Best 250W electronic ballast ?

ekovalsky · 01/08/2007, 04:04 PM

Originally I was planning on getting Lumenmax III pendants with the 250w Bluewave IV electronic ballasts for Phoenix 14K bulbs. I just found out the latter have been discontinued, I wonder if this is because of the tense relationship between SLS & Icecap. the Bluewave IV was basically the Icecap ballast mounted in a nice chassis/heatsink with detachable SLS lamp cord, power switch, etc. And a longer warranty.

Unfortunately with SLS out of the eballast business for the time being, none of the other eballasts I am aware of will support a detachable lamp cord to the Lumenmax III without splicing or soldering. Some include chassis/heatsinks, others do not.

Any particular reason to choose or avoid a 250w eballast from Icecap, Reef Fanatic, EVC, Hamilton, ARO, Blueline, etc ? I suspect many of these use the same internal circuity imported from Asia just like PC power supplies a lots of other electronic devices. If so much of the differences are related to packaging, aftersales support, etc.

Besides pendants, I am also considering a MH/T5 combo fixture which remote ballasts. The best one (Sfiligoi) is extremely expensive or I'd have bought it already. The Maristar II sounds promising but who knows when/if it will be available for purchase. I'd love to see the rumored Icecap LED fixture too but it may be vaporware or early in its development.

ekovalsky · 01/08/2007, 09:11 PM

Actually I just found out SLS now has a new line of eballasts called Galaxy instead of Blue Wave. I'll check into them.

aclos3 · 01/08/2007, 09:19 PM

I chose EVC over Icecap, because of its higher PPFD output for most bulbs (according to Sanjay's tests). The ballast does not have a removable cord or a power switch. The cord was not a problem since I was connecting the wires straight to a mogul socket, and I don't really mind not having a switch since I run through a timer.

EVC is inexpensive, but I have mostly heard good things about them and the light output is pretty much top of the heap.

LBCBJ · 01/08/2007, 09:32 PM

I used an IceCap electronic ballast with my LumenMax III. The splicing was very easy, only took about 5 minuets. IceCap has excellent customer support and I highly recommend them.

jag1979 · 01/09/2007, 06:53 AM

no problems w/ any of my three icecap mh ballasts

nyvp · 01/09/2007, 07:47 AM

4 icecap here

want2reef · 01/09/2007, 08:30 AM

EVC for about three years here, running Phoenix bulbs.

Love it.

01/08/2007, 04:04 PM	#1
ekovalsky Premium Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 335	Best 250W electronic ballast ? Originally I was planning on getting Lumenmax III pendants with the 250w Bluewave IV electronic ballasts for Phoenix 14K bulbs. I just found out the latter have been discontinued, I wonder if this is because of the tense relationship between SLS & Icecap. the Bluewave IV was basically the Icecap ballast mounted in a nice chassis/heatsink with detachable SLS lamp cord, power switch, etc. And a longer warranty. Unfortunately with SLS out of the eballast business for the time being, none of the other eballasts I am aware of will support a detachable lamp cord to the Lumenmax III without splicing or soldering. Some include chassis/heatsinks, others do not. Any particular reason to choose or avoid a 250w eballast from Icecap, Reef Fanatic, EVC, Hamilton, ARO, Blueline, etc ? I suspect many of these use the same internal circuity imported from Asia just like PC power supplies a lots of other electronic devices. If so much of the differences are related to packaging, aftersales support, etc. Besides pendants, I am also considering a MH/T5 combo fixture which remote ballasts. The best one (Sfiligoi) is extremely expensive or I'd have bought it already. The Maristar II sounds promising but who knows when/if it will be available for purchase. I'd love to see the rumored Icecap LED fixture too but it may be vaporware or early in its development.

01/08/2007, 09:32 PM	#4
LBCBJ Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Richmond, Va Posts: 1,332	I used an IceCap electronic ballast with my LumenMax III. The splicing was very easy, only took about 5 minuets. IceCap has excellent customer support and I highly recommend them. __________________ Brent

01/09/2007, 06:53 AM	#5
jag1979 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 982	no problems w/ any of my three icecap mh ballasts __________________ clowns, bi-color pseudo, coral beauty, yellow tang GBTA, crocea clam xenia, various polyps/zoa's, candy cane, tree leather, frogspawn, torch, various mushrooms, green/red plate, birdsnest Current Tank Info: 180 AGA, tunze 6100, 6025 and 6060, 3 x 250 mh's, 3 x 80 t5's, ASM G4+

01/09/2007, 08:30 AM	#7
want2reef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Tracy CA. Posts: 1,353	EVC for about three years here, running Phoenix bulbs. Love it. __________________ Kevin The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. Current Tank Info: CADlights Artison II 165g, 50g sump,Aquamaxx Q-3 Skimmer, AI Hydra 26 HD.

01/08/2007, 09:11 PM	#2
ekovalsky Premium Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 335	Actually I just found out SLS now has a new line of eballasts called Galaxy instead of Blue Wave. I'll check into them.

01/08/2007, 09:19 PM	#3
aclos3 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 394	I chose EVC over Icecap, because of its higher PPFD output for most bulbs (according to Sanjay's tests). The ballast does not have a removable cord or a power switch. The cord was not a problem since I was connecting the wires straight to a mogul socket, and I don't really mind not having a switch since I run through a timer. EVC is inexpensive, but I have mostly heard good things about them and the light output is pretty much top of the heap.

01/09/2007, 07:47 AM	#6
nyvp Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Hollywood Florida Posts: 3,633	4 icecap here