Does a dimmable MH ballast exist?

[monty]

This would be a neat way to simulate clouds, etc...especially if they were able to be run off of some kind of programmed controller. anyone ever see this?

[oscar.millan]

They do exists, but you can't dim it in the same way you can LED for example. Additionally from the reading I've done, dimming also seems to affect bulb life.

[monty]

ahhh, gotcha. That makes sense...just by watching a MH bulb fire up, its hard to picture dimming one easily

[dpham]

yea they dont do the same like the leds but they do have a dimmable ballast check out the coralvue ballast they come in dimmable versions

[monty]

Interesting....does anyone know if there are any controllers that can automatically work the dim??

[LifeAquatic]

Yes, they do exist. And yes you can dim them like an LED light. I use two ACLS ballast on my tank and they are fully dimmable from 0-100%. You can do other really cool things with them to. They are able to accept longitude and lattitude coordinates from anywhere in the world and mimic the seasons for those coordinates. The ACLS system will automatically adjust the lighting schedule based of the month of the season. The ballast have a cloudy day feature that randomly simulates cloud cover based on the intervals I input. You can also adjust the max lighting output. I have a 24" tall tank but use 400wt lights. The lights are to bright so I have them dimmed to 80%. Right now I have the sunrise on at 1100, ramp up to full power by 1200. T-5s kick on. The lights go at full power until 600 and then start the sunset phase which shuts off around 700. Most people havent seen a truely dimmable metal halide in action. All I can say is WOW!

[LifeAquatic]

Originally Posted by oscar.millan

They do exists, but you can't dim it in the same way you can LED for example. Additionally from the reading I've done, dimming also seems to affect bulb life.

The Sfiligoi ACLS ballast will dim just like an LED light. 0-100% - 100%-0.

The manufacturer states the bulb life increases using a dimmable ballast.

[monty]

LifeAquatic,

I cant seem to find a lot of info on them doing a google search. can you post a link for their website or perhaps tell me where they can be purchased?

[oscar.millan]

Dimmable ballast do it, but by increments. For example, the Lumatek ballast 250w will run at HQI (over driven by 10%), 250w, 175, or 150w.

Is this how Coralvue ballasts work?

[oscar.millan]

Lumatek warning states otherwise, dimming affects bulb life according to the manual.

Can you use any bulb with ACLS ballast you're quoting? Sorry, I've never heard of this fixture/ballast combo. It must be brand new or from overseas.

Originally Posted by LifeAquatic

The Sfiligoi ACLS ballast will dim just like an LED light. 0-100% - 100%-0.

The manufacturer states the bulb life increases using a dimmable ballast.

[LifeAquatic]

Originally Posted by monty

LifeAquatic,

I cant seem to find a lot of info on them doing a google search. can you post a link for their website or perhaps tell me where they can be purchased?

The North American supplier is Aquatics Elite. You can find Aquatics Elite in the sponsor forum on reef central. Warning... they are quite expensive. I bought one ballast used and the other new. After using them for 6 months I would pay full price for these if needed. They are truely remarkable. Here is a pic of the ballast.

[monty]

From what i've been able to find, they seem awesome. Do you know if the ballasts can be used with a mugul base socket? Do they sell the special connetions that can be spliced to my existing sockets so I wouldnt need to change my canopy/reflectors?? Mind if I ask what you paid for these?

[LifeAquatic]

Originally Posted by oscar.millan

Lumatek warning states otherwise, dimming affects bulb life according to the manual.

Can you use any bulb with ACLS ballast you're quoting? Sorry, I've never heard of this fixture/ballast combo. It must be brand new or from overseas.

Yes, you can use any bulb with these ballast. There are a few that manufacturer recommends that work better then others but I cant remember the exact brand names. I am using a 400Wt SE Radium bulb with these ballast and it looks nice!

[LifeAquatic]

Originally Posted by monty

From what i've been able to find, they seem awesome. Do you know if the ballasts can be used with a mugul base socket? Do they sell the special connetions that can be spliced to my existing sockets so I wouldnt need to change my canopy/reflectors?? Mind if I ask what you paid for these?

