HQI Ballast??

[N3m0]

I need help because I just bought 2 150watts 20K bulbs I was gonna setup my own hood, but i dont know what to do

I was looking on the internet and came across ballasts and was wondering if im gonna need it to run the bulbs. If so whats the purpose of the ballasts and why are they soo expensive? Is there a place where i can get one cheap? Also what kind of socket will i need i think i have a double ended bulb.

PLEASE HELP

[scubadude]

Hi N3m0

Welcome to Reefland!

I have a 29 Hex that I just did a 150w HQI setup on and I was very tight on my budget so I had to do it on a shoestring budget. With that said I looked around all over the web and eventually found a new IceCap 150HQI ballast for $75 that a guy bought some and decided he didnt need them after all. That was a real good find IMO. You can probably find single HQI ballast for about $110-130 brand new and then you have to buy the pendant or mount it into your canopy. Now here comes the problem with HQI you absolutely have to keep air from blowing directly on them or else it affects coloration and possibly the life of the bulb. So you must keep them in an enclosure with a tempered glass shield and it must be UV filtering (tempered glass works fine) the enclosure must be well ventilated and NOT bottleneck your aquarium ventilation or you very well may have water heating issues. I hope I didnt open up a can of worms for you on HQI but there really is more than meets the eye with this type of lighting, but well worth it IMO. Look for DUAL ballast for your setup too....I dont think it will be much cheaper but it might be a little nicer to have everything in one contained box (all your ballast?)

[scubadude]

Hey N3m0

Check this out

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/cat...ing/10265.html

Reefgeek is one of our sponsors too...maybe if you mention you are a reefland member you will even get a cheaper price Thats a good price as it is. The problem here is you need to be a little handy w/ electrical...you will have to wire a power source and your bulb and ballast together.

[dougc]

To expand on what Rocky stated,, double-ended bulbs must be enclosed in a fixture to prevent UV exposure. I suppose you could attempt to build your own enclosure, but I have not seen anyone do that with double-ended bulbs. The need for the correct ventilation and UV protection probably makes it more trouble than it is worth. Also important is the need for a properly designed reflector. Without this, much of the light will be lost.

I have ReefOptix III pendants from Sunlight Supply, such as the ones pictured on this page:

http://www.reeftanklighting.com/shop...cts.asp?page=6

PFO makes a similar mini-pendant that is in the same price range (about $100).

Unless you get a ballast from the same manufacturer as the pendant, you will have to wire the pendant to the ballast. Both Sunlight and PFO make ballasts, but they are not necessarily the cheapest option. I use IceCap electronic ballasts because they are small, don't generate a tremendous amount of heat, and are backed by stellar service, but you would have to wire them yourself. It is not a difficult task, so don't be afraid to go that route.

Unfortunately, the bulbs, as expensive as they might be, are the tip of the iceburg when it comes to reef-tank lighting.

[yankeebobo]

Or you can get VERY lucky and get a deal on a package. I ended up getting a 58 gal Oceanic tank and stand with a 36" Aqualite Pro setup for about $500 new. I still don't know how that happened.

[N3m0]

Hi N3m0

Welcome to Reefland!

I have a 29 Hex that I just did a 150w HQI setup on and I was very tight on my budget so I had to do it on a shoestring budget. With that said I looked around all over the web and eventually found a new IceCap 150HQI ballast for $75 that a guy bought some and decided he didnt need them after all. That was a real good find IMO. You can probably find single HQI ballast for about $110-130 brand new and then you have to buy the pendant or mount it into your canopy. Now here comes the problem with HQI you absolutely have to keep air from blowing directly on them or else it affects coloration and possibly the life of the bulb. So you must keep them in an enclosure with a tempered glass shield and it must be UV filtering (tempered glass works fine) the enclosure must be well ventilated and NOT bottleneck your aquarium ventilation or you very well may have water heating issues. I hope I didnt open up a can of worms for you on HQI but there really is more than meets the eye with this type of lighting, but well worth it IMO. Look for DUAL ballast for your setup too....I dont think it will be much cheaper but it might be a little nicer to have everything in one contained box (all your ballast?)

Well here's the thing I have a 75gallon tank and im planning to run 2X 55watts actinic and 2X 150watts but some one told me to only put 1X 150watts is that a better idea or not . I also want to know if its possible to light the bulbs without a ballast or is it required.

Thanks For Helping

[yankeebobo]

A basic rule of thumb is that one bulb's intensity covers about 2 feet wide if positioned about 4-5" above the tank/water. So, although you could probably get away with 1 for over lighting (and put low light corals on the ends of your tank), you may be better off planning 2 lights. Maybe someone else will expand on that.

As for the ballast - you'll need that to power the halides.

