pink radium?

[rtbm]

i posted this in the equipment forum as well but thought this would be a good place too.

i have used reeflux 12ks for over three years. I decided to try some radiums this time.

they are 400 watt and run on non dimmable coralvue ballasts.

I replaced all three last monday. Yesterday i noticed one of them looked a little pink. I figured it probably has to do with the fact that they are burning in but a quick search for pink radiums turned up nothing.

today i tried the pink one in another ballast and it was still pink and the "normal" one was still blue in fact two of the three look the same the pink one obvieously does not.

heres a couple pics that will hopefully illustrate the color shift.

in person it it undeniably real pink.

the pink one is on the left

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8109.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8110.jpg




and heres a couple after i swithced sockets

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8105.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8103.jpg



my question is. is this normal for radiums? I can honestly say i never had a 12k do anything like this durring burn in.

and a little update. Even since posting my other thread the bulb has become even pinker, almost red at this point. It looks pretty bad.

Anybody ever have anything like this happen with radiums?

[doubleott05]

id send it in for a manufacture warranty replacement bulb

i have used many bulbs over the years and from my personal point of view it is not normal.

i had a 6500k burn pink once and the manufacture replaced it without question.

good luck

[badmotorfinger7]

I can definitely see the pink. I use radiums and have never had that issue, probably a bad bulb.

[InsaneClownFish]

400w Radiums are designed to be run on a very specific type of magnetic halide ballast. While there's nothing wrong with running them on an electronic ballast, you're going to get a vastly different color because the same wattage is not being sent to the bulb. On a probe start magnetic ballast you'll get that nice rich blue color. The variance in wattage transfer between e-ballasts is considerable. I would highly recommend you try another ballast before you scrap the bulbs.

[ryshark]

I'd send that pink one back. The other two look good. I have never had a pink Radium on my e-ballast, but my bulbs are 250watt.

[rtbm]

thnks for the input. I'll probably go ahead and send the bulb back.


thanks,


Adam

[rtbm]

my second question is then. anyone know where need to send this thing?

[InsaneClownFish]

Apologies, I just realized you had two running blue and one actually running "pink" on the same ballast. Definitely not the ballast. :o

[Coral Addict]

I ran radium bulbs and never had one fire up pink. Sounds like a bad bulb to me.

[rtbm]

[QUOTE=InsaneClownFish;17244273]Apologies, I just realized you had two running blue and one actually running "pink" on the same ballast. Definitely not the ballast. :o[/QUOTE

nope. i switched them around and had the same results.

I went on the radium website but did noty have much luck trying to contact anyone. I am not sure where to go from here other than to call premium.

thanks again for the input. A little dissapointing with the reputation that these have, especially over "lesser quality" reeflux of which i have had zero issues for years now and seem to come back to time and time again. I do like the look of the blue ones though so far.

[ryshark]

[QUOTE=InsaneClownFish;17244273]Apologies, I just realized you had two running blue and one actually running "pink" on the same ballast. Definitely not the ballast. :o[/QUOTE

nope. i switched them around and had the same results.

I went on the radium website but did noty have much luck trying to contact anyone. I am not sure where to go from here other than to call premium.

thanks again for the input. A little dissapointing with the reputation that these have, especially over "lesser quality" reeflux of which i have had zero issues for years now and seem to come back to time and time again. I do like the look of the blue ones though so far.

Premium should help you. They can deal directly with Radium on their own IMO

[prickles]

If it makes you feel better, I switched from reeflux to radiums because my reeflux started all the same color and changed to different colors over time. When I added my radiums, they started different and got more the same. Don't recall if i had pink though...

[Nanook]

Sounds like a bad bulb, but wouldn't hurt to run it for a couple weeks to see if it changes after burn-in, if the company you bought it from is cool with that?

[rtbm]

thanks alot for the input. I have the go ahead from premium to return the bulb so i am going to just go ahead and do it..

Thanks Premium!

[rtbm]

well i am now i little frustrated. It seems another one of the radiums has gone pinkish.

Is it possible that they may have come from a bad batch? To compare I threw in one of my 9 month old reeflux 12ks and i almost could not tell them apart. In fact the 12k looked better than the 2 week old radium. The new pink one.

Does anyone run 400's on coralve ballasts? Could this have something to do with the ballasts? I have switched them around a few times now with the same results. One looks great. Nice clear blue. the other two now look sort of washed out and pinkish. Really pretty bad.