Far as I know they only work with Sfiligoi Hood/Reflectors/Pendants. Im not sure whats inside my light that makes them dimmable vs. other non dimmable metal halides. I bet they would sell you the necessary hardware though to make it work. Talk to Tim at Aquatics Elite. Tim is a great guy and will answer all of your questions in detail. Im not sure what you mean by mogul base socket. Is that single ended? The ballast can run SE and DE style bulbs.

[monty]

great, thanks. yes, mogul base=single end. I will give time a call after the holidays when things settle down a bit.....in the mean time, ill search everywhere for a used ballast, although i wont hold my breath

[LifeAquatic]

Originally Posted by monty

From what i've been able to find, they seem awesome. Do you know if the ballasts can be used with a mugul base socket? Do they sell the special connetions that can be spliced to my existing sockets so I wouldnt need to change my canopy/reflectors?? Mind if I ask what you paid for these?

I aqquired my ACLS ballast through Aquatics Elite. I worked out a package deal for an 48" XR6 in black with the ACLS ballast. I got a killer deal becasue one of the ballast was used. Im not sure what he priced them out at. After owning and using the ACLS ballast I would pay full price for them if I had to. They are amazing. To my knowledge there isnt another company that offers 100% dimmable metal halide.

[oscar.millan]

Sounds like a nice product, however, I don't think it's representative of what most people can afford and furthermore doesn't speak for the nature of MH and respective ballast in general.

To answer the original question, yes dimmable ballast exists. But... you will be paying a serious premium. Furthermore, it can't be done with a simple controller, it requires a specialized ballast, specific bulbs (some that work better), and did I mention deep pockets.

Why not go LED at that point!? No heat transfer, designed to be dimmable, a lot more energy efficient, etc. Just a thought.

[LifeAquatic]

Originally Posted by monty

great, thanks. yes, mogul base=single end. I will give time a call after the holidays when things settle down a bit.....in the mean time, ill search everywhere for a used ballast, although i wont hold my breath

The best place to find a used ballast is from Tim. He might have a demo model from the store he can sell you. I rarely see these ballast come up for sale used. If they do come up for sale through private party they are usually sold very quickly.

[monty]

Thats a good point too.....i dont know that i could give up using halides though, its all ive every known and i am extremely pleased with them....I almost bit for a Solaris back when they came out, mainly because I liked the dimmable features, clouds, etc...but MH won that battle too.

[LifeAquatic]

Originally Posted by oscar.millan

Sounds like a nice product, however, I don't think it's representative of what most people can afford and furthermore doesn't speak for the nature of MH and respective ballast in general.

To answer the original question, yes dimmable ballast exists. But... you will be paying a serious premium. Furthermore, it can't be done with a simple controller, it requires a specialized ballast, specific bulbs (some that work better), and did I mention deep pockets.

Why not go LED at that point!? No heat transfer, designed to be dimmable, a lot more energy efficient, etc. Just a thought.

It does require a siginificant investment. At the time of my purchase LED was still not an option. The LED sytems at the time were underpowered, unproven and very expensive. I dont want to mis represent the ACLS ballast. Any light bulbs can work. Any dimmable product will require a controller. The ACLS is a ballast with built in controller. I also considered the asthetics of the system. I dont have a canopy and my tank is 60x30x24. The XR6 has extra large reflectors that fit my tank dimensions perfectly. Hanging LED systems over my tank wouldnt have been the best looking at the time and still wouldnt look like the Sfiligoi XR6 pendant. The craftsmanship from Sfiligoi is of the best Ive seen. The biggest factor in my decision was the old school reliability of metal halides. I didnt want to shell out $4000 for LEDs and be super dissapointed.

[oscar.millan]

LED's have become more affordable, although still expensive. If dimming was of a high priority to me, LED would be seriously considered.

Check out the dimming options for the AI Sol Blues...simply amazing.

[JAustin]

Is this how Coralvue ballasts work?

Coralvue ballasts dim with a knob, there aren't any detents except for the overdrive mode. Other than that it's about 270watts to 420.

[oscar.millan]

Cool, thanks for the input.

[murphreef]

holy crap ive never seen such an expensive set up as far as the Aquatics Elite pendant and ACLS ballast combo

man if you went with a dual pendant and dual ballast combo your talking like $4500!!! without bulbs lol

i think these days you can make one hell of a LED set up fully dimmable on a profilux II system for 1/4 of that price!

[PurePleX]

Considering the ACLS; anybody got a manual?