Hamilton 250W 14,000K HQI Metal Halide Bulb, Double Ended

[CayeCaulker]

There has to be a way to get these without paying $60 each.
This is the bulb I want.

Isn't there someone selling these rebranded? Does someone else sell the same bulb under a different name?


This was a interesting comparison which included the plusrite 14,000 lamp. Those are so cheap. I can get 250w 14,000 for $12 ea and toss them every 6 months! I could buy two cases and I would have a 6 year supply. 4 cases and have a 12 year supply. I know the article was written for 400w but I would this should fall over to the 250's as well. I may just buy a few and take some measurements and see.

400W SE MH Bulbs

I've been struggling with the bulb choices for a couple of months now. I have three newer IceCap 400W ballasts with SE Lumenbright pendants. I've run the Radiums in the past and while I like them, they are just a little bit too blue for me. Actually I think they make the colors pop just a little ...

wamas.org

 

[jda]

You want to end-around a US company that develops and supports the hobby and specifically all of us that still use mercury based setups to save a few bucks? If you do, don't complain if they ever go out of business.

If you buy a case of Plusrite bulbs, it will be somewhat costly when you throw most of them away. Each of those bulbs could have a different color and output from batch to batch. Ask yourself: if they have been around for fifteen years and were any good, why are they not a huge commodity that people talk well about? Instead, you just see posts like this, or the one that you linked, where people are just starting to use them only for the cost. Do you think that it is reasonable that you stumbled onto something that nobody else knows about or posts about?

 

[CayeCaulker]

You want to end-around a US company that develops and supports the hobby and specifically all of us that still use mercury based setups to save a few bucks? If you do, don't complain if they ever go out of business.

If you buy a case of Plusrite bulbs, it will be somewhat costly when you throw most of them away. Each of those bulbs could have a different color and output from batch to batch. Ask yourself: if they have been around for fifteen years and were any good, why are they not a huge commodity that people talk well about? Instead, you just see posts like this, or the one that you linked, where people are just starting to use them only for the cost. Do you think that it is reasonable that you stumbled onto something that nobody else knows about or posts about?

I honestly don't expect any metal halide supplier to survive more than 10 years. I want to stock a 10 year supply with this new setup. Didn't mean to hit a nerve. Do you really think that metal halide will make it that long?

 

[jda]

Search around. I cannot type on this any more. There have been more new significant developments with MH in the last few years than there is with LEDs.

Read up on the PEC case - they make Phoenix 14k. They stopped making their very good MH bulb in Japan in about 2015 and started again after super high demand for general lighting and aquarium - they misread the market. Since then, the shortcomings of other types of light have been better understood and usage is up.

If MH does cease to exist in ten years, it won't be because of anything that we know right now... but aliens could come with some new tech, or the hobby could get banned in it's entirety.

If you want MH to stick around, support a company like Hamilton who puts research, time and energy into what they do - and they are a US based company, for those where that means something.

 

[CayeCaulker]

I totally see your point in supporting Hamilton. However I don't trust them to be around and will still purchase a 10 year supply. I will probably just take some measurements over time to determine the life of the lamp and then order what I need.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

Ya im just playing with leds now on one new tank , They have come along way but there is still going to be halide and halide/led grow users. Not sure if the electric lettuce market supports halides still or have they gone led, that might be a factor as more states are legalizing .

 

[A. grandis]

I totally see your point in supporting Hamilton. However I don't trust them to be around and will still purchase a 10 year supply. I will probably just take some measurements over time to determine the life of the lamp and then order what I need.

Do you trust that you will be alive in 10 years?
Only God knows.
If Hamilton survived so well until this date proving it's superb customer service and with good quality and production, it will most likely be on business for more than 10 years from now. But anything can happen.
Do you trust every LED company to be in business in 10 years?
Only God knows.
Supporting those who work for the hobby is the way to go IMO. ReefBrite is another company in that direction in terms of metal halide gear.

 

[jda]

Even if you want to purchase a 10 year supply, why now? Wait until the day comes. There could be bulbs with 5 year lifespan by then, or some with even less heat.

At least be smart a use a bulb for a full life-cycle before you buy a whole bunch of them.

 

[CayeCaulker]

Physics is physics and metal halide is metal halide. It's not going to change without a major investment in new ballasts with lamps or some other wild thing anyway. LED's just don't quite cut it yet. In the past 15 years I don't see any changes in metal halide technology.

I will monitor a set of lamps and figure out the life cycle. I can usually tell by just paying attention to the coral that something is drifting away. Physical inspection of the envelope is also a give away.

Would be nice if they had magnetron electrodeless metal halide lamps. They have them for UV. There was some research and development in that area but LED came along and nobody is going to develop them for this small market hobby.. They never wear out. Microwave UV tubes will outlast anything and magnetrons last for years and years. There is no reason they can't make a 14k metal halide burn the same way. It is the electrode poisoning that kills them.

