Scooterman
Well-known member
There are a few new lamps not even on this test, that is the thing I've seen a few new ones out that are impressive. I think you will be happy with your choice!
pulse start vs electronic
- Thread starter Sushi Reef
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Sushi Reef
Ebi
thanks for your help guys. much appreciated
Maxx
Staff Housemonkey
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
- Messages
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LOL....
SushiReef,
believe it or not, neither Scooterman nor myself intended to give you a brain spasm by throwing all that info out there. It was more of a "Here's some useful info, do what you want with it", kinda thing.
Scott is an electrician by trade, I'm a cop who watches electricians work from a safe distance. I'm also one of the guys who studies something to death, playing all the angles out and seeing worst case scenarios before going for it....byproduct of my career choice I guess.
I did alot of reading and calling and dbl checking everything I could before buying my lighting set up. I purchased two Sunlight Supply Bluewave IV ballasts for my tank. The SLS BLuewave IV's are nothing more than IceCap E-ballasts already hard wired and placed in a pretty blue box for the buyer. You pay more for them, but you also get a 5 year warranty instead of the IceCap 3 year warranty...even though its the same ballast inside.
You're really not gonna go wrong with any of the ballast's discussed above, so you'll be fine with whatever you choose. One thing to remember is that with almost all MH bulbs these days, you dont need the Actinic supplementation for anything other than aesthic appeal...
So basically, I'd suggest going to JBNY's site and looking at the pics of his tank with the different bulbs actually being run over the tank, (unless you already have one in mind), pick one or two out that you like the best appearance wise, and then see how it does with the various PAR ratings. That will probably help you figure out which ballast you want to go with.
Nick
SushiReef,
believe it or not, neither Scooterman nor myself intended to give you a brain spasm by throwing all that info out there. It was more of a "Here's some useful info, do what you want with it", kinda thing.
Scott is an electrician by trade, I'm a cop who watches electricians work from a safe distance. I'm also one of the guys who studies something to death, playing all the angles out and seeing worst case scenarios before going for it....byproduct of my career choice I guess.
I did alot of reading and calling and dbl checking everything I could before buying my lighting set up. I purchased two Sunlight Supply Bluewave IV ballasts for my tank. The SLS BLuewave IV's are nothing more than IceCap E-ballasts already hard wired and placed in a pretty blue box for the buyer. You pay more for them, but you also get a 5 year warranty instead of the IceCap 3 year warranty...even though its the same ballast inside.
You're really not gonna go wrong with any of the ballast's discussed above, so you'll be fine with whatever you choose. One thing to remember is that with almost all MH bulbs these days, you dont need the Actinic supplementation for anything other than aesthic appeal...
So basically, I'd suggest going to JBNY's site and looking at the pics of his tank with the different bulbs actually being run over the tank, (unless you already have one in mind), pick one or two out that you like the best appearance wise, and then see how it does with the various PAR ratings. That will probably help you figure out which ballast you want to go with.
Nick
Sushi Reef
Ebi
someone say cop??
*walks out of thread slowly*
:razz:
i actualy just wired my VHO's today... err yesterday... (i work nights... just got off)
so my 10k's will be supplemented by 2 VHO's that should give my tank some good blue... hopefully enough to where i can keep the 10k's
thanks agian guys... this is a good informational thread. *sticky material*
*walks out of thread slowly*
:razz:
i actualy just wired my VHO's today... err yesterday... (i work nights... just got off)
so my 10k's will be supplemented by 2 VHO's that should give my tank some good blue... hopefully enough to where i can keep the 10k's
thanks agian guys... this is a good informational thread. *sticky material*
Maxx
Staff Housemonkey
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
- Messages
- 2,935
Dont start none, wont be none.....
As long as your MH bulbs are 6500K or higher, you dont need actinics at all. The Iwasaki bulbs, (6500k) have a huge spike in the purple and blue spectrums and provide the best growth almost universally. However, they are also REALLY yellow to the human eye, so many people run actinics to supplement and make the color more pleasing to the viewers. I run AB10K's (AB sells them as 10K's, JBNY refers to them as AB13K's) and only ran actinics as a dawn/dusk simulation 5 minutes before the MH's went off and for another hour afterwards. They also came on one hour before the MH's went on and stayed on for 5 minutes after they lit up. In that 5 minute window while both MH's and VHO's were running together, I didnt notice alot of difference.
IMO, the XM10K's are a great bulb. They offer real close to the same PAR as Iwasaki's, (usually a little less, but on the RF ballast, more), and are a nice crisp white. They are whiter than most other 10K bulbs, including my AB10K's which have a yellow cast when run side by side.
So what I'm getting at is you dont need the VHO's unless you really want them. Fortunately, JBNY took pics of the various bulbs over his tank with and w/o actinics so you can see how they look.
Nick
