150watts MH to 250watts

[saltyFISHscales]

i currently have a 150watt DE MH 10K, and i want to upgrade to a 250watt 20K DE. When doing so, do i only have to replace the ballast and the bulb only? Do i have to change the housing as well? I noticed on the housing it says "10,000K". Im not sure if that means thats the max of if that housing in intended for 10K only. does anyone know? Is anyone running the XM 250watt DE 20K bulbs?

[J-Bass]

salty, 10k is just the color temp of the bulb. And you'd need to get a new pendant as well if you move up to 250. The bulb is about an inch longer than a 150de so it uses a bigger bracket. Maybe you can switch the bracket out and replace with a 250 bracket inside the pendant. What brand setup are you using now btw? You might want to give the new AB 250 20k bulb a look. I've read good reviews about it. Nice fluorescing with still nice Par.

[saltyFISHscales]

J-bass, thanks for your info! I was told by a friend that works at a LFS that the 250watt DE should fit in my current pendant... I was thinking about going with the 250watt DE 20K XM bulb, with Hamilton elec. ballast, and using my current pendant. But if you're saying my pendant wont work I'm not sure what i'm going to do now. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas? I'm not sure what brand i currently have, I'll try to look for it this weekend. I got it with a package deal when i bought this tank from a guy.

[J-Bass]

Hey salty, if it's using a Hamilton ballast then its most likely a Hamilton pendant. I've got no experience with Hamilton products so you should e-mail them and see if you can use the same pendant with a 250de bulb/ballast combo. Maybe the bracket in that particular fixture is adjustable. Go to

www.hamiltontechnology.com and e-mail them about your situation. Lates.