Radium metal halide bulbs will not be produced anymore!

[A. grandis]

I just got an official email from my friends in Germany at the Radium factory saying that both Radium bulbs (250W and 400W) will not be in production anymore! This is very bad news for those who have been using them for such a long time! Radium bulbs were the best sellers for so many years! When used with the right ballast they produce one of the most spectacular and unique spectrum over any tank! One more way to regress in this hobby is to loose the opportunity of choice! The fact that many vendors have eliminated metal halide gear from their stock/website have contributed to a diminished number of lamps to be sold. Without gear new hobbyists naturally won't be able to try those lamps and with the number of hobbyists growing every day having to choose LEDs, the number of bulbs per percentage of sale will drop accordingly. A very nice market strategy to get rid of the metal halides as a whole. The qualities of the lamp are still the best for many applications, but Radium claims there was a significant "drop in sales".

 

[piranhaman00]

Unfortunately, this is the way of the future, not just reef lighting.

 

[Troylee]

It’s gonna be impossible to find them in a week as everyone is gonna stock up..

 

[revhtree]

Those were some of the best bulbs by far!

 

[Battlecorals]

I just got an official email from my friends in Germany at the Radium factory saying that both Radium bulbs (250W and 400W) will not be in production anymore! This is very bad news for those who have been using them for such a long time! Radium bulbs were the best sellers for so many years! When used with the right ballast they produce one of the most spectacular and unique spectrum over any tank! One more way to regress in this hobby is to loose the opportunity of choice! The fact that many vendors have eliminated metal halide gear from their stock/website have contributed to a diminished number of lamps to be sold. Without gear new hobbyists naturally won't be able to try those lamps and with the number of hobbyists growing every day having to choose LEDs, the number of bulbs per percentage of sale will drop accordingly. A very nice market strategy to get rid of the metal halides as a whole. The qualities of the lamp are still the best for many applications, but Radium claims there was a significant "drop in sales".

End of an era man. What can you do. I’d figured I’d wind up going with radium’s when my iwasak stash is gone lol. That will probably be it for me and halides. I’ve got another 5-6 years of sakis left at most. After that…

 

[xabo]

I just got an official email from my friends in Germany at the Radium factory saying that both Radium bulbs (250W and 400W) will not be in production anymore! This is very bad news for those who have been using them for such a long time! Radium bulbs were the best sellers for so many years! When used with the right ballast they produce one of the most spectacular and unique spectrum over any tank! One more way to regress in this hobby is to loose the opportunity of choice! The fact that many vendors have eliminated metal halide gear from their stock/website have contributed to a diminished number of lamps to be sold. Without gear new hobbyists naturally won't be able to try those lamps and with the number of hobbyists growing every day having to choose LEDs, the number of bulbs per percentage of sale will drop accordingly. A very nice market strategy to get rid of the metal halides as a whole. The qualities of the lamp are still the best for many applications, but Radium claims there was a significant "drop in sales".

This was being foretold in this Forum for at least the past Two (2) years.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Come on China ! Produce a knock off … someone

 

[jda]

I am not doubting this, but we have heard these things before. Phoenix stopped making bulbs... and they make them again. UVL was supposed to stop making VHO bulbs more than a decade ago and they still make them. So far, everything that we have seen are companies going out of business or retiring, which are legit reasons to stop making things. This seems like it will settle out with both Ushio and Radium supposedly calling it quits - seems like somebody will want the other's market share... or there is a miscommunication or something.

I guess that Giesemann can pick up this slack, if nothing else.

 

[Bpb]

Come on China ! Produce a knock off … someone

They have. It’s called the Hamilton 20,000k

 

[Gumbies R Us]

This is a bummer for everyone that uses them!

 

[zoomonster]

I still prefer MH but due to a variety of issues mostly related to electric and heat I went to Kessils then G5's. If nothing else maybe this will finally end the decade+ long argument of MH vs. LED . On a positive note, I was talking to Champion at RAP and it was mentioned they still have a good supply of MH bulbs which I got the impression they were trying to get rid of.

 

[Troylee]

I’ll use them till I can’t find a single bulb lol.. radions will always be supplements at their price haha!

 

[LeDart]

This is truly the end of an era for reefing, what a sad day.

 

[minus9]

Yeah, it definitely sucks, but there are other options out there still. I'm using some Chinese branded bulbs and they're doing a great job of keeping my animals healthy and happy for a lot cheaper price, so not all is lost. I have a gut feeling that Hamilton is next, because they've been out of bulbs forever and each time they say the next shipment is coming it gets pushed back, so who knows? Reef Brite has a warehouse of bulbs, so there are still bulbs out there, just not Radiums.