Is it possible that they will go back to being blue? It just doesnt seem like it to me.

I am almost ready to just wash my hands of this and go back to my reefluxes but, if how the nice blue one looks right now is what radiums are actually supposed to look like then i want my whole tank to look like that. I took a few more pics but my wife is gone right now and has the camera.

I am struggling to articulate my frustration. I mean I cant be the only one to have two radiums do this. Whatever the reason.

[mm949]

i run mine the same way....check to see if the nipple is above the plane of the bulb, this will alter the kelvin...if it is, you need a new bulb.

[rtbm]

Yes i have already been through that. In fact the blue "normal" one is pointed the lowest of them all. about 3:30. I have been messing around with nipple location for a few days now with no change other than another oned turned pink. Please understand I am not turning them on and off over and over i have been slowly trying different things each day or so. the end result looks like this as of yesterday.

The center is the first pink and the right is the 2nd one. it's not quite as pink and it's even harder to distinguish in the pic but It is definantly not the nice crisp blue on the far left.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8114.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8115.jpg


please chime in if you have any ideas at all or have had an experience like this. I am still not sure where to go with this.

[dougers31]

I feel for ya. I have a 150w de radium bulb that is green. I tried it on two different ballasts and got the same result. Kinda sucks to spend the money and get something totally useless for my tank.

[buy_baff]

I use to have a current outer orbit HQI fixture and the left side always burned the bulbs in pinker that the right. The color evened out with the actanics on so I just lived with it.
I have been thinking about trying radiums on my lumatek switchable ballist but I am kind of warry after this. Hope you get it worked out Adam.
-Bill

[SoFloReefer]

I ran a 400 radium on an Icecap ballast and it stayed blue the whole time. If it was me I'd just go back to the Reeflex 12k. Those look better and I think have better par on a 400w E ballast anyways.

[colubrid]

I run my Radiums on 400w Galaxy ballasts. I recently changed out my 4 bulbs and 3 out of the 4 were pink in color with one being the nice crisp blue. I returned the pink ones and out of the replacements 2 were very pink and one was blue tending toward pink undertones. Quite frustrated, I have set up my lights and have let them burn in a while. I am thinking reeflux 12k my next change out. Whats going on with Radiums?

[Robert Patterso]

I just put in 2 radiums running them on coralvue dimmable ballasts. So far I love em. Crisp white with a nice blue tint. I will be keeping an out after reading this. I switched from reeflux 12k. All my monti caps started browning out very fast and my palawenisis just seemed to have a melt down. Bulbs were about 7-8 mos old. After posting here about the problem several chimed in and said they had the same problem. Supposedly after 6-8 mos. they start giving off to much uv and the monti's can't hang. All parameters checked out good so that was the only conclusion I could come up with also.

[rtbm]

I run my Radiums on 400w Galaxy ballasts. I recently changed out my 4 bulbs and 3 out of the 4 were pink in color with one being the nice crisp blue. I returned the pink ones and out of the replacements 2 were very pink and one was blue tending toward pink undertones. Quite frustrated, I have set up my lights and have let them burn in a while. I am thinking reeflux 12k my next change out. Whats going on with Radiums?

i feel a little better knowing that it's not just me here. Not glad that you had to deal with that but at least i know i am not seeing things. I am ultimatly very dissapointed with my radiums at this point. I think it should not be too much to expect three bulbs that cost this much to look the same. Preferably the nice blue color they are known for.

so the question really is what is going on with radiums? Anyone else have theres get pink on them?

[prickles]

I run my radiums on the 400w dimmable coralvues. They are blue right now. Like I said though, they were different colors when I bought them. Now they are pretty uniform.

[heaton]

This is very strange. Mine started a little purple but changed very quickly. Like maybe two days.

[rtbm]

well i though i might update this thread.

the bulbs have been running for a month now and all three still change color dramaticly from blue to pink literaly day to day. I have had zero luck trying to contact anyone from radium that can offer any input. I am pretty much ready to throw them in the trash take the loss and just walk away from this ridiculesness.

I believe that for whatever reason my ballasts or coralvue ballasts in general will not fire radiums consistantly in any way. Unfortunatly i havent gotten anyware trying to confirm this.

I will never buy another radium bulb at this point, as well i would try to disuade anyone using coralvue ballasts from using them also.

