Is this a good deal??
 

Hi all,
I have just found a Coralife 175 w metal halide set...it comes in a 48 inch fixtures with 2 10 000k bulb(the person says they are Radium but i dont know bout that because i didnt see any words that said Radium on it but mind you I'm new to this hobby so wouldnt know a Radium light when I see it) it also comes with 2 actinics in the fixtures...its all wired up and all....They are willing to part it for $550...It is in pretty good condition...Still has warrenty on it..It is three months old...Is this a good deal????

I have never seen a 175 watt radium befor but maybe some one else has?

I would double check on the brand and/or wattage but it isn't a bad deal.

Steve

Of course if it's a 10,000k bulb then it couldn't really be a Radium anyways, could it?

hmmm, sounds like a hood I bought at King eds for $700 when I started in the hobby 7 months ago.

The hood your talking about is at King Ed's right?

If so look at the base of the bulbs, where the metal screw part meets the glass. If it looks like a mirror there, they are Radium.

Yes there are 175W, 10K Radium bulbs. I listed this fixture in the classifieds, but the buyer backed out so it got traded in at King Eds.

IMO and in the opinion of many knowledgable people Radium bulbs are top of the line. a 175W 10K Radium bulb retails for $199.99 a piece, so I would say $550 for the fixture with the bulbs is a good deal. The bulbs are brand new, only test fired for 3 seconds to make sure they work. Hood was purchased new Sept.19th 2003 from Big Al's.

at king eds hmmm..maybe i should check that out...hey justin how much worth of equipment did they trade for that???

$600 store credit plus applicable taxes, so like $687? They are selling it cheaper then they got it.

are you sure they are radium cuz i checked at bigalsonline.com but couldnt find radium bulb

Wouldn't imslow be mad if you bought it while he was looking at it? :razz:

hmm guess i ll wait a few days but if he doesnt go there soon then i ll

I thought Radiums were 20,000k for starters, not 10,000k, the other thing, going from what J&L told me, you can't use radiums unless you have an HQI ballast which the coralife units don't have to the best of my knowledge, and finally, there is no 175 watt Radium. (maybe they are 14,000k bulbs and the sales person just thinks blue = Radium, I'd say someone is mistaken.

Doug

Well I guess you guys are right. The Radium 10K 175W bulbs that Big Al's Burnaby & Richmond has are actually ripoffs, made by elves that live in trees. I mean if J&L does not know of them, they must be non existant. Afterall they have the best bulbs in the world for $49.99, made by the skilled hands of a 6 year old in what Sri Lanka? They are the know all be all for sure!!

The Radium 10K 175W bulbs you can see in the 175G reef display with a Coralife fixture powered by coralife ballasts, and one of the coral tanks in the fishroom are actually fakes, powered by majic Coralife ballasts. We ordered them specially for the majic bulbs, if you hold the shift key when you click on the link to the lighting section on the ESU web you will get taken to the special majic section where the super duper bulbs are for sale to the secret reefers.

Weird post, dude. Hope your Christmas goes OK.

If Stephane was around, he could settle the matter pretty quickly.

Well I did a google search on Radium, Radium MH bulbs, and Radium 175 watt... I didn't find a single reference. Find me a reference if you can, my understanding is that Radium is a brand name.

Doug

Second search did find a DE HQI Radium 150 watt but it won't fit the coralife units and the 150 is a brand new bulb.

Doug

my 175 watt ushio and all 3 of my 250 watt AB's had a morrored apperiance at the base.. just means the bulb has been used (some mirror faster than others.)


in 20000K SE bulbs radium only makes 2, a 250 watt and a 400 watt and no 10000K is listed by them.

radiums are still a relitively new bulb and also one of the cheeper bulbs you can buy. a 400 watt radium only retails for 129.00 so why would a lower temp bulb that is aledidly a radium sell for more? maybe shipping to port moody is real expensive.

now not having seen the hood, even if MH bulbs are ushio they will be 150ish each for 300, a couple floressent tubes, 3 ballasts and all in a package the price is still good (about what it would cost you to build it your self paying normal prices) so aside form the bulb confusion it is still a good deal.

Justin do you work/own a store? you sure seam to be against fair pricing for the hobbiest and the only time I have seen that befor is from people that own or have interest in a store.