 

[jda]

I asked our German to call them and chat. I got a bit of a different story, although second hand through her. Whom at Radium gave this news? If this news is official, can we see the email?

 

[SpSDrew]

I asked our German to call them and chat. I got a bit of a different story, although second hand through her. Whom at Radium gave this news? If this news is official, can we see the email?

Its on their website. The bulbs are listed as phase out.

Ushio is the same. They are limited to the stock on hand (which was very limited) and no more will be produced. I picked up a case from Ushio so hopefully I'll have enough for the next 5 ish years. After that Ill change to reefbreeders or something new then.

 

[jda]

I asked her to ask them if they were going to stop making bulbs. They said no. There is some language barrier and she knows nothing about reefing. I send her more questions to ask, but it takes overnight to know anything. They phased out bulbs twice since 2000 and made new formulas - once was well known when they started to exploded on the son-agro ballasts after a reformulation. Some are reformulating with less mercury and IR, or changing manufacturing factories since none of them make their own bulbs... so new product numbers and all of that.

This is why I want to see the official communication.

This could be the end of Radium bulbs in all cases, but might be smart not to be hasty.

 

[jda]

I will also remind folks that many reefing companies, and good companies, were lost during the last economic downturn. We are likely facing an economic downturn soon. It is a good idea to plan ahead for these things, even beyond lights.

If a company abandons their patent or formula, then even honest Chinese company can make the product. We saw this after the last downturn, but many likely were not even in the hobby then.

If you don't over drive them, you can use those Ushios for 2 years... or at least 18 months.

 

[A. grandis]

The emails:
May 11, 2023:
"
yes right, this type will discontinue, stock remainder are reserved for our partner,

please contact him:

Hamilton Technology

Los Angeles Office

14902 S. Figueroa Street

Gardena, CA 90248

www.hamiltontechnology.com

Phone: 310-217-0036

Fax: 310-217-8821

Best regards / Meilleures Salutations / Mit freundlichen Grüßen


Holger Gödtke"

Then I also asked them about the 400W bulbs...

May 15, 2023:

"Dear Alex:

sorry for the delay of our response ...

You are right - both lamps (250 and 400W Blue) were phased out. Unfortunately there will not be a successor as the demand for these lamps has dropped down considerably throughout the last years. At the moment we could offer you only some remaining HRI-T400W Blue..., the 250W version is already sold out.

rds.



Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Sascha Hiller

Radium Lampenwerk GmbH

BU-TECH

Dr.-Eugen-Kersting-Straße 6"



Website:

32416552 | Metal halide lamp with quartz burner , HRI-T 250W/230/B/E40 | Radium.de

Compact metal halide lamp with quartz burner, tubular bulb clear, blue light, base E40. Operation in enclosed luminaire, with ballast and ignitor.

www.radium.de

I specifically asked about the aquarium blue lamps and contacted them twice.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I’ll use them till I can’t find a single bulb lol.. radions will always be supplements at their price haha!

The emails:
May 11, 2023:
"
yes right, this type will discontinue, stock remainder are reserved for our partner,

please contact him:

Hamilton Technology

Los Angeles Office

14902 S. Figueroa Street

Gardena, CA 90248

www.hamiltontechnology.com

Phone: 310-217-0036

Fax: 310-217-8821

Best regards / Meilleures Salutations / Mit freundlichen Grüßen


Holger Gödtke"

Then I also asked them about the 400W bulbs...

May 15, 2023:

"Dear Alex:

sorry for the delay of our response ...

You are right - both lamps (250 and 400W Blue) were phased out. Unfortunately there will not be a successor as the demand for these lamps has dropped down considerably throughout the last years. At the moment we could offer you only some remaining HRI-T400W Blue..., the 250W version is already sold out.

rds.



Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Sascha Hiller

Radium Lampenwerk GmbH

BU-TECH

Dr.-Eugen-Kersting-Straße 6"



Website:

32416552 | Metal halide lamp with quartz burner , HRI-T 250W/230/B/E40 | Radium.de

Compact metal halide lamp with quartz burner, tubular bulb clear, blue light, base E40. Operation in enclosed luminaire, with ballast and ignitor.

www.radium.de

I specifically asked about the aquarium blue lamps and contacted them twice.

I will also remind folks that many reefing companies, and good companies, were lost during the last economic downturn. We are likely facing an economic downturn soon. It is a good idea to plan ahead for these things, even beyond lights.

If a company abandons their patent or formula, then even honest Chinese company can make the product. We saw this after the last downturn, but many likely were not even in the hobby then.

If you don't over drive them, you can use those Ushios for 2 years... or at least 18 months.

what does 10k metal halide look like?

I am bulk ordering 14k Hamilton but can’t find any. They have 10k 250w available