I just cant believe that i am the only person to ever have this problem.:(

[buy_baff]

That sucks man. Before you pitch them though you could send them my way and if my lumatek ballist fire the properly I'll give you $40 apiece for them. Just a thought let me know.

[ryshark]

Totally sucks. The place you bought them from won't help you?

[elijaher]

Sorry to hear about your bulbs.

[Robert Patterso]

I'm using the coralvue dimmable ballast with no ill effects so far. Are you using the dimmables? I would call the people you bought them from. They should stand behind them. After all they are the ones that sold them to you, not radium.........

[rtbm]

i have the standard coralvues. not dimmable. I was more looking for answers about ballast compatibility than anything. Since this seems to be a ballast issue more than just a "bad bulb" or three I thought someone from radium could at least shed some light on the problem.

[MadBeach79]

So, in response to your frustration, you definetly are not the only one. At work we have a 450g SPS tank, lit up by (6) 400w radiums in lumenmax elite reflectors, they are powered by coralvue non dimmable ballast. Just recently, we replaced two of the oldest bulbs, the old bulbs were about a year old and still running blue, now one of the new bulbs will run pink from time to time, at first it was nice, bright and blue as expected, I'd say within the last week or two, sometimes it will come on pink sometimes blue. Whenever it runs pink, I umplug the ballast, let the bulb cool down a bit, and plug it back in, seems to make the pink go away...
I am trying to get a hold of coralvue, regarding this issue. They are now the master distributor for the US. I'll update here when I do.

[iap]

I have a coralvue ballast and use radiums. Have never come across this issue

[Robert Patterso]

They are the master distibutor of radiums? Hopefully they will have or will be able to get some info from radium

[rtbm]

So, in response to your frustration, you definetly are not the only one. At work we have a 450g SPS tank, lit up by (6) 400w radiums in lumenmax elite reflectors, they are powered by coralvue non dimmable ballast. Just recently, we replaced two of the oldest bulbs, the old bulbs were about a year old and still running blue, now one of the new bulbs will run pink from time to time, at first it was nice, bright and blue as expected, I'd say within the last week or two, sometimes it will come on pink sometimes blue. Whenever it runs pink, I umplug the ballast, let the bulb cool down a bit, and plug it back in, seems to make the pink go away...
I am trying to get a hold of coralvue, regarding this issue. They are now the master distributor for the US. I'll update here when I do.

Hmm, thats pretty much exactly what mine are doing. I have them all hardwired to a timer so I can't unplug them individualy. I'll throw the switch today after they come on and see what happens.

I will say it again though, i love how they look when they are blue. I just cant stand the inconsistancy and don't see myself getting all new ballasts any time soon.

I thought contacting coralvue may be a good idea as well. At least maybe they may have some ideas. At this point i would be suprised if the bulbs all of a sudden started burning blue and staying blue from now on. It just seem like some technical issue that is beyond my understanding of how they actually work.

thanks for chiming in

[MadBeach79]

They are the master distibutor of radiums? Hopefully they will have or will be able to get some info from radium

Check out their page:

http://coralvue.com/category/products/bulbs-lighting/radium/

[MadBeach79]

Hmm, thats pretty much exactly what mine are doing. I have them all hardwired to a timer so I can't unplug them individualy. I'll throw the switch today after they come on and see what happens.

I will say it again though, i love how they look when they are blue. I just cant stand the inconsistancy and don't see myself getting all new ballasts any time soon.

I thought contacting coralvue may be a good idea as well. At least maybe they may have some ideas. At this point i would be suprised if the bulbs all of a sudden started burning blue and staying blue from now on. It just seem like some technical issue that is beyond my understanding of how they actually work.

thanks for chiming in

To tell you the truth it almost seems to me as if they had a bad batch of bulbs, maybe a different brand of components or something, I will also try to get a couple different ballasts and see if they run any different on different types of ballasts.

[rtbm]

that certainly could be the case.

I have a 220 volt ice cap i though i might hook up and see but i have yet to do so.

i'd love to hear what you find out.

thanks again for the input

for what ever reason heres a few pics from today

for the last two days the far right has been pink while the other two a nice crisp blue.
tommorow they will look different. i am certain.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8357.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/rtbm/DSCF8359.jpg

[mm949]

are u running multiple dedicated breakers for the tank or is everything running on one circuit..?
i would try another brand ballast to see if its the bulbs or find a friend that can try the bulb on their rig

i run a total of (9) 400w vue ballasts w/radiums without issues

[rtbm]

I have five circuts. One 20 amp that is dedicated to lights, three 400's and one 250 total. Can I ask how long ago you bought your bulbs?

