About to order -- Last minute comments/advice?

[golfish]

Rob,
Sorry, I got a little off track there. I don't like to comment too much on things I don't use (250 watt Iwasaki's) But I have seen then on a tank ran by an IC ballast on one side and a standard PFO ballast on the other. The PFO side was brighter then the IC side. I have also seen them ran on a PFO (EYE) ballast but not side by side. I would say the standard ballast was a tiny bit whiter then the EYE (MV) ballast. I think in Sanjay's report he said the standard ballast drove the iwasaki better as far as Par goes, I'm not sure what he said about color....


Paul,
I reread the link at RC you posted. Tell me what you got out of that thread. Was there ANYBODY posting on that thread who uses HQI's?

I did this after I reaschered the UV issue over at RC. Have you read that thread? The real issue IMO is splash from the tank water and Not the UV.

This is what Eric said not Sanjay. It also seemed to me he (Eric) was guessing.....did you read Sanjay's reply?

Mark

[Ironreef]

fwiw I've heard alot of complaints with hqi double end =pendant = poor spread. But not about hqi ballast only double end bulbs. Also UV protection is only needed for double end some may want more but.....mogul bulbs have that outer shield. I'm an Iwaski user but if my coral can't tell the diff and the growth rate is the same i might just as well use usio. 2 bulbs only cost @$40 more and look alot better. I'm hoping for more growth. But then why do all(some) the coral farmers like Doc mac use 20k. they grow alot of frags not just a few. Anyway ppl can debate forever one lighting I feel if you get a standard ballast you can keep up with the trends. FWIW I no a guy who has a tank full of pociporia (sp) Has 6 40w no bulbs and props it like crazy. I put it in my tank with halides and vho after 2 mo the color barely changed. From brown with green tint to light brown with pink tint. Go figure.. I was expecting a big change.

[JG]

Yeah, I switched from 250w HQI's to 400w Radiums. Truthfully, the light spread sucked on the HQI's. I thought the light was nice looking though, but I didn't want to raise the HQI's a foot above the tank to optimize the light spread.

After going to the 400w Radiums, I don't think I'll go back to anything else. At first they were very blue, but about 10 days later they burned in nice to a nice ice-white color. They're not the most intense bulb out there, but they get the job done. I'm starting to believe that PAR isn't everything when it comes to lighting.

[golfish]

Hey John, I find that my mini pendants are real good on heat, They don't produce near the heat that the 400 watt Iwasaki does. Do you get a lot more heat from the 20k's compared to the double ended 250's........

PS...I just swapped out my Panisonic blue PC's for the Lampsnow 03 bulbs......hmmmmmmmmm, I don't have anything good to say about them yet. Lets see how they look when the MH's go off.

Mark

[JG]

These 400w Radiums put off a lot of heat. A good amount more then the HQI's. I can't even work inside the tank (arranging frags or whatever) when the MH's are on...just too hot.

I had to add two 4" fans to my sump to keep my water temp at about 81-84.5 degrees.

[Ironreef]

all the 400w I've seen all seem to be alot hotter than 250w. I would like to belive ...its because they are 400w. I'm thinking par isn't as big as it seems. all the corals farmer use 20k. alantisis tank has the same growth with hqi and iwaski same tank. or sump. I will see for myself. iwaski is a good deal on $$ you save alot if you are using actinic to offset

[Ltspd]

Rob, I too am sorry for getting off track, just enjoying the debate.

Originally posted by golfish


This is what Eric said not Sanjay. It also seemed to me he (Eric) was guessing.....did you read Sanjay's reply?

Mark

Yes, it was all assumptions on UV. He could not and did not test for it and planely states that.

Did you read my reply in regards to the "special" glass used in the fixture that Ninong owns. The Schott Durax. I contacted Schott company's US office in NY. I spoke with the product engineer to great lengths. The stuff is regular tempared glass with no special UV properties. They do make other products that reduce UV but that glass is not used in the fixtures. I would tend to think that aqualine buske would have researched this issue to great lenghts, they would be held liable for their product correct? Did you see where I spoke with the product manager of USHIO's aquarium bulbs? And his reply was that there was not a special coating on their bulbs? The borasillicate from what I understand is a dip the glass is subjected to and that reduces some UV rays.

This is why I drew MY assumption that the sheild is more for spalsh protection due to the higher heat. The inside of your Iwasaki's burn as hot, the outer casing provides air space to cool it down some.

I was and still am very intrested in the UV of
all bulbs. That is why I went to the trouble of contacting and researching what is being used and what properties it has, along with alternatives. I wish someone would actually do a UV test on all bulbs so we would all know. Sanjay hasnt, I wish he would. If I knew the type of test equipment required and had access to it I would perform the tests, on all the bulbs I could get my hands on. Until then I will have to base my conclusions on what the big boys do.