My PlusRite Par reading vs. other name brands.

[purplegorilla]

So I have been dying to see the par readings on these bulbs since everyone frowns upon Ebay stuffs. These readings were done on DE 250 W Hellolight retro reflectors

>http://www.hellolights.com/ProductImages/250big.jpg</a>. Generic Electronic 250w ballast.

1. Ushio 14k - 1560 (suppose to be 1 month old)
2. Hamilton 14k - 1490 (1-1.5 months old)
3. PlusRite 14k - 1780 (1 week old)

All these readings were done approximately 7-8 inches from the source. So it confirms my skeptics about how the Pars are lower with Ebay bulbs, granted that they are a little newer. I will try again after a month since from past experiments show that bulbs reach its peak after a month and maintain their Pars over a year.

Now comes the bad news. The color sux..It is yellow. I am gonna try their 250w 20k just for kicks if I have time.

Soon I will try to compare the generic electronic ballast vs. name brands..If anyone have a ballast they want to compare please feel free to loan it to me for couple of days.

 

[glxtrix]

Were these numbers taken under water? I'm assuming no. If not lets get some of those readings seeing how thats what we'd be concerned with.

 

[purplegorilla]

No, they were taken jsut above the water. I did take it down to like 14 inches into the water and noticed the same differences. Didn't feel like taking it further since dont' feel like getting wet in the morning...

 

[purplegorilla]

Additionally, if I was to take it down further it wouldn't be a fair comparison since my tank have 2 glass braces and would hinder the par readings from some of the light. Thus to be fair I have to hold it where there were no obstructions. I have seen tests where they made a cup and place the Quantum meter directly into the cup to prevent any stray lights but it would hard for me with these reflectors.

 

[roland jacques]

I love these kind of tests look forward to seeing the results of thier better colar lamps.

 

[glxtrix]

It doesn't matter if there is a brace. Just let people know that and test at the same place. It's going to give app. readings for all the bulbs if done the same way. I jsut would like to see how the bulbs penetrate the water. Also I'm not a huge fan of water cup based tests, those really don't provide any real life situations for reef testing. Including full water depth tests and not to mention the particulate matter in the water column. At any rate tho, pretty nice numbers.

 

[navyreefer]

<span style="color: black;">Good stuff! To bad the color is yellow. It will be interesting to see if the ballast really does anything. I would also like to see how much change there is from a good reflector vrs a cheap reflector.</span>
<span style="color: black;"> </span>
<span style="color: black;">It would be useful to know what equipment makes the biggest difference in performance for those of us that have to buy in pieces!</span>

 

[skriz]

i have a couple of icecap ballasts if you want to test them...