metal halide mh help!!!!!!

[ballebrian4u]

hey i bought a 48 inch meltal halide fixture by corlife and it didnt come with ballest so i need to buy new ones i dont know what is the best i have heard of ice cap is that good whats the diffrce between magnetic or electronic and whats the best for 14 k bulbs thanks alottttt i also what sumthing that will give nice light and save evergy they are 2 250 watts ooo ya and is there a ballast with 2 fitting so that i dont need to buy 2 ballast i can only use one!

thanksss

[KyleO]

Definitely go with Electronic ballasts..............I just swapped all my magnetic ballasts out and the different is amazing. Ice Cap is good but take a look at the Lumatek ballasts...

[ballebrian4u]

do you think i should just buy the replacement ballast from coralife>??

[fufu]

Originally Posted by KyleO

Definitely go with Electronic ballasts..............I just swapped all my magnetic ballasts out and the different is amazing. Ice Cap is good but take a look at the Lumatek ballasts...

lol, I did the opposite, I went to magnetic and it was amazing, I'm never going back to electronic. My lights are brighter, and I'm tire of replacing electronic ballast.

If you are new to mh, get a electronic ballast because it is easier to find the kind of bulbs you like since it lights up any kind of bulbs. The difference between electronic and magnet are Magnetic are more easier to fix. Magnetic also overdrive the bulb resulting a more brighter bulb and higher par but this is offset by pulling more watt. Electronic is quiet, cool, use less energy, and fire mostly any bulb.

[KyleO]

I guess it does depend on the bulb, because I have "upgraded" to electronic ballasts on 3 different fixtures now and have enjoyed brighter light from the same bulbs. I use the XM 15K DE bulbs pretty much exlcusively............maybe that is the difference. I do have one fixture with a Phoenix 14K DE 150W bulb, but again, it was much brighter and a little bluer.

I have heard that Magnetic ballasts tend to overdrive the bulbs, but that has not been my experience............and I have seen several Reef Central discussions with the overwhelming majority experiencing my results as well.

That said, keep an eye on the equipment selling forum as I will be selling my magnetic ballasts here in the next few days............cheap!

[darkdruid]

I got an Odyssea fixture that I love, it's almost an exact knockoff of the Coralife, but the ballasts they use are junk. I tossed them and bought a dual 250 watt Galaxy electronic ballast and have been totally satisfied.

[ballebrian4u]

hey when you bought the duel ballast how did you wire it can you send pics becuse i want to buy ballast for my coralife and dont know if i should i buy the orignal replsment ballast or should i buy somthing like ice cap

[liquidfunk]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php

[KyleO]

Originally Posted by darkdruid

I got an Odyssea fixture that I love, it's almost an exact knockoff of the Coralife, but the ballasts they use are junk. I tossed them and bought a dual 250 watt Galaxy electronic ballast and have been totally satisfied.

How did you deal with the wiring connection issue for the Galaxy connectors? Pics???

[darkdruid]

Originally Posted by KyleO

How did you deal with the wiring connection issue for the Galaxy connectors? Pics???

It was pretty easy actually. Just a trip to Lowe's and got replacement ends like you would use when repairing an extension cord, cut the ends off the light and ballast and installed the replacements. All it takes now is plugging them together Seven dollars and 15 minutes.