honestly,Daves input is really all thats needed lol
Time to show off your Bare Bottom [BB] Tank!
- Thread starter wannabeeareefkeeper
- Start date
honestly,Daves input is really all thats needed lol
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I know. I watched both videos on Dave's post. Dave has set the "bar" very high for me. If I could get to 1/100 of what Dave has achieved with his [bare bottom]; it would be great. If I could even get closer than the 1/100 of Dave's [bare bottom] setup; I would be extremely "out of this world".reeferman;888464 wrote: honestly,Daves input is really all thats needed lol
I would have never thought that a [bare bottom] tank could ever have the growth and color that Dave's tank has.
Wannabee
he is an inspiration to us all
Geez....thanks very much guys!:blush: The colors are a bit washed out by the 400 watt halides. The growth is easy to see in the vids, but the colors are much better in person. It is hard to get the colors with a smartphone camera Joe was shooting with. I wanted the growth to be conveyed.
A fellow ARC Member is coming by tomorrow night to take a professional level video of the tank for his youtube channel, and he says he has a camera that can get the colors correctly recorded, so I hope I can share that with everyone as well.
A fellow ARC Member is coming by tomorrow night to take a professional level video of the tank for his youtube channel, and he says he has a camera that can get the colors correctly recorded, so I hope I can share that with everyone as well.
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:yay:Your tank is amazing. Once the new 400 watt halides "settle in""; you can post an updated video here to fix the "washed out" look. In the meantime, we'll wait for the professional level video of the tank. To be honest Dave; I'm already sold. Cozumel Halides are on my wish list [LOL].
Wannabee
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Dave:
Do you know if you have the magnetic or electronic ballasts with your Cozumel Halides? Is the longevity of the electronic ballasts greater than the magnetic? Is the electronic ballasts more energy efficient than the magnetic ballasts?
Anyone else is welcome to chime in on the pros and cons of electronic vs. magnetic ballasts?
Wannabee
I could be wrong, but I thought the magnetic were the old style of MH ballasts. The electronic will have a smaller foot print, and run more efficient. However, there are certain bulbs will will only work with a magnetic ballast (not sure the brands) and certain ones wont work or don't like to work with magnetic. Electronic is the way to go IMO...and they are coming down in price these days.
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Yes, the magnetic ones were the original footprint. Then they came out with the electronic ones. I want to use Radium bulbs. Another post here had good reviews on Radium bulbs. I wanted to see if anyone has used both and what the longevity of each type is.
Wannabee
Here is what I know.
Magnetic ballasts are what originally came out for metal halides. Mag ballasts are generally either a probe or pulse start type, and certain halide bulbs need a probe or a pulse type. Electric ballasts are a later development, and they will run any type of halide bulb. Some of the most popular e-ballasts are Lumatek, Galaxy, and CoralVue.
Major differences between electronic and magnetic ballasts are e-ballasts are more efficient. They usually have a lower running amperage draw than magnetic ballasts. All halides need a spiking amperage to actually light the bulb up, roughly 2x the running amperage draw, and mag ballasts usually have a higher spiking amperage than e-ballasts as well. So e-ballasts are a bit less likely to make your circuit breakers flip, and you may actually be able to run more halides with e-ballasts off the same circuit than you could magnetic ballasts, depending on the wattage and amperage draw of the bulbs you are using, etc.
Now regarding Radium bulbs: Radium bulbs can be run by an e-ballast. Here is the difference: Radium the manufacturing company specifies that Radium 400 watt bulbs be run on either an M135 or an m155 pulse start ballast, which is a magnetic ballast. The Radium 250 watt halide is specified to use an M80 pulse start ballast. Radiums are basically European Spec'd bulbs, which are differently that US Halides. European halide ballasts run at 220/240 voltage, per the info I have seen. And the M135 and M80 ballasts are the closest US equivalents to the European ballasts the Radiums usually run on.
My personal experience: I have run Radium 250s and 400s on eballasts and they start every time. The difference between an eballast and an M80 or M135 is visible, IME. Eballasts make the radium bulbs brighter than a Magnetic ballast, which leads me to guess the eballasts drive the bulbs at a slightly higher wattage than the M135 or the M80 mag ballasts do.
I am running magnetic Hamilton M135s with my Radium 400 watt bulbs, basically because that is what Radium 400s are supposed to be run on.
For the reefer that does not want to double purchase ballasts like I did, the Lumatek 250/400 watt adjustable e-ballast is a great choice, as you can run 250 or 400 watt bulbs at the turn of a knob. You also have an HQI setting for each setting (called SuperLumens), which runs the bulbs at +10% overdrive. You can even run a 400 watt Radium at 250 watts if you like, for a super blue rendition or for acclimation purposes. It works...I have done it myself.
Edit: Forgot this: here is a thread from RC that is a Radium bulb primer, with more info than you'd probably ever want to know about these bulbs and their ballast requirements:
Magnetic ballasts are what originally came out for metal halides. Mag ballasts are generally either a probe or pulse start type, and certain halide bulbs need a probe or a pulse type. Electric ballasts are a later development, and they will run any type of halide bulb. Some of the most popular e-ballasts are Lumatek, Galaxy, and CoralVue.
Major differences between electronic and magnetic ballasts are e-ballasts are more efficient. They usually have a lower running amperage draw than magnetic ballasts. All halides need a spiking amperage to actually light the bulb up, roughly 2x the running amperage draw, and mag ballasts usually have a higher spiking amperage than e-ballasts as well. So e-ballasts are a bit less likely to make your circuit breakers flip, and you may actually be able to run more halides with e-ballasts off the same circuit than you could magnetic ballasts, depending on the wattage and amperage draw of the bulbs you are using, etc.
Now regarding Radium bulbs: Radium bulbs can be run by an e-ballast. Here is the difference: Radium the manufacturing company specifies that Radium 400 watt bulbs be run on either an M135 or an m155 pulse start ballast, which is a magnetic ballast. The Radium 250 watt halide is specified to use an M80 pulse start ballast. Radiums are basically European Spec'd bulbs, which are differently that US Halides. European halide ballasts run at 220/240 voltage, per the info I have seen. And the M135 and M80 ballasts are the closest US equivalents to the European ballasts the Radiums usually run on.
My personal experience: I have run Radium 250s and 400s on eballasts and they start every time. The difference between an eballast and an M80 or M135 is visible, IME. Eballasts make the radium bulbs brighter than a Magnetic ballast, which leads me to guess the eballasts drive the bulbs at a slightly higher wattage than the M135 or the M80 mag ballasts do.
I am running magnetic Hamilton M135s with my Radium 400 watt bulbs, basically because that is what Radium 400s are supposed to be run on.
For the reefer that does not want to double purchase ballasts like I did, the Lumatek 250/400 watt adjustable e-ballast is a great choice, as you can run 250 or 400 watt bulbs at the turn of a knob. You also have an HQI setting for each setting (called SuperLumens), which runs the bulbs at +10% overdrive. You can even run a 400 watt Radium at 250 watts if you like, for a super blue rendition or for acclimation purposes. It works...I have done it myself.
Edit: Forgot this: here is a thread from RC that is a Radium bulb primer, with more info than you'd probably ever want to know about these bulbs and their ballast requirements:
