Comparison - Radium 250/400 - Cozumel Sun / Lumenbright Large / Lumenmax Elite

[gws3]

While trying to decide what lighting to run on my new 300DD build I decided to try different combinations of Radium bulbs and reflectors. For those who have transitioned to LEDs this information may not be too useful, but for those who love Radiums the info below may be very relevant.

I evaluated the following bulbs:

400 W Single Ended Radium 20k (brand new)
250 W Single Ended Radium 20k (purchased from fellow reefer as having only been run for one day)
250 W Single Ended Radium 20k “Old†(previously run for 10 months on Bluewave ballast)

I evaluated the following reflectors:

Cozumel Sun - 0.194†thick glass - 10.5†from glass to water
Lumenbright Large - 0.150†thick glass - 10.5†from glass to water
Lumenmax Elite - 0.125†thick glass - 10.5†from glass to water

I used a Kill-A-Watt meter to measure watts and amps. I also used this to make sure the bulbs were warmed up, after about 5 minutes I made sure the consumption and current were stead. Then I used a Apogee PAR meter to take readings at the following locaitons:

The following readings were taken:

I also set up the DSLR and took some RAW photos. Aperature was set to 8.0, shutter speed 1/50 s, ISO 400.

Lumatek 250SL - Cozumel Sun

Lumatek 250SL - Lumenbright Large

Lumatek 250SL - Lumenmax Elite

Bluewave 7 - Cozumel Sun

Bluewave 7 - Lumenbright Large

Bluewave 7 - Lumenmax Elite

Lumatek 400 - Cozumel Sun

Lumatek 400 - Lumenbright Large

Lumatek 400 - Lumenmax Elite

 

[gws3]

Some side by side comparison for bulb/ballast combos:

Lumatek 250SL:

Bluewave 7:

Lumatek 400:

And now plots of the data:
All Bulbs and Ballasts:

Lumatek 250SL:

Bluewave 7:

Lumatek 400:

Cozumel Sun:

Lumenbright Large:

Lumenmax Elite:

Thoughts:

Bulbs/Ballasts:
The Bluewave 7 and Lumatek set to 250 SL drove the 250w Radium very similarly. The Bluewave magnetic ballast consumed about 30 more watts than the Lumatek, and had a very minor increase in PAR. It seems the electronic ballast is slightly more efficient. The Lumatek set to 400 and driving a 400w Radium was much brighter than the 250w Radium, color was significantly different as well as apparent in the photos.

Reflectors:
As anticipated the Cozumel Sun exhibited the best spread and lowest peaks. More interestingly, the Lumenmax Elite had the most concentrated spot light effect, while the lumenbright large was somewhere in between the two others. The Lumenmax Elite has impressive peaks, but very low par at the bottom of the tank. The Lumenbright Large had moderate peaks, but impressively had just as high par values as the Cozumel Sun at the bottom of the tank.

Build quality of the reflectors varied slightly. The Cozumel Sun had the best build quality and solid feel. It also included the protective glass as well as four adjustable hanging cables. Several of the cable locking mechanisms broke under normal handling, fortunately there are eight included. It had to most adjustability to accommodate the significant size difference between the 250W and 400W bulbs. The Lumenbright large had the second best build quality, and also included the glass shield. It however required modification for the 250W bulb to be centered in the reflector. The Lumenmax Elite had the lightest materials, although fit and finish was acceptable. It does not include the glass shield, which was purchased separately. It did not require modification to center both size bulbs. Neither the Lumenbright Large or Lumenmax Elite included adjustable hanging hardware.


Subjective Thoughts:
Par output from the 250W Radium on Lumatek and Bluewave was very similar. However, light output using the Bluewave was more aesthetically pleasing. With the Lumatek the light was hazy and somewhat artificial, with the Bluewave it appeared more crisp and natural. This was a minor difference, but worth noting.


