How many people use pfo ballast with 65k iwasaki bulb ?

[BROKER]

I have a pendant that uses the pfo ballast with a 65k Iwasaki bulb. It's not bad but I am thinking of trying a 10k. It is very white for my taste but you might like it.

 

[M.E.Milz]

I just bought 2x twin PFO mecury vapor ballasts to drive 4x 400watt Iwasaki 6500K bulbs. Unfortunately, I have not fired them up yet to see exactly how they will look (I am still building the hood). But I am confident that I will like them. BTW, I will be combining the 4 Iwasaki bulbs with 4x 96watt actinic PC's.

 

[SteveP]

I use a dual 400 w/6500K Iwasakis. The intensity is great, and the color isn't as white as most people seem to prefer, but I think it looks more like actual sunlight. I will admit the corals lose a little color, not necessarily because they are bleachng, but because 6500K light doesn't "fire up" the colors to our eyes like a 10000K bulb would. I'm going to add some 10000K and actinic VHOs from my previous set up to bring those colors out.

Steve
8{I

 

[Blowfishaq]

I run a dual PFO 400w with 6500k IW. and like them. I run 4 6' VHO actinic to bring the color out in the corals. All of my corals, lps, sps, and soft all love the light.

Bryan

 

[todd22]

Where could I find one of these 2x 400 pfo set ups and how much are they? I read about the ballast under the DIY section for MH under 100$, but I thought it was a single bulb ballast.

 

[SteveP]

The DIY ballast is for a single bulb. You would have to build two of them for a dual setup. I got all of my MH equipment from www.marinedepot.com. Pick and choose what you want and price it out for yourself.

Steve
8{I

 

[golfish]

I use a standard PFO ballast with a 400 watt Iwasaki. The intensity is very good but the color is butt ugly yellow. 4x55 watt actinic PC's brings the color up to the two 250 watt 10K HQI's I use on the same tank...

Mark

 

[MATTT]

Hello, Every one.

Does any of you use a 400w pfo ballast with a 400w 65k iwasaki bulb ? How did you like it ?

Thanks for the info.

Mattt.

 

[MiNdErAsR]

I'm running a dual 400w PFO ballast with Iwasaki 6500k bulbs and dual 110w VHO actinics on an Icecap 660 ballast. I couldn't be happier with the color.

 

[MATTT]

Thanks every one for the info, but I am getting confuse. If 65k has closer color to the sun light, then why would we have to add more of blue light to make the color look better ? I thought we are trying to capture the closest light to the sun. Isn't that what the corals out in the ocean has to make it grow better than in the tank ? So why would the corals has less of a color when we use 65k ?

It just a thought.

Mattt.

 

[golfish]

MATTT,
We make the color look better for us....not the corals

 

[SteveP]

Exactly. The 6500K spectrum is very close to natural sunlight (I guess 5500K bulbs are the closest), but we add 10000K and actinics to make the corlas look better to US. Don't be confused though, the corals do make use of the specific spectral intensities provided by the add'l bulbs. They just aren't required to keep them alive and growing.

Steve
8{I

 

[THillson]

I use them over my prop tanks. They can be, and are, a bit too yellow for most people without actinic supplementation. However, you can't beat the amount of usable light these bulbs put out. Add actinic if you must but these bulbs are best for growing corals.

Anyone seen the newer bulbs mentioned in Sanjay's latest article in MF&R 2002? They reportedly have less of a yellow look. I may have to run up to PFO and get a pair to try out.

 

[MATTT]

I just ordered my 400w 65k from lampsnow for $50 with the discount. I can't wait to try it on my tank. I have a 400w 10k german on top of my tank right now and I think it is started to dim a little bit.

Mattt.

 

[SteveP]

Nope, haven't heard about them. Who makes them? Are they new Iwasaki's?

Steve
8{I

 

[THillson]

Matt, make sure you are getting the new bulbs: EYE Clean-Ace MT400DL/BH-E39/41R are the ones you want. I didn't know you could get Iwasaki bulbs from Lampsnow. What did you need for the discount, I may want to order those since it's even cheaper than directly from PFO.

SteveP, yes they are new Iwasaki 65K bulbs, available in 250 and 400W.

 

[M.E.Milz]

Please remember that PFO sells 2 types of ballasts - the regular balast that will drive any 400watt MH bulb, and the EYE (mercury vapor) ballast that will only drive Iwasaki 6500K bulbs. It is my understanding that the Iwasaki bulbs will burn more white on the EYE ballast.

 

[b.crabby]

I run the pfo with the dual 400w, 65k iwasakis and agree with a few of the posts when they say that it is ugly yellow. But i must say that my corals do love the light spectrum it provides. I,m also running a dual 46" VHO actinic blue bulb to bring out the colors in my corals, but it's not enough for my liking.

 

[THillson]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by THillson:
<strong>I didn't know you could get Iwasaki bulbs from Lampsnow. What did you need for the discount?
</strong><hr></blockquote>