EricVA Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 Hey, I want to get some mh lighting for my tank and want to know why everyone dislikes magnetic ballasts? Sorry if this is a stupid question. Thanks! Eric Link to comment
jasontatro Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 Magnetic ballasts run hotter, use more electricity, and probably shorten the life of your bulb. Link to comment
TJG Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 The nice thing about ele ballest is that they can run most(some casesall) bulb types( pluse start, probe start) most also have other things that are nice to have. I am not really sure if mag ballest shortin bulb life( some bulbs don't last very long on ele *cough* " raduims" *cough*), but they do use more energy, run hotter and are heavy. Thats not to say that I would not use a magnetic ballest ( I am right now on my holding system). Really it comes down to what you want to run/ howmuch cash you have/ what you like. Link to comment
EricVA Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 Thanks for the help guys, I think Im gonna get a 250(?) Watt Icecap Ballast (ele) from ocean encounters. And get the normal reflector from hellolights, and the bulb would come with the ballast (Ushio bulb)... All this would only cost ~230 what do u guys think (I would have 72 watts of actinic supplement lighting too ) Link to comment
Von digity Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 hellolights reflector & socket= 30 bucks marinedepot, icecap 250 watt mh ballast=115.00 You can sometimes buy Hamilton bulbs on ebay for 50 bucks. Your not planning on doing the hqi (DE) set-up are you? Link to comment
Korbin Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 Well my magnetic ballast just bit the dust this morning. So I'm gonna have to go ahead and say they are crap. I'm getting an electronic. Link to comment
EricVA Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 Im not sure if ill do DE or SE, is DE better (heard that somewhere i think)? Thanks for the help guys! Link to comment
TJG Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 For the same wattage and same type of bulb they are very close. ( ideal) The main diff between them ( besides SE DE and UV shield no UV sheild) is that DE have a more focusable light distrabution comebared to SE. basicly what it comes down too is: If you want a more foucsust light get a DE, if you want more scatter light go SE. ( thats really general and reflectors can change that) Link to comment
KrackerG Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Ive been told DE bulbs run brighter than SE, watt for watt...sumthin' like this:: 70 DE = 150SE 150DE = 175SE 175DE = 250SE 250DE = 400SE 400DE = 1000SE:P Link to comment
SeaSide Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 KrackerG. Good to see you again. Where have you been? DE + e-ballast put out more light than SE + m-ballast with the same reflextor. DE + e-ballast is better due to narrow shape of bulb and effectiveness of ballast. Thus, it can reflect more light than SE lamp. It seems there's no 175 and 400 DE lamps available. I would say 150DE is brighter than 175SE, feels almost like 250SE. People says 250DE is definitely brighter than 250SE, is little weaker than 400SE though. Link to comment
Von digity Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 I think we all need to buy par meters (I really want one). Just curious, how does a 150 watt DE + eballast (Icecap) compare to a SE + Eballast (Icecap) I know the 175 watt SE+eballast will put out 197 watts, and its par= 84.9 (10000k ab bulb +spiderlight reflector) Is there a website link anyone has that has a table comparing SE+ eballast to DE+ eballast. *edit* heres something comparing250watt DE vs 400 watt se Link to comment
Von digity Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 whoops, I found a link answering my above question about 175 vs 150http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov...02/feature2.htm Link to comment
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