BLV 400W Nepturion 14000K

[Justin/TiV]

anyone have any feedback on these bulbs...I was on sanjays site, and these things look awesome on an electronic ballast....

also, know where they can be purchased, I found a few sites but it wasn't in US dollars.

Thanx

[nyvp]

check under ushio 14k same bulb

[Justin/TiV]

you mean, it's the exact same bulb made by the same person ??

[hahnmeister]

Is it really though? I think some people assume that since Ushio owns BLV, the bulbs are the same too... but this doesnt seem to be the case. Not only does Ushio have multiple bulbs lines under the same roof that perform differently, but the BLV's seem to not overlap with anything of the Ushios. The Ushio 14,000Ks that come in 250wattDE format for instance... these are not the same as the BLV nepturions it seems. The BLV's seem to have a much higher output. Being that UShio itself has aqualite, colorlite, nepturion... all with 10,000K, 14,000K, and 20,000K bulbs in those model lines... Im not so sure. I think Im gonna have to call Ushio to get to the bottom of this. Its also funny that the new BLV nepturion 14,000K 400watter has such a high output, nearly identical to the G-man 14,500K coral 400watter (most likely a rebadge), yet the previous Ushio 14,000Ks have never matched up with the G-mans or anything... or have had as competitive of outputs.

[Justin/TiV]

yeah, I was just reading that sanjay uses the gman 14.5k and since they were almost the same readings, I was thinking of getting these instead. Anyone know a good place to get them

Thanx guys

[GSMguy]

those will be my next bulbs i think switching from ushio 20k

[Justin/TiV]

The only thing I'm not sure about is that right now I'm running xm 20k 250w SE on a m58. Wanting to switch to the Giesemann 400w SE on PFO HQI. The par is going to almost triple. And I'm worried about burning the coral.

Also the lamps I have now have cheap spider reflectors on them. And I'm also wanting to get luminarc III's. So not only am I increasing par big time, my bulbs will be closer to the water.

Whats the best way to slowly break them in. I know of the screen trick, and the less hours in light cylce trick. not sure which one would be better.

Should I lower my lamps slowly as well so that they get a little more used to more intense light ??

Thanx

[hahnmeister]

can you raise the lights 12-14" higher? That would be my suggestion.

[shag26272]

I had the same exact question a while back so I emailed Ushio, here is the response they sent me.

Your inquiry was forwarded to me by my colleagues at BLV in Germany. Just to clarify things, BLV is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc..

Although they are manufactured at the same factory, the 400W BLV Nepturion 14K lamps are not always the same as the Ushio 14K Aqualites. The European ballasts differ from U.S. ballasts. Since most of Europe has a line voltage of 220V, 50hz and the U.S. is on a 110/120V 60hz, the ballasts that operate those lamps are different. European systems are almost always a pulse start ballast as well that require an igniter of 4kV to 6kV.

American ballasts can either be pulse start or probe start. Probe start systems operate on open circuit voltage to start the lamp and require an extra "starting electrode".

If you run a "pulse start" type lamp on a" probe start ballast", the lamp may ignite just fine for the first few months but later on you will have problems starting the lamp.

The current 14K 400W Aqualite offered by Ushio (5001608) is the same as the BLV Nepturion. It is a pulse start type lamp operated on a M135 ballast.

However, next quarter, we will be introducing a 14K probe start version. The reason is that most U.S. aquariums are using a cheaper probe start M59 ballast.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly and I'll be glad to help you out.

Best regards,

Craig Asato
Product Manager
Ushio America Inc.
Phone: 714-229-3111
Email: casato@ushio.com

[hahnmeister]

A ha! so those new BLV Nepturion 14,000Ks that have that killer output are probe start, not even HQI? That explains the high numbers... wow. I wonder if that means the new G-man 14,500Ks are the same... in the past G-mans are all HQI... but now??!!?! They have the identical output to the 14,000K BLV though.