Unfortunatly i dont know anyone near me with a 400 watt ballast i could use.

[mm949]

i swap them out every 6months, i buy 12 atime....im just south of the border if u want i can try your bulbs..pm if needed

[rigleautomotive]

The old coral vue ballast + radium is a bad combo.I ran them in the 250 watt bulb and ballast and ran into the same issue.But my reeflux 12K bulbs were doing this and firing inconsistently before I got the radiums .They would fire white some days and blue others on the coral vue ballasts.the radiums would fire blue or pink on the coral vue ballasts.I switched the ballasts to ARO electronics and I am very pleased with the colors and results.They fire the same every day and I am on my third set of 3 since changing ballasts.I had a thread on this about 3 years ago if you care to search.

[rtbm]

thanks i tried to find anything with pink and radium in the same sentence and diddnt come up with much. Maybe i'll dig a little deeper.

either way, you attribute the color shifting to the ballast and not the bulb then.

[rigleautomotive]

Yea ,for sure in my case.I got the bulbs from hellolights and they sent me a couple replacements that did the same thing.evebtually i got 3 ballasts from them and I was impressed.My colors popped like never before and I never wanted for another bulb ballast combo which is saying alot for me(I am picky,lol).I really wasnt 100 percent happy before and I tried a ton of combinations.The next best thing for me was XM 10k on Mag ballast with 4 six foot VHO actinics.That combo was sweet and as nice IMO as my current set up of 2 VHO bulbs with the Radiums .Growth was better with the XM combo of course

[naldopr]

well i though i might update this thread.

the bulbs have been running for a month now and all three still change color dramaticly from blue to pink literaly day to day. I have had zero luck trying to contact anyone from radium that can offer any input. I am pretty much ready to throw them in the trash take the loss and just walk away from this ridiculesness.

I believe that for whatever reason my ballasts or coralvue ballasts in general will not fire radiums consistantly in any way. Unfortunatly i havent gotten anyware trying to confirm this.

I will never buy another radium bulb at this point, as well i would try to disuade anyone using coralvue ballasts from using them also.

I just cant believe that i am the only person to ever have this problem.:(
I use my 250 with the same ballast and never had problems you definitely got a bad batch it happens..just contact your seller for replacement as many time you need it.

[naldopr]

by the way a few friend of mine had the same problem using them in galaxy ballast so is not a ballast issue is just a bad bulb.

[Stanley-Reefer]

Could it be the electrical draw of the amps and the order their getting their juice? I notice my fans hit an "extra gear" when my halides go out myself.

[Jeremy B.]

I'm pretty confident it's a ballast issue. Any variance in voltage being supplied to the lamp will cause it to burn a different color temperature, exactly like what you're experiencing. If you had all of these running on a hqi ballasts, I would imagine they would all look identical to one another.

PaulErik, who is very knowledgeable on metal halides in general could probably shed a ton of light, no pun intended, on this situation. You might consider sending him a PM.

On another note, I'd be more than happy to set all three lamps up side by side on identical ballasts and see what we come up with if you want to send them back to me.

[SPSpirate]

I've been running radiums in my 150 for a while now on a galaxy e- ballasts..i recently just replaced my bulb with a new radium and it was awful in color.. Everything but blue..under tones of pink!..changed it out with a new radium getting some what of the same result! Def a bad batch!

[rtbm]

Were they 400's then?

[SPSpirate]

Yes 400's...something is def wrong..I heard about this thread from a friend that came over today to check out the reef...I thought it was just me!!!

[MadBeach79]

So, I couldn't get a hold of Coralvue, but I did talk to my LFS here who uses about 30 400w Radiums to light up some of their display tanks, they told me to just bring them the pink bulbs, they would swap them out and send them back to their distributor, they have been experiencing the same thing on some of their newer bulbs and have sent them back with no problems. They are running galaxy ballast on all their displays, so I am pretty confident that it's not the bulb/ballast combination. I remember a few years back I had some phoenix 150w bulbs that would do the same in a current usa sunpod fixture, I would swap the bulb out and it would work out okay...
I wish coralvue would chime in on this one, or at least answer their phone.