Steve

perhaps hes just ****ed off that big als riped him off

Wow I can't believe how ignorant some people are.

I am sure this post will get removed for that comment, but hey it's past 3am, I am drunk and after talking with a number of people regarding this board, completely understand who I am dealing with now.

Merry Christmas, do what you want, in the end it's only you who will be satisfied with your decisions.

Not called for, don't do it again please.

1. Based on the previous comment, kinda called for.
2. Please don't post mad and drunk at 3am on XMas day. :biggrin:
3.The board has over 800 personalities signed up, don't group them all together.
4. You aren't going ot win any arguments on a hobbyist board by trying to raise prices on the things they buy. You're just not. sorry.

hey i only say what I think.....plus look at this link at big al's site.... http://www.bigalsonline.com/cgi-bin/...ting&inSub=234 i dont know about you or perhaps I cant read but I dont seem second most expensive lights that I see on their catalogue is the coralife 175w 10000k for 219.99....so perhaps the lights that you bought were these

Wow :eek: you guys really get excited really fast. Anyways with all the comments, I think I am still going to go get the set. Thank you for all of your inputs. PS: There is not need to get so excited by what others think justin

Not always the best decision....

hey its not like i m saying things out of the blue without any evidence or anything...i did check bigal's website and they didnt have anything about 175w radium light.....perhaps the reason justin thinks they are could be because the sales person didnt know what he was talking about but hey i wasnt there to witness anything...I m only saying things base on my seach on big als website and base on how other website and places sell radium 250w for 119.99

:lol: :rolleyes:

namscam, it's more the way you said it than what you said. This thread (and others) have taken on adversarial tone and I'd just like it to cool off a bit. You are entitled to your opinions, but please think about how the other person may interpret your comments before you hit submit.

Well if I say things without any proof or if someone has proof to prove me wrong then I ll apologize for it,but I stand by what I say because :
1: I have not been proven wrong yet
2: I have proof of what I said
3: Although they maybe harsh but it is only my opinion and not others....People should not get offended by opinions of others. The only reason why people get offended is when they know it is true...If it is not true then why do you need to be offended by it.

I'm not saying don't stand by what you say. I asked that you reconsider how you said it. Thank you.

well ok then....I guess I was wrong in saying that big als ripped him off....But I for one have found big als prices to be a little bit on the steep side on some items when comparing them to king eds or J&L

Yes, you are dealing with a random group of reefing hobbiests in Canada (predominantly from Western Canada and who have Internet connections). A few members are also business owners. But we're pretty much the typical customer of the Local Fish Shops with the difference that we share data amongst each other. As we move into the future, more customers will be "connected" and businesses will have to adopt (in my opinion of course). Businesses in competitve markets really are price takers (driven by supply and demand) http://coba.shsu.edu/micprin/EcoGloss/mq.htm#P-taker

A lot of us bump into each other at the stores on a regular basis. Sometimes, we are oblivious and don't realize that. There has been occassions where 3 or 4 members happen to meet at the same time at the same store, who have never met each other before, and introduce themselves.

Well I just got the set up today, but problem is that this thing takes forever to start up. First one light turns on and the other doesn't, well at least not yet anywayz. I have been waiting 30 minutes and only 1 light is on. Well can someone tell me is this suppose to happen, or better yet since you said that this is yours Justin, how long would it take for the lights to turn on.

Hey bud,

It's funny you posted this thread! I JUST purchased the same unit for a whopping $360cnd. It's black on top and comes with two transformers. One cable is black other is grey. Same one? Anyways... the stuff your really looking forward to reading... Read on!

I have never ever imagined in my wildest dreams owning a unit of such magnificent quality. This unit provides a more then enough light for soft corals. Try growing hard corals.. not a problem! Oh yeah... But it for sure!

Enjoy, let me know how it works for ya!

With this unit is takes aprox. 4 mins to power up. The transformer will make a high voltage noise. Not too worry, this is very normal. I would say, your bulb is cashed! Get another. First, try swapping the bulbs. It might be the ballast.

FYI, these transformers get very hot. Do not put anything on top.

Cheers.

You ressurected a three year old thread, haha. Nice.