Back to halides?

[minus9]

Yeah there was 6 lights on that little tank. This was a 48x24x15" tank. Basically a 120g cut shallow. I used the Reefbrite hybrid 36" fixture with 2 x 250w 14k hamilton lamps and the xho strips. Color and growth were incredible. Nice dense and thick tissue. I hope to get back to this level of health in my current tank sometime. I feel that 36" hybrid easily could have lit a tank closer to 5' very well for sps. Just 2 CPU fans kept the tank within 2-3 degrees but I do have central air. Which is the same as it was with the 3) xr30 g5 blues I ran prior to this on the tank. The reefrite fixture is truly awesome in the fact that it is warm to the touch. I'd keep my reef shades on top where I think other pendants might melt them.

Hopefully I can get your fixture back to you soon. Maybe you can retro fit two Quanta Pro meso blues instead of the RB xho's?

 

[Syntax1235]

What ballast do you run?

The Reef Brite 250 watt Ballast

 

[xtian]

The Reef Brite 250 watt Ballast

Haven't used that one but I had issues with a coralvue luxcore 150-250 e ballast causing sporadic temp and ph readings - Apex classic.

 

[Superlightman]

Here in Europe this brand were not very famous,we used arcadia,lumivie,giesemann,aquamedic,osram,blv.
Just checked the price,they are way more expensive now than when they were famous..not sure here it is still worth for the price. 169€ for one 150-250 bulb!

 

[A. grandis]

Here in Europe this brand were not very famous,we used arcadia,lumivie,giesemann,aquamedic,osram,blv.
Just checked the price,they are way more expensive now than when they were famous..not sure here it is still worth for the price. 169€ for one 150-250 bulb!

Every day we hear of more people going back to halides. That's why they are charging the higher price now. It's actually what it should cost today. They were inexpensive when the demand was very low in the beginning of the LED fever. There is no other lightning technology that beats halides' qualities. They are finally coming back to life in this hobby.

 

[A. grandis]

could this japanese led be a true halides alternative, the spectrum seems great?

SPECTRA SP200｜BlueHarbor

Reef Depth Spectrum Reproduction Coral Grower LED Light to meet the rigorous demands of aquarium facilities and research facilities.

www.blueharbor.co.jp

Depends on what 'alternative" means to you in your sentence. If it means "as a possibility" any reef lighting will do. I mean, you can keep corals alive with basically any reef lighting in existence.
There are no LEDs that can actually substitute metal halides. They are just 2 different technologies and will give you different results because of the many differences in qualities. Please remember that those qualities aren't only related to what you see in appearance (Kessils). Halides are still the king of reef lighting if you want to approach the resemblance of natural sunlight IMHO!

 

[A. grandis]

How long do you think you can run halides at a minimum? I want to try it. Would 15 mins per day be beneficial? 30 mins?

You don't have to be afraid of halides and use it as a supplemental light. It is the primary source of light for any system and you can have the LEDs for supplementation, if you want. You won't actually need those LEDs if you use the halides from 5 to 8 hours a day, depending on your system. Adapt the corals slowly to the halides and enjoy the most powerful yet safe reef lighting ever existed in this planet! Your corals will love you forever!

 

[A. grandis]

PETER ERC - notice any growth differences ?

The whole system will react to a great vibrant system under halides after a while. It takes time for the corals to adapt. Yes, the growth will be amazing!

 

[njreefkeeper]

radiums changed how they make them the new style will not last long being overdriven on hqi ballasts.
i still have 36 400 watt old style bulbs left, and a bunch of pfo ballast, however i started converting my tanks to led last year because bulb choices stink. If anyone knows of a newer bulb that runs well overdriven please share.

The Radium 250 has been and still is meant to be driven on an m80 ballast. It actually is meant to be driven at 330 watts. That hasn’t changed.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Plus most hardcore radium guys I know change their 250s out no more than a year in and the 400s sooner. I never worried about how long they last, I have not had any of them die on me or loose any strength. The look of them on a proper ballast is almost perfect for my taste as well.
I hope more people start to experiment with the simplicity of a quality mh setup.

 

[JCOLE]

I have 4 400w Hamilton Bali fixtures with Radiums going on my upcoming peninsula build. Hopefully I will have then fired up within a month.

 

[JCOLE]

I have 4 400w Hamilton Bali fixtures with Radiums going on my upcoming peninsula build. Hopefully I will have then fired up within a month.

I meant today, not a month I couldn't resist after posting. This is just a test as 4 pendants are going in a canopy with T5's. The Radiums sure look good by themselves though!