[rtbm]

so clearly this thread has gone back and forth on this one but the consensus seems to be leaning more towards the quality of the bulbs and NOT the ballast. This makes alot of sence to me. I would think that if radiums were that sensitive to voltage irregularities it would be common knowlege. Further more I would think that a bulb that is said to be of high quality would be made to fire consistantly every time despite voltage issues or else be very specific in stating what ballast they should be run on.

The asterisk next to radiums usuauly says *needs hqi or electronic ballast to fire
I have electronic ballasts. Do the fire? yes every time do they look the same?

No. after over a month they have yet to appear as the same bulb.

[Nanook]

Wow, Radium bulbs have always been a solid bulb, this is a disturbing thread. I also didn't know that Coralvue was the US distributor for this bulb?

I was about to pony up for 8 new Radiums but might be going with a less expensive bulb now.

[Jeremy B.]

I would hold off on jumping on the bulbs being bad. In my opinion, it would have more to do with the ballast than anything. Any variance in voltage being supplied to the lamp will cause the arc tube to burn at a different color temperature.

RTBM sent his lamp back to me, which I'm going to test here over the weekend and see what happens. I'm going to do some different ballast comparisons, as well as swamp new and used lamps in and out to see what I come up with. My money is on it being a ballast issue, not a lamp issue, but I will confirm to be sure.

[cagri]

My recent experience with this combo, 3 400 watt radiums on coralvue non-dimmable ballasts(2.5 years old so I think they have newer versions) is that one of my bulbs always burned a bit bluer than others, and other bulbs burn bluer on some days than others... I attributed that coralvue ballast issue as it was not consistent to be a bulb issue.

Another thing I noticed that, these bulbs only lasted about 4 months on coralvue ballasts, they got really dim at about 3 month mark that I had to replace them at 4 months. Coral color was best though until they got really dim.

Reeflux bulbs last about 7 - 8 months max on these ballasts too.

So far I like the Coralvue / Reeflux 20K combo the best, the color is more consistent from day to day and they last 7 months, corals grow and color well.

I have never experienced these issues with my PFO magnatic ballasts, where I could run XM 10K s for a year+ with minimal par drop and no color change.
Maybe this is normal with Electronic ballasts.

[kevinpratt823]

I have a total of (5) 250w radiums, all running on Lumatek digital ballast, 3 of them are overdriven on the HQI setting. Bulbs are 7 mos old, ballsts are 3 mos, before this I hade Bluewave Mag ballasts. No complaints here, but these digital ballasts do burn signifigantly brighter than the Mag's did, even on the reg 250w setting. They also supposedly have a microprocessor that ensures the proper power always goes to the bulb, regaurdless of input voltage, they also supposedly compensate for old bulbs by driving them a bit harder. All I know is that I'm very happy with this setup.

[Nanook]

Ah, these are the 400w bulbs only? I was going with all 250's on the next bulb change. Now, I just need to find one more dual HQI 250w ballast:D

[PaulErik]

It is difficult to know what exactly is happening. It can be a few things. First thing is some of the 400-watt Radium lamps hitting the North American market now are slightly different in design. The newer batches of lamps have a slightly shorter arc tube (inner bulb) and use a different arc tube support technique. According to Radium the electrical properties are the same with the newer lamp. The easiest way to tell if you have a newer or older lamp is the arc tube (inner bulb) support. The older lamps utilize 2 stamped metal plates to hold the arc tube in place. The stamped metal plates are located at each end of the arc tube. The newer lamps utilize a wire support for the arc tube.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/PaulErikH/Radium400W.jpg

The Radium lamps are printed with a batch code next to the model and branding information on the glass bulb. Others I know who have run into this problem have the newer design lamps with an o3 batch code. It could be the newer lamps are more sensitive with certain ballasts but operate normally on the correct specified ballast (magnetic pulse start). When a difference is noticed with lamps they should be checked to see if they are the same lamp.

A bad batch of lamps could also be the reason. The batch codes should be recorded of the problem lamps. Another problem could be the ballasts. The Coralvue and a select few electronic ballasts were known to be sensitive to power fluctuations. This could cause the lamp and ballast to operate unstably especially since the Radium lamp is not operated according to specifications with electronic ballasts. The lamp and ballast combination could cause the system to be very sensitive. The problem could really be a single problem or even a combination of problems.