[scubadude]

Well here's the thing I have a 75gallon tank and im planning to run 2X 55watts actinic and 2X 150watts but some one told me to only put 1X 150watts is that a better idea or not . I also want to know if its possible to light the bulbs without a ballast or is it required.

Thanks For Helping

Well the more light you have over your tank the better....but do you want to run a chiller or do you have one already? If not then you might either want to run just the 2 150HQIs or one HQI and both the PC's. I personally would ditch (actually sell them ) and do only HQI the only real reason you would need the combination of both types of bulbs would be for alot of BLUE coloration in your lighting but if you already got 20k bulbs then you really probably wont even need/want actinics....i dunno its mainly a preference in taste but you dont need that much BLUE coloration, atleast not for your corals. I think it has alot to do with how blue you want your lighting? You CANNOT light the 150HQI bulbs w/out a ballast so give up on that idea The problem with just one 150HQI is that you will have a hotspot....meaning only one spot in the tank with high intensity lighting as the HQI does not have a spread like mogul based bulbs do. Alot of this is assumption still though with many variables still at play

[Reefland]

Hi N3m0,

These guys are awesome aren't they? I have nothing more to add just wanted to welcome you to our site!

[N3m0]

Well the more light you have over your tank the better....but do you want to run a chiller or do you have one already? If not then you might either want to run just the 2 150HQIs or one HQI and both the PC's. I personally would ditch (actually sell them ) and do only HQI the only real reason you would need the combination of both types of bulbs would be for alot of BLUE coloration in your lighting but if you already got 20k bulbs then you really probably wont even need/want actinics....i dunno its mainly a preference in taste but you dont need that much BLUE coloration, atleast not for your corals. I think it has alot to do with how blue you want your lighting? You CANNOT light the 150HQI bulbs w/out a ballast so give up on that idea The problem with just one 150HQI is that you will have a hotspot....meaning only one spot in the tank with high intensity lighting as the HQI does not have a spread like mogul based bulbs do. Alot of this is assumption still though with many variables still at play

Well i guess i will have to buy a ballast . But I was told one HQI 150watts 20k would be able to have light enough to support my corals and clam...... But im not soo positive about that cause I've never ran a HQI buld before. I have always used flourescent before i have a u-tube 96watts actinic and 96watts white buld. The reason why i want to run both kinds of bulb is because I've always liked the blue actinic color of the flourescent U-tube. But again I've never seen a blue HQI before so i guess i wouldnt know what it looks like
Thanks for the help

[N3m0]

Hey N3m0

Check this out

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/cat...ing/10265.html

Reefgeek is one of our sponsors too...maybe if you mention you are a reefland member you will even get a cheaper price Thats a good price as it is. The problem here is you need to be a little handy w/ electrical...you will have to wire a power source and your bulb and ballast together.

If I buy this ballast would it be good enough to light up two HQI 150 watts double ended or will i need to buy another ballast to run a seperate bulb.

[dougc]

You will need a separate ballast for each bulb. There are double ballasts available, but they are basically two ballasts in one enclosure. I'm not sure I like that for the same reason I wouldn't buy a combination TV-VCR. If one component breaks, the whole thing must be serviced or replaced. From what I have seen, double ballasts aren't a whole lot cheaper than two single ballasts.

[N3m0]

Is it ohk to buy a 250watts ballast and use it on a 150watts bulb would that effect anything?

[Reefland]

No that is bad, you cannot over power a bulb with a higher wattage ballast and you cannot run a higher wattage bulb on a lower wattage ballast, the 2 must match. And for the next question, you cannot run 2 bulbs on a single ballast; unless of course the enclosure has 2 ballast which match the wattages of the 2 bulbs.

[N3m0]

No that is bad, you cannot over power a bulb with a higher wattage ballast and you cannot run a higher wattage bulb on a lower wattage ballast, the 2 must match. And for the next question, you cannot run 2 bulbs on a single ballast; unless of course the enclosure has 2 ballast which match the wattages of the 2 bulbs.

MAN I'd thought it would work . Because the bulb watt is smaller then the ballast i thought this would work out....better plan something else up

[Reefland]

Trying to power a bulb with a higher watt ballast is the recipe for disaster! Trying to power a higher watt bulb with a lower watt ballast will never even make the bulb burn.

[yankeebobo]

Unless I'm mistaken - and I'll ask for someone to chime in on this one, the sockets on HQI sockets for the bulb are different depending on the wattage. In other words, 150W HQI bulb for a 150W HQI fixture and reflector.

As for the ballast, having a higher wattage ballast is asking for buckets of trouble. So no - don't do it.

[N3m0]

Hmmmmm 150watts bulb + 250 Watts Ballast= Burning house down Which equals to lifetime of chores :eek3:
Thanks for the help

[yankeebobo]

My delayed reply - that's what I get for having to let the dogs out.

[yankeebobo]

I may have missed it - how big is your tank?
Never mind. I just re-read the postings. Sorry