400W ballast recommendations

[klayko]

Ok I have decided to buck up and move from my 175W lighting system to a 400W system. I plan to use 20k bulbs per everybodies recommendation. Now the tough part.... Which 400w 20k bulbs and more importantly which ballast.


Is there a 400W dual electronic ballast on the market?
Can anyone make a recommendation?
Can anyone tell me the difference between XM bulbs or Radium bulbs?

I'm confused..

Thanks
Chris

 

[ADS]

Some concerns about the switch from 175W to 400W-
-Increased energy costs
-huge amount of heat
-shock to corals from increased intensity

Alot will agree that you can achieve very substantial PAR and excellent growth from 250W HQI. There are now several options for DE 20K bulbs in 250W. CV,XM. For Electronic ballasts there are also Icecap, CV, blueline.
Hope this helps-
Adam

 

[Len]

The only 400W electronic ballast I know is Blueline's. Icecap had one for a short while but it didn't work out. There are no dual 400s so you'll have to get too. Personally, I like magnetic ballasts more because they're more versatile, especially pulse rated ballasts for European 400 watters. Sunlight Supply sells a very nice ballast/light system and I recommend them highly for 400W applications. Or you can DIY with some pulse rated ballasts if you are so inclined.

I have no experience with the XMs yet so I can't compare between them and the Radiums. The Radiums are definitely very blue bulbs and work best operated with pulse-rated or true HQI ballasts.

 

[dgasmd]

Well, here it is. I am refering to 400 watt only since it is what you asked for.
Electronic ballasts

Like Len said, there is the blueline ballasts. I have 4 and in the 16 months or so I've had them, I already had to replace 2 that went kaka. Don't get me wrong, Champion lighting (distribuitor) was extremely good about replacing them without even asking anything.
I believe Icecap has been saying 4-6 weeks for the new 400 watt electronic ballast for the past year+. I know they have the 220v version of them available, but not the 110v.
Reeffanatic.com has a 400 watt electronic too at some point and I am not sure if they still have it. I don't know anyone that runs them, so I couldn't tell you anything about them.
No double ballast for any of them.

Magnetic ballasts

Like Len said, extremely versatile too. I prefer the HQI myself vs the "regular". These things are bullet proof. You couldn't kill them even if you wanted to. I would personally prefer the PFO ones since their enclosures are smaller and they tend to be cheaper than the sunsupply. I think you would be equally well served with either one performance wise.

20K bulbs

Depending on what ballast you run them on, you will get different results in terms of PAR and in terms of colors too. I ran them on the blueline electronics and they were white with a ting of baby blue in the background. The perfect color to my eyes without actinics. If you are going to run them on HQI ballasts, they have almost the same color I believe. The regular PFO tends to have them much bluer for some reason.
The XM are too blue and almost purple actually, especially if not on the HQI ballasts. Even then it is too blue to my eyes. Color is a very subjective thing and what is too blue for you might be perfect for others.

The one thing I can suggest is for you to find someone in your area with the combination you itnend to buy and look at it. See if it looks like something you like and can live with.