Some lighting systems can be sensitive and may require some steps to avoid problems.

1) All lamp cords and power cords should be separate and not touching each other. Cords and wires should not be coiled. The lamp cord (ballast to lamp cord) should be as short as possible. This is important with electronic ballasts but should be applied to magnetic ballasts as well.

2) The circuit supplying power should be clean and sized properly. The supply voltage during operation should be checked. This applies to both electronic and magnetic ballasts. The ideal operating voltage range can be small on some ballasts and varies by brand and type.

3) Lamps should be operated in the same operating position. The arc tube nipple (exhaust tip) should be pointed at or above horizontal and ideally in the same position as other lamps in multiple lamp setups.

4) Lamp will require a burn in period to stabilize electrically, color appearance and in light output. Usually 100 hours is adequate and may require a few on/off cycles. During the burn in period the lamp/s should not be touched or subjected to vibrations.

5) Lamps and ballasts should be matched by specifications to assure reliable, proper and safe operation. Each lamp type varies in specifications (starting current, starting voltage, warm up phase, stabilized operating current and voltage and other specs).

[rtbm]

Thanks alot for chiming in here. That really was the expertise i was looking for on this from the start.

They are the newer bulbs according to your discription and appears to have the batch code y2.



"1) All lamp cords and power cords should be separate and not touching each other. Cords and wires should not be coiled. The lamp cord (ballast to lamp cord) should be as short as possible. This is important with electronic ballasts but should be applied to magnetic ballasts as well."



this is definantly where i may have a problem.

I have my lighting wired so that the ballasts are in the basement. They are all hardwired to a t101 timer and i ran the lamp wires in conduit up from the basement to a box in the first floor ceiling.

From there they hang down and connect to the sockets. So there is well over 10-14 foot of wire from the ballast to the lamp.

Would it be advisable to run the hot load from my timer to the box on the ceiling and put the ballasts in the hood? This would be rather simple for me to do and would dramaticly shorten the lenght of wire between the ballast and lamp. It would also clean up alot of the wiring in between.


thanks again for responding here i really apprieciate it.

also thanks jeremy for all your help as well.

[buy_baff]

I have a total of (5) 250w radiums, all running on Lumatek digital ballast, 3 of them are overdriven on the HQI setting. Bulbs are 7 mos old, ballsts are 3 mos, before this I hade Bluewave Mag ballasts. No complaints here, but these digital ballasts do burn signifigantly brighter than the Mag's did, even on the reg 250w setting. They also supposedly have a microprocessor that ensures the proper power always goes to the bulb, regaurdless of input voltage, they also supposedly compensate for old bulbs by driving them a bit harder. All I know is that I'm very happy with this setup.

This is the combo I was thinking about trying. Can you post a pic of your tank so I can see how the light looks?
Thanks
-Bill

[kevinpratt823]

This is the combo I was thinking about trying. Can you post a pic of your tank so I can see how the light looks?
Thanks
-Bill
It's hard to get a real life looking pic, because I have to dial the white balance otherwise it comes out blue, but this is close.
Frag tank pics are with camera on auto.

[rtbm]

I may have made another discovery that points towards not just the ballast but specifically one out of three.

One of my ballasts is an older model of the coralvue 400.

it doesnt have silver sides. All the sides are pink.

well after a week maybe the two on the newer ballasts seem to have stabalized and have turned on blue and stayed blue up till today. All the while the other one has been going in and out from pink to blue. I have found that if i unplug the ballast and wait about five minutes it may turn on and be blue. After a couple of trys it seems that it will eventualy turn back on blue. I also noticed that the older ballast seems to run a little hotter than the other two. Either way this seems like a ballast issue to me

The only thing i havent done is switch the bulbs around again. I am afraid that the two that are looking good may go back to pink.

I am thinking that the two that have been turning on blue hopefully have fully burned in and will stay that way. If this is the case i wouldnt hesitate to pick up a new coralvue 400 watter and
call this one resolved.

But I am not quite ready to say that.

I am convinced however that there is an issue with the older corlavue ballast.

[Nanook]

anyone looking for info on bulb/ballast combos should check out sanjay joshi's article on manhattanreefs.com by far one of the most informative studies done on the subject and very helpful for this type of situation

Very good information on Sanjay's site, but definitely not helpful for this particular situation;)

[JAustin]

I have fell victim to the PINK RADIUM batch. I ordered two about 3 months ago. I installed them two weeks ago and one is very PINK! Swapped out with 8 month old Radium and that's nice and blue. Contacting the LFS that ordered it for me to see what can be done.

