will be much brighter (whiter) than your Luxcore HQI setting (bluer).
Not a big deal to many people. Just pointing out what we have been learning about that HQI.

Makes sense. Thank you.

So any idea why Radium puts 250V on the packaging if their spec is actually 328-330V?

 

[A. grandis]

Makes sense. Thank you.

So any idea why Radium puts 250V on the packaging if their spec is actually 328-330V?

Reference number, I guess.

 

[A. grandis]

Plus... it still can be run with the electronic 250W ballasts, so..

 

[sghera64]

Reference number, I guess.

Or maybe to sell more bulbs to e-ballast owners.

 

[A. grandis]

Or maybe to sell more bulbs to e-ballast owners.

To tell the truth many of us always wondered about that, but it's nothing that can be explained other than it can be used with other 250W ballasts and we all see it as a reference number.
By the way, the M80 is sold as a 250W magnetic ballast too, so...
All the "spectrum numbers (K)" are also only reference numbers too.
Brand reference numbers.