Update on MH bulb

XxKnuckleheadxX said:
if you do go with a 20k bulb i like the radium bulbs..
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's what I ended up doing.

I spoke with Greg over at reefgeek, really nice guy. Basically they don't do returns on used bulbs, but he was willing to help me out and I ordered a new bulb. We spoke for alittle while about bulbs and I think he's just as frustrated with the kelvin rating as I am, lol.

Anyhow, bulb should be in soon. When I do get it I'll take a before and after picture without a flash to show the difference.

Thank you all for suggestions and advice.
 
Sorry, been a little busy here and unable to get back to the forums.

He said that different corals react to different wavelengths of light. Basically it depends on the coral and the PAR rating of the bulb as to how much its growth rate will be changed.

Overall, he said I should notice very little if any difference in the growth between the radium and the ushio because the radiums have a pretty high par rating for a 20K bulb. I'm not sure where they have par levels listed so I could actually compare them.

Basically agreed with what you guys had to say here.

He talked alot about the kelvin scale. That it's hard to list an actual value that's consistent between production companies. He said a phoenix 14K is closer to a 20K for most other bulb brands, yet a 14K ushio is closer to a 10K, or possibly even lower kelvin scale.
 
Got my new bulb in yesterday. Got a chance to see it plugged in today when I got home from work. Was really pleased with the colors of all the coral.

What's great is that the bulb seems to be running a great deal cooler than the other bulb..so my 14K Ushio ran cooler than my 10K Corallife, and my 20K radium is cooler than the 14K Ushio. :) I'm tempted to drop the light down closer to the tank(it's 8-9" from the surface now)...remember it's a pendant. Also really thinking I can get rid of my fan now. Going to wait the weekend out to see if that's possible.

I never got around to taking pictures of the tank...but so far the radium has been my favorite :) Thank you all for your suggestions.
 
:*( The bulb is burnt out. It's black on the inside and not working. I came home today to that. I was worried my son had messed with my ballast or something, but I checked it and it's fine. Touched the bulb and it's ice cold. I plugged in my Ushio 14K, and BAM...it works just fine.

Sigh.
 
Coralife 250watt. I know it works fine for the bulb, it can run both bulbs. And it has been running it since i got it Tuesday.
 
Well, maybe you can also confirm that. I've had a couple people on this site tell me it will run both. And the guys at reefgeek said they were pretty sure it would run both. Here's the ballast:

Coralife 250 Watt HQI Replacement Ballast


I'm pretty sure the bulb would run on either magnetic or electronic anyway. Here's the bulb:

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Re..._Watt/250W_20000K_Metal_Halide_Bulb_by_Radium

Also, if it would only run with one type of ballast then it shouldn't have worked at any point of time instead of working for a few days then not working any longer. Right?
 
the only bad thing about the double ended bulbs is that they can burn out of like super fast sometimes the quartz on the ends are bad etc.. thats the down side of double ended bulbs.. i like the mogul base... and when you got the bulb they told you not to touch it with bare hands if you do make sure to wipe it down clean so no finger prints are on it too... i highly doubt it would be from touching it though..
 
It's a mogal bulb, actually. But I was considering going to a double end so thank you for the comment, it's good advice.

They didn't say anything about not touching it, but I did clean it before I flipped it on, and had clean hands.
 
A Radium will run on any type ballast....magnetic, electronic or HQI. I would contact ReefGeek about the bulb burning out so soon.

Gdbyrd said:
Overall, he said I should notice very little if any difference in the growth between the radium and the ushio because the radiums have a pretty high par rating for a 20K bulb. I'm not sure where they have par levels listed so I could actually compare them.
Click to expand...
As far as PAR readings on a HQI ballast, you lost a ton by going from a Ushio 10k to Radium 20k.
Ushio 10k PPFD = 159
Performance Data Query Results

Radium 20k PPFD = 85
Performance Data Query Results

Sanjays Lighting Site

Radiums have very low PAR for a 250w bulb. I run 175w Iwasaki 15k and they put out 86 PPFD and use 75w less power per bulb.
 
Last edited:
ccCapt said:
A Radium will run on any type ballast....magnetic, electronic or HQI. I would contact ReefGeek about the bulb burning out so soon.


As far as PAR readings on a HQI ballast, you lost a ton by going from a Ushio 10k to Radium 20k.
Ushio 10k PPFD = 159
Performance Data Query Results

Radium 20k PPFD = 85
Performance Data Query Results

Sanjays Lighting Site

Radiums have very low PAR for a 250w bulb. I run 175w Iwasaki 15k and they put out 86 PPFD and use 75w less power per bulb.
Click to expand...


Thank you Capt. I went ahead and emailed them last night, its hard for me to give them a call during the week with work, so hopefully they'll get back to me soon.

That's a huge change in par rating : / Because of the depth of my tank should I focus on something a little higher? I really like the blue color for the tank and the look of the corals under it. Be nice to find something in between. I just know that 14K ushio is a really bad color.
 
i was reading up on it.. and it was saying using a hqi ballast on a mogul bulb will put it in overdrive and run hotter and better par rating. but will shorten the bulb life...but a week is way to short lol..
 

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