MH Vs HQI
- Thread starter oyster
- Start date
I spoke with someone who deals with BLV on Friday. He told me that BLV in the United Kingdom now have a 250W 10k with an E40 base available.
Can anyone tell me what would make the single-ended version of their light be less intense than the double-ended ?
[ September 10, 2001: Message edited by: simonh ]
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Can anyone tell me what would make the single-ended version of their light be less intense than the double-ended ?
[ September 10, 2001: Message edited by: simonh ]
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French Forum
Hi guys, from my observation, i noted that normal MHs are single ended screw in types, whereas for MH-HQIs, which i will refer to as HQIs (which needs HQI ballasts), consists of screw-ins as well as double-ended, the latter being more common. please note that the above are only observations and please do correct me if i'm wrong.
Now, i've heard from friends that the HQIs are more intense than normal MHs, a 150W HQI comparable to a 250W MH. I wonder how true is this.
simonh, to clarify, my question is more on the difference in intensity of HQIs and normal MHs, not on single ended or double ended. maybe i should have been clearer in my first post.
So...anyone?
Now, i've heard from friends that the HQIs are more intense than normal MHs, a 150W HQI comparable to a 250W MH. I wonder how true is this.
simonh, to clarify, my question is more on the difference in intensity of HQIs and normal MHs, not on single ended or double ended. maybe i should have been clearer in my first post.
So...anyone?
HQI lamps put out more light than a typical single-ended MH lamp for the same wattage. HQI lamps also tend to have better color i.e. a 10K HQI lamp tends to be a whiter white than a normal 10K. HQI stands for High-CRI Quartz (don't ask me, its a german thing), which helps to explain the good colors.
They are a little more trouble to deal with since they need to have external UV filtering and can be more expensive. I have used a 575W 6,000K HQI over a reef tank and it put out as nearly as much light out as the two 400W 10,000K single-ended bulbs I switched to.
--- Ken
They are a little more trouble to deal with since they need to have external UV filtering and can be more expensive. I have used a 575W 6,000K HQI over a reef tank and it put out as nearly as much light out as the two 400W 10,000K single-ended bulbs I switched to.
--- Ken
I have the 250W PFO HQI [double ended bulb] pendant hanging above my tank and think it does a great job. I have never had any other lamp (newbie) but I think it is fine. The PFO pendant unit comes with a UV shielding piece of glass that just slides into the bottom of the fixture. Took it out to clean it once and saw the obvious coating. Protects from splash, too...
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Do not underestimate a 150w 10k double ended HQI. These bulbs KICK A$$! They are much brighter than a 175w mogul base MH, and brighter than most 250w mogul base bulbs.
The color is nice and you can keep anything with them. I run an aquastarlight with 2 150s on my 70g. No SPS (yet!) but my LPS, squamosa clam, and BTA are doing great.
They are bright! I'm sure the 250w HQI would put out proportionally more light. On a large tank it might not look too bright though, especially next to a 400w 6500k.
The color is nice and you can keep anything with them. I run an aquastarlight with 2 150s on my 70g. No SPS (yet!) but my LPS, squamosa clam, and BTA are doing great.
They are bright! I'm sure the 250w HQI would put out proportionally more light. On a large tank it might not look too bright though, especially next to a 400w 6500k.
Osram states Hi-CRI Quartz in some of their literature, but it's hard to really get HQI out of that. I'll have to ask them. I have a weekly conf call with their engineers in Germany, but they probably won't know either.
Cheese Sandwich, You really do need UV absorbing glass for a filter. I have tried acrylic and it did not do much to reduce the UV, even though the specs would indicate otherwise. Tap Plastics does have a UV coated OP-3 version that might work, but you would need to keep it a fair distance away from the light. In my case I tried using 1/4" acrylic with a 70W HQI at a distance of about 7" (with air flow) and there was no problem with the heat. In the case of the 575W HQI, I actually used an inverse acrylic fresnel lens to spread the light out, but that was after filtering excess UV/IR out with filters.
My installs were DIY's, but I have access to special UV filters through my work. I have heard people mention that some of the picture framing glass which have UV coatings to protect the pictures might be a good option to try for a DIY setup as well. Best bet is to buy the premade setups, but the housings do restrict the light spread some.
--- Ken
[ September 12, 2001: Message edited by: KenH ]
Cheese Sandwich, You really do need UV absorbing glass for a filter. I have tried acrylic and it did not do much to reduce the UV, even though the specs would indicate otherwise. Tap Plastics does have a UV coated OP-3 version that might work, but you would need to keep it a fair distance away from the light. In my case I tried using 1/4" acrylic with a 70W HQI at a distance of about 7" (with air flow) and there was no problem with the heat. In the case of the 575W HQI, I actually used an inverse acrylic fresnel lens to spread the light out, but that was after filtering excess UV/IR out with filters.
My installs were DIY's, but I have access to special UV filters through my work. I have heard people mention that some of the picture framing glass which have UV coatings to protect the pictures might be a good option to try for a DIY setup as well. Best bet is to buy the premade setups, but the housings do restrict the light spread some.
--- Ken
[ September 12, 2001: Message edited by: KenH ]
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