Switching from magnetic to electronic ballast?

jwoyshnar · 02/04/2011, 11:57 AM

Hello all, is there any steps that are needed when switching out the ballast on a halide fixture going from magnetic to halide besides the obvious ballast change?
Thanks

Wichers · 02/04/2011, 04:44 PM

Not that Im aware of. However you may not look the color of your bulbs afterwords. Some look very different when on the other ballast.

JRoweNole · 02/04/2011, 05:14 PM

Check PAR values of the bulb you want to use on the ballast. Some bulbs on EB will have higher PAR, therefore you may need to acclimate corals.

phaedrus1 · 02/04/2011, 05:28 PM

Depending on the fixture you may have to remove ignitors from it and change plug ends. Is the fixture double ended or single ended bulbs?

ksc · 02/04/2011, 06:03 PM

Most electronic ballasts will underdrive mh bulbs (reducing par) and also this can lead to shorter bulb life.

phaedrus1 · 02/04/2011, 06:17 PM

True on double ended, but on mogul / SE should drive to spec.

jwoyshnar · 02/05/2011, 11:54 AM

It is a mogul socket. I called Coralife and they told me it just depends on the bulb. They said there was no ignitor in the fixture, just in certain bulbs. They said my only issue would be specific bulbs. thanks to all for the info. The ballast im looking at is dimmable with the option to overdrive 10%. Its a 72" fixture and im only going to run the middle section with the electronic for now to see if i like it.

phaedrus1 · 02/05/2011, 12:09 PM

So I just went on this journey and learned a lot.
I have the Coralife Elite with 3 SE Halides and 3 Ballasts. The plug ends on the fixture are made to plug into the Coralife ballasts. Most electric ballasts do not use those plug ends but instead a 3 pin variety used by sunlight supply. I bought my E-Ballast from Hellolights. It is a 250 Coralvue and happens to accept the plug from the Coralife fixture. Now I also bought a Coralvue ballast from another source and it came with a wire from the ballast and no plug. So if you are looking for plug and play you need to do some homework on the ballast. You can find the plugs to wire a ballast up with to hook to the Coralife fixture. Aquacave carries them as one source, as does digikey...

02/04/2011, 11:57 AM	#1
jwoyshnar Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: 18441 Posts: 1,531	Switching from magnetic to electronic ballast? Hello all, is there any steps that are needed when switching out the ballast on a halide fixture going from magnetic to halide besides the obvious ballast change? Thanks

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02/04/2011, 04:44 PM	#2
Wichers Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 53	Not that Im aware of. However you may not look the color of your bulbs afterwords. Some look very different when on the other ballast.

02/04/2011, 05:14 PM	#3
JRoweNole Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Kennesaw, Georgia Posts: 324	Check PAR values of the bulb you want to use on the ballast. Some bulbs on EB will have higher PAR, therefore you may need to acclimate corals.

02/04/2011, 05:28 PM	#4
phaedrus1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New York Posts: 58	Depending on the fixture you may have to remove ignitors from it and change plug ends. Is the fixture double ended or single ended bulbs?

02/04/2011, 06:03 PM	#5
ksc Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 415	Most electronic ballasts will underdrive mh bulbs (reducing par) and also this can lead to shorter bulb life.

02/04/2011, 06:17 PM	#6
phaedrus1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New York Posts: 58	True on double ended, but on mogul / SE should drive to spec.

02/05/2011, 11:54 AM	#7
jwoyshnar Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: 18441 Posts: 1,531	It is a mogul socket. I called Coralife and they told me it just depends on the bulb. They said there was no ignitor in the fixture, just in certain bulbs. They said my only issue would be specific bulbs. thanks to all for the info. The ballast im looking at is dimmable with the option to overdrive 10%. Its a 72" fixture and im only going to run the middle section with the electronic for now to see if i like it.

02/05/2011, 12:09 PM	#8
phaedrus1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New York Posts: 58	So I just went on this journey and learned a lot. I have the Coralife Elite with 3 SE Halides and 3 Ballasts. The plug ends on the fixture are made to plug into the Coralife ballasts. Most electric ballasts do not use those plug ends but instead a 3 pin variety used by sunlight supply. I bought my E-Ballast from Hellolights. It is a 250 Coralvue and happens to accept the plug from the Coralife fixture. Now I also bought a Coralvue ballast from another source and it came with a wire from the ballast and no plug. So if you are looking for plug and play you need to do some homework on the ballast. You can find the plugs to wire a ballast up with to hook to the Coralife fixture. Aquacave carries them as one source, as does digikey...