I was looking at buying several Kessil lamps and hitting the tank from all different angles but by the time I pay for all that I am still just trying to get to where metal halide already is.

I want the shimmer, I want the growth and I don't want the shadows with the disco effect. Bottom line is metal halide is not matched at this point and time. It has been 15 years and I was hoping I could go LED this time. . So it's chiller time and lamp changes for me.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

I’ve alway been a fan of Hamilton 10 k bulbs. I like the crisp white, I just ordered some of their 14 k. I can only hope they will be available for years to come. I tried LEDs and just never really like them . I had good results using LEDs but I will use MH as long as they are making the bulbs.

 

[oreo54]

Physics is physics and metal halide is metal halide. It's not going to change without a major investment in new ballasts with lamps or some other wild thing anyway. LED's just don't quite cut it yet. In the past 15 years I don't see any changes in metal halide technology.

315W ceramic metal halides were the "big" upgrade. Unfortunately not salted in reef versions..
They now have their own competition..

As reported by LEDs Magazine in June 2014, Lumileds’ CrispWhite technology made its “soft” debut at Light+Building that year; new COB LEDs actually launched later that summer. Designed to mimic the spectral power distribution (SPD) of the ceramic metal-halide (CMH) lamp — most popular in high-end retail settings — the device mixes blue-pump emitters with deep-blue chips for peaks at 410 and 460 nm. The 410-nm wavelength is responsible for the more brilliant white rendering.

 

[AquaLogic]

You want to end-around a US company that develops and supports the hobby and specifically all of us that still use mercury based setups to save a few bucks? If you do, don't complain if they ever go out of business.

If you buy a case of Plusrite bulbs, it will be somewhat costly when you throw most of them away. Each of those bulbs could have a different color and output from batch to batch. Ask yourself: if they have been around for fifteen years and were any good, why are they not a huge commodity that people talk well about? Instead, you just see posts like this, or the one that you linked, where people are just starting to use them only for the cost. Do you think that it is reasonable that you stumbled onto something that nobody else knows about or posts about?

Is Hamilton still in business? There site no longer offers any fixtures or lighting products other than t5.. just a few mh bulbs. Do they only make bulbs now? They also only seem to offer a 150w and 175w. No ballasts.

You replied to me in my thread about Kessil, and I guess I didn't think MH was still an option. Is it still viable to setup MH?

 

[jda]

Hamilton is supposed to be in development of new fixtures. Have not seen them. They are making new bulbs. Reefbrite has fixtures and a new run of bulbs in stock. I did not suggest MH over a small tank in your other thread, but many run MH over larger tanks since they have not found a substitute that they like.

 

[A. grandis]

The last time I spoke with Hamilton they backed up to make new fixtures and ballasts. They said the only thing they are willing to produce for now are the bulbs. They backed up claiming they still don't see enough demand for the investment for fixtures. I told them there is no way the market would grow selling only the lamps. We need fixtures, ballasts, parts and lamps to be able to keep up with future demand and get back to normal with halides. Then this new generation will engage and be able to buy their new shiny toys and testify the great results of halides! I told them they need to invest in a recycle program for the lamps and in advertisement too, like before, to be successful again.

 

[AquaLogic]

The last time I spoke with Hamilton they backed up to make new fixtures and ballasts. They said the only thing they are willing to produce for now are the bulbs. They backed up claiming they still don't see enough demand for the investment for fixtures. I told them there is no way the market would grow selling only the lamps. We need fixtures, ballasts, parts and lamps to be able to keep up with future demand and get back to normal with halides. Then this new generation will engage and be able to buy their new shiny toys and testify the great results of halides! I told them they need to invest in a recycle program for the lamps and in advertisement too, like before, to be successful again.

That’s very disappointing to hear. So at this point the only option is Reef Brite?

 

[jda]

Giesemann is selling fixtures out of Germany.

 

[A. grandis]

That’s very disappointing to hear. So at this point the only option is Reef Brite?

Yeah, ReefBrite and Gisemann. I spoke with Giesemann 3 months ago and they are still sending the Spectra overseas. The Spectra is overall the best compacted halide/T5 systems ever made that I tried!!!! People should be very happy they are still available to US. It's pricey, but quality comes with a tag and will last forever! It's a passive cooling systems, which means no fans. The distribution of the halide reflector is amazing for the size of the reflector, and the T5s are still present in the fixture. Not optimal for the T5 aspect, due to passive cooling IMO, but still better than without it. Because it's a mogul system we can use either 175W, 250W and 400W, giving a relatively wide range of applications. I consider halide/T5 the very best we can offer to any reef tank!!! If people knew how good the Spectra is they would get it without any doubt! Specially with the situation we are right now. I've never tried any ReefBrite gear yet.