Which MH bulb brand to use

[EMS503]

I have a 2 bulb 175 watt 5500k MH with 2 - 65 watt smart light PC.
I was considering going up to 250 watt MH but the money is just not there now. I was wondering if 175 watt 10,000k bulbs would make a difference in my tank 75 gal. standard, 18" depth. I am keeping mainly softies and had 4 clams from Barry, down to 2 but I think Barry got my problem fixed (thanks again Barry ) If so what brand should I use? My LFS sells corallife but I read on another post here to stay away from them. I also dont want the blue coloring some throw off, I like a bright clear tank,If that makes any sense. My unit is a custom sealife unit with Mogul ends.

Thanks for any help you can offer
John

[Ninong]

In this article Dr. Sanjay Joshi compares two different 175w metal halide mogul base lamps, the Venture 5500K and the Ushio 10,000K. http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/...omparison.html

You will find that the 175w Ushio 10,000K produced more than three times as much PAR on a standard magnetic ballast than the Venture 5500K. Not all 175w metal halide lamps are equal. That statement can be made for other sizes of metal halide lamps, too. Wattage means very little when it comes to comparisons of the true power of the various choices in the market.

[Reefland]

And from personal experience, the Ushio 125w 10k bulb has nice coloration as well. If you like the crisp white light, you will be pleased with the look and the performance of of the Ushio.

Regards,
Scott Z.

[EMS503]

I can not use the Ushio MH bulb as it needs a pulse starter.
I have a standard MH ballast that comes with the Custom Sea Life fixture
Is there another brand that will give me the Crisp white look I want without switching the ballast. Most online dealers are using coral life bulbs. Upgrading from 175 5500k to 175 10,000k.

Thanks John

[Ninong]

I can not use the Ushio MH bulb as it needs a pulse starter.
I have a standard MH ballast that comes with the Custom Sea Life fixture
Is there another brand that will give me the Crisp white look I want without switching the ballast. Most online dealers are using coral life bulbs. Upgrading from 175 5500k to 175 10,000k.

Thanks John

Where did you read that the Ushio 175w 10,000K mogul base lamp "needs" a pluse starter? Did Ushio say that? I'm just curious because, for one thing, Sanjay did not use pulse start ballasts for his tests, he used standard magnetic ballasts except for the HQI ballast that he used to run the double ended lamps.

I have seen one person offer the opinion that Ushio and AB mogul base lamps last longer on pulse start ballasts but I have not been able to verify than in anything put out by the manufacturers. As you probably already know, many different brands of 175w 10,000K mogul base lamps are manufactured at the same BLV plant just outside of Munich that is owned by Ushio and I have not seen anything from any of those brands that specifies a pulse start ballast. If it is true that they do require such a ballast, it would be nice if the various vendors would say so.

The only thing that I remember seeing from any of the online vendors is that both the 250w and 400w 20,000K Radium mogul base lamps require "an HQI ballast." Marine Depot claims that it was their experience that the AB 10,000K mogul base lamps did not do well on regular ballasts and that for that reason they stopped carrying them. I don't believe I have ever seen anything to the effect that the Ushio 175w 10,000K mogul base lamp will not perform well on a regular ballast. This lamp is marketed as Ushio, BLV, Red Sea, Hamilton and at least one more brand name that I can never seem to remember.

P.S. -- I did a little digging and besides the one source that I know of who says that the Ushio and AB lamps should be run on an igniter ballast, I found another source who claims that the standard M57, M58 and M59 ballasts are "not the optimal ballast" for the 175w, 250w and 400w Ushio 10,000K mogul base lamps: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/jg/

That's strange, because those are the ballasts listed on Ushio's website as the recommended ballasts. So either the manufacturer's website is not up to date or something's wrong here. Just for kicks, I also checked out Red Sea's website and it looks like they're no longer pushing 175w 10,000K mogul base lamps but Hamilton still has them.

[organicreefer]

ushio lamps will sometimes have issues firng on a normal ballast for the first few days -they will fire -go out -then fire again a few minutes later and work fine..after a few days of this they will start to fire the first time everytime and work fine.

pulse starts will supposedly make them last a little longer -but most people report that ushio175w 10k bulbs last about a year on a regualr ballast-i used them for slightly over that with very little noticeable drop off in intensity.

id go with the ushio's if i were you-i used them for a couple years and imo they are probably the best bulb available in that wattage-par and looks are both excellent.

[EMS503]

The information on needing pulse starters came from An online dealer called Hellolights. Below is what I was able to copy and paste from their page. After re reading it I was wrong in it not working just suggests using one for the below reasons. But if everybody here say's they have used or know someone who has used these on a regular ballast I will go with it.

John


Price: $65.00



Description

Item Code: 21-5000761


* Made In Germany.
* 10,000K Color Temperature.
* Mogul Base.
* Crisp White.
* Ushio Brand.
* We highly recommend a Pulse Start (ANSI M137) ballast for this lamp.
An ANSI M57 ballast may not start the lamp or burn it properly.


***FAQ:
Q. Why do you suggest a "pulse start" ballast for this bulb?
A. We recommend the use of a 175W pulse start ballasts (ANSI M137) for this lamp because they provide a higher starting voltage and use an igniter to assure lamp starting. It is our experience that M57 ballasts can have problems with these bulbs flickering, not starting and/or being unable to keep the lamp fired (ie. it will go out after a while).

[PerryinCA]

The pulse start is indeed recommended for the Ushio and AB 175w lamps. I have confirmed this with both companies.

-Perry