 

[A. grandis]

radiums changed how they make them the new style will not last long being overdriven on hqi ballasts.
i still have 36 400 watt old style bulbs left, and a bunch of pfo ballast, however i started converting my tanks to led last year because bulb choices stink. If anyone knows of a newer bulb that runs well overdriven please share.

The Radium 250 has been and still is meant to be driven on an m80 ballast. It actually is meant to be driven at 330 watts. That hasn’t changed.

Yes, the Radium bulbs had a little bit of a change in their composition, but that didn't change anything in how the bulb should run.
The overdrive using the 250W Radium is actually the normal wattage the bulb should operate (~270W). We call overdrive because our mind is set on "250W". It is still recommended to be used with the M80.

The "Radium 400W" will be at "it's best", for the lack of production of the old PFO ballasts, as an alternative, when used with selectable electronic ballasts on the "HQI" or "Super Lumens" settings. The PFO ballast and the other magnetic HQI ballasts back in the day were not the same. The old PFO ballast used to run at ~470W and the electronic ballast we have today on "HQI" or "Super Lumens" run it at ~450W.

 

[A. grandis]

I meant today, not a month I couldn't resist after posting. This is just a test as 4 pendants are going in a canopy with T5's. The Radiums sure look good by themselves though!

Looking great!!!

 

[Smite]

Hopefully I can get your fixture back to you soon. Maybe you can retro fit two Quanta Pro meso blues instead of the RB xho's?

I'd love to buy it back once you're done with it.

I was thinking of retro fitting my current Quanta OG Pops in there to see how they work along side the XHO? I'm still torn on which ones I like better. I know quanta has the punch but I feel like the xho had great color. That could have just been the difference in health of my last system though, looking better overall.

 

[minus9]

I'd love to buy it back once you're done with it.

I was thinking of retro fitting my current Quanta OG Pops in there to see how they work along side the XHO? I'm still torn on which ones I like better. I know quanta has the punch but I feel like the xho had great color. That could have just been the difference in health of my last system though, looking better overall.

The meso blue is more akin to the blue + bulb, which is why I went with it paired with the 14k’s, but I think your right to add the xho’s with the OG pop. It’s kinda like adding Orpheks to xho’s, which is what I had for a short period of time. Hopefully I’ll have the fixture ready for you very soon.

 

[Smite]

The meso blue is more akin to the blue + bulb, which is why I went with it paired with the 14k’s, but I think your right to add the xho’s with the OG pop. It’s kinda like adding Orpheks to xho’s, which is what I had for a short period of time. Hopefully I’ll have the fixture ready for you very soon.

Nice! Looking forward to seeing the tank once you swap over, gonna be awesome

 

[Backreefing]

These days the people I see look at me funny ? Metal halides? All kinds of fairy tales, they’ll start a fire in the house , or they’ll heat up the aquarium way to much, or you can’t get bulbs anymore. Or they use so much more electricity . All these fairytales . LEDs everywhere . Metal halides are the best always have been probably always will to . As far as color, I love DE Phoenix bulbs . They are just right.

 

[A. grandis]

These days the people I see look at me funny ? Metal halides? All kinds of fairy tales, they’ll start a fire in the house , or they’ll heat up the aquarium way to much, or you can’t get bulbs anymore. Or they use so much more electricity . All these fairytales . LEDs everywhere . Metal halides are the best always have been probably always will to . As far as color, I love DE Phoenix bulbs . They are just right.

The market is very aggressive towards their wish/dream to kill halides forever, the KING of reef lights! The people sponsored by LED companies take that sword and follow those companies' ideology as it is the most important thing for their souls! The stores want to make the huge extra profit, selling those LEDs' upgrades instead selling a single halide system that will last longer than anyone of us humans on this Earth. They get fixtures cheaper to use in their stores and promote/sell them. Those who invested $o much money on their LED$ will also defend their investment$ with a very recognizable confirmation bias... the normal reaction for the majority, as we know.
Those fairy tales are just the new language taught and passed on by all those people that will try to put halides down in order to try to enthrone those LEDs. They forget that the KING's intensity and spectrum are powerful and overrules big time with practical results.

 

[Biologic]

These days the people I see look at me funny ? Metal halides? All kinds of fairy tales, they’ll start a fire in the house , or they’ll heat up the aquarium way to much, or you can’t get bulbs anymore. Or they use so much more electricity . All these fairytales . LEDs everywhere . Metal halides are the best always have been probably always will to . As far as color, I love DE Phoenix bulbs . They are just right.

I am a time capsule from that time. I got out of the hobby in 2008 and officially came back in 2020. What heated up water was Iwaki and BlueLine Pumps on close loops. Halides did contribute but were not the sole provider of heat in the aquarium.