[shag26272]

yeah im sure the bulb wont last too long , but the numbers are good

[PaulErik]

The BLV lamps are HQI/ Pulse start lamps designed for the European market. They are going to be releasing a probe start version for the North American market. This will be in line with the CWA series of Ushio lamps. Ushio will be having both versions but currently has the European version.

[PaulErik]

I know the 14,000K 400-watt lamp is a pulse start/ HQI lamp because the company I work with sent me a sample. You can tell visually if it is a pulse start or probe start.

[Sanjay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10075972#post10075972 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hahnmeister
A ha! so those new BLV Nepturion 14,000Ks that have that killer output are probe start, not even HQI? That explains the high numbers... wow. I wonder if that means the new G-man 14,500Ks are the same... in the past G-mans are all HQI... but now??!!?! They have the identical output to the 14,000K BLV though.

The G-man bulb also recommends pulse start. The lamp is physically configured as a pulse start. All pulse start lamps do fine with electronic ballasts. In fact the USHIO 14KK lamps I just got are rated for M135 or Electronic ballasts, it says so right on the box.

sanjay.

[shag26272]

Why can you not buy the BLV bulbs in the US?

[hahnmeister]

Thats odd Sanjay... because the spectral graph on the G-man coral @ 400w and the BLV nept 14,000K are nearly identical... enough to assume they are the same bulb.... 'holy output Batman!'

I suppose I am still wondering if the UShio 250wattDE is the same as the BLV nept 14,000K...???

Ushio/BLV just has the most confusing line of any mfg it seems (perhaps Iwasaki comes close second?). I know its just because they are a large company, but I wish there was a roadmap or something for their selections. It seems like they have 4 versions of the same bulb sometimes.

[Nuuze]

I currently run the 250w version of the BLV Nepturion 10k and was wondering the same. I always hated the 10k look but for some reason I'm pretty satisfied with the BLV 10k look...

[Justin/TiV]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10076407#post10076407 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sanjay
The G-man bulb also recommends pulse start. The lamp is physically configured as a pulse start. All pulse start lamps do fine with electronic ballasts. In fact the USHIO 14KK lamps I just got are rated for M135 or Electronic ballasts, it says so right on the box.

sanjay.

but am I right in saying that does not include HQI ballast ? I could just use an electonic ballast...but liked the nubers of the PFO. I noticed you were using Ice Cap. How long so far ? Are your numbers staying good ?

Thanx guys

[PaulErik]

It’s a little complicated. The Ushio Aqualite (none CWA series) are the same as the BLV Nepturion. They are designed for a European spec (high current) ballast. Ushio America recommends a North American pulse start (ANSI M135) ballast because this is a common standard / widely available and the lamps will work on them. The 400-watt HQI ballast commonly sold in North America is not really a metal halide ballast but the electrical specifications are close (but not perfect match) to a European ballast. They do not list the HQI because it is not a common standard and not even a metal halide standard.

[hahnmeister]

400s are such a mess anyways because of the ballast/socket swapping...

How about we start with th 250watt bulbs. Ushio 10,000K, 14,000K, 20,000K (SE and DE), BLV, aqualite, nepturion, and perhaps the Giesemann's... how do they all relate?

[Nuuze]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10085435#post10085435 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hahnmeister
400s are such a mess anyways because of the ballast/socket swapping...

How about we start with th 250watt bulbs. Ushio 10,000K, 14,000K, 20,000K (SE and DE), BLV, aqualite, nepturion, and perhaps the Giesemann's... how do they all relate?

I too would like to know this, so I know which bulb to buy when it comes replacement time for my BLV 250w DE Neptirions since I do not see any for sale in the US...

[PaulErik]

BLV claims that all of the BLV Nepturion lamps are the same as the Ushio Aqualite lamps except for the CWA line of lamps (which are designed for use with North American Probe Start ballasts). I’m personally not sure why some tests show a difference. Maybe it’s just the variability in lamps from one batch to another.

[Justin/TiV]

I'm still wondering how long the gmans you have on the icecap ballast have been going now Sanjay, it will be awesome to know right when to change the bulbs when you figure it out...thanx for what you do my man