Conclusion:
For lighting the 300DD, which is 6 feet long and 3 feet wide, I will most likely use Lumenbright Large reflectors coupled with 250W Radium Bulbs driven by Bluewave Ballasts or similar M80 ballasts. Once three lighting sets are mounted, this combination should produce around 200 par at the bottom of the tank with peaks between 400-500 par, which should fit nicely for a SPS dominated tank.

The other combination I found interesting was the 400W radium in the Cozumel Sun. I think this combo could light a 3 foot by 3 foot area adequately, possibly even a 4 foot by 4 foot area. Since I will be using three bulbs over a 6 foot length, I do not need this much spread. It is no wonder that many wholesalers and aquaculture facilities used to use 400W Radiums in Lumenarcs. A 400W Radium in a wide spread reflector can really illuminate a large area rather evenly.

 

[gws3]

Reserved

 

[hybridazn]

Why do you choose to keep the glass shield on during the tests with SE bulbs? Do you feel that by removing the glass that par would possibly be higher?

 

[gws3]

Why do you choose to keep the glass shield on during the tests with SE bulbs? Do you feel that by removing the glass that par would possibly be higher?

I use glass shield on all my reflectors because I hate stains from splashes. I clean the glass every few months and it keeps the reflector looking (and performing) like new. I have measure the difference between shielded/unshielded with a PAR meter previously and the difference was low... around 5% reduction if I recall correctly.

 

[msderganc]

Wow, great analysis. I'm looking at some MHs and this is very helpful.

 

[Mike S]

Very good analysis. Thanks for putting it together. Did you eventually move forward with the 3 x 250 watt radiums and the Cozumel Sun reflectors? My tank is the same size and I made the switch to MH in the spring. I initially went with 3 250 watt radiums and older smaller reflectors before I committed to MH. Been happy with the results so far and just picked up a pair of Cozumel Suns. I'm debating about whether to try to run 2 400 watt radiums or just picked up a third reflector.

 

[TruRacr314x]

Thanks for sharing....that is great info!

 

[Battlecorals]

In my experience the old blue waves drive the radiums the softest. compared to other Ansi m-80s such as the reeflex which is by far the "hottest" and the hamilton even. Aesthetically the reeflex has always been the winner for me. Not exactly sure about the mechanics of it all but its as close to the perfect ballast for radium 250 as we can get i believe. In the end you really can't go wrong with the radium 250 in just about any ballast but the differences are pretty significant when comparing electronics to m-80s.

Cool thread man. nice work!

 

[gws3]

Very good analysis. Thanks for putting it together. Did you eventually move forward with the 3 x 250 watt radiums and the Cozumel Sun reflectors? My tank is the same size and I made the switch to MH in the spring. I initially went with 3 250 watt radiums and older smaller reflectors before I committed to MH. Been happy with the results so far and just picked up a pair of Cozumel Suns. I'm debating about whether to try to run 2 400 watt radiums or just picked up a third reflector.

Thanks & not a problem. I actually ended up with lumenbright large pendants, and run 250w radiums on blue wave on the ends with a 400w radium on a lumatek in the middle. If I were using the Cozumel Suns I would go to the 400 watt radiums for an SPS dominated tank. The Cozumel Suns have great spread, but at the cost of intensity. I think the 250w is not strong enough to cover the spread and still get good par for SPS at all levels of the tank.

In my experience the old blue waves drive the radiums the softest. compared to other Ansi m-80s such as the reeflex which is by far the "hottest" and the hamilton even. Aesthetically the reeflex has always been the winner for me. Not exactly sure about the mechanics of it all but its as close to the perfect ballast for radium 250 as we can get i believe. In the end you really can't go wrong with the radium 250 in just about any ballast but the differences are pretty significant when comparing electronics to m-80s.

Cool thread man. nice work!

I can't comment on other magnetic ballasts, as I've never owned any. Own plenty of old blue wave 3 and 7's though. I stick with them since I've always been pleased with the combo. 250 on electronic looked a little off to me, but 400 on electronic looks good. I ran the 400w on the electronic ballast for a week or two, and it ended up looking much closer in color to the 250w on magnetic ballast once broken in.