250W - 400W ballast help?

[OldSaltMan1]

I hope someone will help me here. I just acquired several ballast originally sold by Sunlight Supply Co. Some of them are 1000W for HPS bulbs. I know that these are most likely of no value, but they were free. I also obtained 1-250W, 1-400W and 2-1000W ballast for ML bulbs. I also obtained two reflectors and sockets which were new. Large but free again. I sure they are for the 1000w bulbs. I want to use two of them on my 90g upgrade. It is an inwall so the fixtures will not show. Again I guess the 1000w for MH is of no real value, but I would like to use the 250W and 400W if I can do it. I know the sockets in the hoods are too big so I can change them. Since this stuff is all free could I mismatch a 250w with a 400w and use a bulb in the 400w that would look close to the 250W. Anyone that has a thought please chime in?

[miwoodar]

First things first, you need to determine what type of ballasts you are working with. They have an ANSI number on them somewhere. Look for something that reads like M58, M138, M80, S51, etc...it will probably start with an M but might begin with an S or a H. If you got these ballasts for free I would guess the 250 to be M58 and the 400 to be M59.

You can find references to these ballast types here:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=624185

What do you intend to keep? Do you prefer white-ish or bluish light? Once you get your ballast IDs, you can plug in different bulb/ballast combinations on Sanjays site until you get a combo that will graph out roughly the same. You'll want to go here and choose the 'two lamps' tab: http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting

[OldSaltMan1]

OK, they are a mixture of different ones. I just took everything this guy didn't want. The 250W is switchable from MH to HPS and is marked S52. The 400W is MH only and marked M59. The 250W is also switchable from HPS to MH and labeled S50. Are yuo saying it might be OK to use one a 250W and a 400W and get similar lighting results?

[OldSaltMan1]

thanks for the links. I am looking them over now!

[miwoodar]

The M59 will fire probe start halide bulbs...this gives you a lot of selection. If it were me I would consider an XM20k.

The S50 will fire pulse start bulbs. I don't know much about this ballast though. It appears as if it will fire a radium but I don't know if you should set it to HPS or MH to do so. Hopefully someone with experience with this ballast will chime in.

Each side of your reef will get VERY different levels of light, however, as long as the spectrum is similar you'll have a difficult time telling the difference with the naked eye.

Both of these ballasts are covered again and again here:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/printthread.php?s=&threadid=201570&perpage=1000

[OldSaltMan1]

I couldn't get the links on Sanjays site to work? It looks like that is what I was looking for. When I put in the info under the "two lamp" tab I get an error message. Anyone else offer any help here? All I can find on as S50 ballast refers to a HPS but this one is switchable between HPS and MH. The Sunlight Supply web site doesn't offer any help!

[cooltankmate]

a

[miwoodar]

Did you select 'yes' or 'no' in the shielded drop down box?

Anybody know anything about switchable ballasts?

[OldSaltMan1]

Yes, shielded Y/N sas the proplem. Now I just need to know what all that info means!
Thanks...

[miwoodar]

Here is a graph of my bulbs as an example. I was in a situation not so different from you...I had one probe start ballast and one pulse start ballast and wanted to find bulbs that appeared the same to the eye. 250 watt bulbs...SPS 20K on an M58 on the left and a Radium on an Icecap on the right. You'll want to find a combo that overlaps well to get a similar visual on both sides of the tank. Beyond that, the higher the ppfd (PAR), the more growing potential. The larger the spikes on the left, the more blue your tank will be. More blue typically means less PAR though. Bulbs in the 20K range will be more blue. Bulbs in the 10K will have less blue. Most people that run 400 watt bulbs would lean towards the 20K bulbs. Myself, I'm running 20K bulbs on 250 watt ballasts and have decently high PAR (above 600 just below the surface)...much of this is due to my reflectors (lumenarcs).

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n231/miwoodar/MHComparison.jpg

[OldSaltMan1]

This is a big help. If I can match the spectoral plot for two different bulbs and ballast does the fact that one is 250W and the other 400W mean anything as far as visual effect?

[miwoodar]

Yes, the closer the plots the closer everything *should* appear to the eye. All you need to do is figure out which ballast option in Sanjay's list best approximates your S50. If nobody chimes in to help you here, you might try going through the first link above, finding a guru (the depth of knowledge some of these guys have is staggering!) and sending a PM.

Maybe try modeling a Radium 250 and an XM 20K 400. The latter will be a much stronger bulb but the plots might be similar. I don't know...I'm just shooting from the hip with this combo.

[OldSaltMan1]

Great at least it looks like it workable. With free ballast/reflectors etc the only thing I have to loose is bulbs! Thanks for the help...

[miwoodar]

I'm glad all this time I waste on RC can be of use! Best of luck!

[OldSaltMan1]

miwoodar, if you are still there how do these two lights look? Or to anyone who knows more than me?

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/207862Bulbs.jpg

[miwoodar]

They look pretty close to me.

[OldSaltMan1]

Thanks, now I have to look for the bulbs. Do you if all of the mogul bases on 250w/400w/1000w fixtures are the same size? I think they are from what I can find.

[miwoodar]

As long as you're looking at single ended bulbs I believe they are all the same.

[OldSaltMan1]

Great, I gots lots of stuff which was almost new and almost free, but a lot of it was 1000w stuff. It was used in an "indoor grow room" and I got it at an auction. The reflectors are large but real nice. Everything is going in a fish room and want be seen anyway.
Thanks