Lighting

[pocilipora]

Checkout the article on lighting on, Advanced Aquarium Magazine Onlineweb page (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2002/cover.htm)

[Reefmaster]

haha, i read that earlier this week and thought to myself there goes the end of the marketing propoganda by the light manufacturers. it was great while it lasted for them, think just how much they expanded market potential by convincing everyone they needed higher and higher K lamps! bottom line, sunlight is 5500-6500k, why would we want 20,000K spectrum aside from the "wow, do your corals ever glow" effect.
jmo.
shane.

[StirCrazy]

I was wondering abotu this anywasy because of the success with the 6500 iwasakis, but the Blueish does look nice, so why not get the cheeper bulbs and add better actinic to "color" to your taste. anyways having said that I read this article today and go... hmm do I realy need the "r" iwasakis after reading that?

Steve

[Reefmaster]

steve
we tried the mv conversion lamps (the non R) and found the colour to be butt ugly. will post some pics tomorrow of 5500, 6500, and 20,000 side beside so you can decide for yourself.
we ended up going with two 5500's and a 20,000k in the middle and we think it looks great.
shane

[StirCrazy]

Shane, what ballast were you using on them? a MH ballast or a MV ballast?

Steve

[Reefmaster]

steve
i've clipped a posting of mine from a week or two ago...
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote
just a note on our experience - we tried an iwasaki 6500 on a magnatek ballast and it was really green - like butt ugly green! we returned the lamp to j+l and john said they had alot of problems with that bulb on magnatek and advance ballasts. i later read that the iwasaki 6500 was considered a "conversion lamp" and was actually designed to be run on a mercury vapour ballast. (ref. marine fish and reef 1999 pg 88-100).
elsewhere i read that the R designation on the 6500k's resulted from iwasaki redesigning the lamp to properly run on MH ballasts but i don't know where i read that - and if someone else knows otherwise throw it out here. my memory is that the R would properly run on core+coil ballasts while the non R would still be fine on electronic and MV ballasts - but i don't know for certain that this is correct (thats my disclaimer)

i mention this in case you encounter a similar problem. the reference above does note that many hobbyists have been using the MH ballasts without apparent problems - but IME when we tried the iwasaki 6500k it was really bad. we ran it for two weeks trying to burn it in then switched back on an old yellowy 5500k until we got a replacement 5500k.
i'm interested in replacing our 5500's with 6500's if the lamps would run reliably on our ballasts -- but i sure the heck am not going to replace two or three ballasts cuz one silly lamp type won't run on it properly (poor john didn't realize my thrifty approach to this hobby when he suggested that)!!!
shane

[StirCrazy]

ahh ok.. I rember reading that, I wonder how the 6500's would be using a MV ballast.. anyways I look forward to the pics to help me decide

Steve

[Reefmaster]

now we're thinking down the same lines. although i have not priced them out or even seen them, i understand that the MV ballasts are actually cheaper than MH ballasts. now i didn't know this when i set up the first two MH on our tank, and when i added the third i couldn't be bothered to root into it, but if i had to do it all from scratch i would look very carefully at using MV ballasts. and i'm pretty certain you would find those 6500k non R bulbs all over the place...

take a drive by UVIC at night when the sports fields are lit up! as soon as you see the colour of that light you know for certain they are 5500 or better - actually when i look right at the light group i can see some are burning quite bluer than others, so i expect it is a combo of 5500/6500k.

PLEASE TO ALL -- do not go phoning the University firing a bunch of questions at them. i have spent the last week narrowing down who is responsible for stocking those lamps and am hoping we as a club can piggyback orders onto theirs. i have let the cat out of the bag prematurely on this i know, but PLEASE GIVE ME SOME TIME and i will let you all know how i make out. it bugs the **** out of me everytime i go to albrite now and their prices are 50% higher than two years ago on items that they know reefers are after! some time ago this was brought up by someone (troy?) and i said this was happening at albrite if we didn't organize ourselves -- i don't even bother with albrite now, i can get most things cheaper elsewhere! anyway, off topic but important to say.
shane

[pocilipora]

http://www3.telus.net/corals/more%20corals/RIwasaki.jpg

[pocilipora]

http://www3.telus.net/corals/more%20corals/PreRIwasaki.jpg

[pocilipora]

http://www3.telus.net/corals/more%20corals/Bulbs.jpgI dont think there is much of a difference at all.250watt 65ooK Iwasakis on an Advance core and coil ballast.

[StirCrazy]

were thoes pics of 1 "R" 250 and 1 non "r" 250?
I saw the resister in the top one but not in the second one.. and the last pic is that running both the "r" and the non "R" at the same time?
oh and what is the part # for the ballast you are using? hehe

Steve

[ 26 February 2002: Message edited by: StirCrazy ]</p>

[pocilipora]

Yes the non "R" is on the left.

[pocilipora]

Part# 71A3502Advance ballast, cw Autotransformer, 250w H37 Mercurylamp 120v 60hz 2.50amps 250voc. Thats what the sticker reads.

[StirCrazy]

awsome, thanks pocilipora, thats exactly what I wanted to see.. cool

Steve

[Troy F]

I'm moving this to the reef forum.