Great bulb but this is nuts! Hopefully everything gets corrected.

Jason

[buy_baff]

It's hard to get a real life looking pic, because I have to dial the white balance otherwise it comes out blue, but this is close.
Frag tank pics are with camera on auto.

Thanks looks good.

[Bullredchaser]

I run older Coralvue ballast with radium bulbs with no issue.But I will say 12k and radium on CV 400 watt ballast look identical.Whitish blue,wonder if I could get bluer on different ballast.

[jakester]

I will add this info for you. If you are going to use 400 watt Radium. Make sure you get the bulbs that are made with the stamped metal plates for the inner arc support. the ones with the wire inner arc support have been horrible for me with my ballast. There is for sure something different about the performance between the two designs. I have personally gone threw 3 sets of newer bulbs with the wire support and get ugly purple then a pink color the longer they burn in every time. All of the ones with the spamped plates are beautiful in color just like a Radium is supposed to look like. It drives me nuts when someone decides to go and change some major component on a bulb that has done so well for so long.

[rtbm]

there was some discussion about that early in the thread. the ones i have are all the newer ones with the thinner metal supports.

either way i have decided to wash my hands completely of the 400's and am in the procsess of switching to 250 watters on m80 ballasts.

[eshark]

I just received two NEW radium 400w bulbs with this new wire support in the bulbs and I run M135 Pulse ballasts. They still look the same, nice crisp blueish white. I think this has alot to do with ballast type. Radium bulbs are NOT designed to be under run on a elec. ballast.

[jakester]

I saw this response coming from a mile away. We all know that it is not "technically" spec to run them on an electronic ballast. But the majority of reef hobbyist do and always have ran these bulbs on electronic ballast or a ballast that wasn't "spec" for a Radium bulb with no problems. In fact most run the Radium on a ballast that overdrives them because it looks a lot better than on a standard m135. The fact of the matter is that they changed a major component inside their bulb and it has drastically changed the way that they perform compared to the previous design, Regardless of the ballast !

[asmodeus]

has anyone ran the radiums on the vertex ballast for the 400's and these radium's are the bad ones i shouldn't get these one without the plates then

[jakester]

correct, I wouldn't get the ones with wire arc support. I have tried 3 new sets with the wire and had bad bad color on everyone. The Radiums with the stamped plates that I have been using are beautiful. Not sure if its just a coincidence that maybe it was a bad batch that came from the newer design or if its the newer design itself that has changed the performance with these bulbs. But you wont see me buying another radium with wire arc support until this all gets sorted out.

[rtbm]

Jakester what ballast are you using? While the newer bulb style may be more sensitive, if you are using an electronic ballast it is more likely that the issue is with the ballast rather than the bulbs. Do you know anyone with an m135 ballast you could try them out on?

[jakester]

I have always run my radiums on Icecap and never with any problems. I recently switched to the new lumatek because I was getting a little nicer color from them. I have tried these bulbs with both ballast. I know they are not the recommended ballast to run with these bulbs but I have done so for years and never any problems because they have always burned much nicer to my eyes than on the m135. I have a friend who has a shop out here and he runs them on a m135 ballast and although they do burn much closer to the radium look they are still off in color by about 20%. For someone who doesn't have a lot of experience using Radiums they probably wouldn't know any different. But it is pretty obvious to both me and him that something is not quite right. I agree with you about the new design is probably more sensitive. That's how I feel also. Its a shame that the design has been changed and created a different or more ballast sensitive bulb. Even if I were to go out and buy all new m135 ballast the bulb still wont come close to the color I am used to getting from the older style. Maybe it is just a bad batch from the new design and they just have to work out some fine tuning with the bulb. But in the end most if not all of us are not going to run out and buy all new m135 ballast because they changed their bulb just to get a color that is still not satisfactory compared to their original design. People can blame it on all of us electronic ballast users all they want but the fact is that they changed their design. We are still doing what we have always done. And in the end most of us are just going to switch to a different brand bulb and go on with our day. They are the ones will loose the business. These newer style bulbs have only been out in North America for a few months and people have barely been exposed to them. There is going to be a lot more upset people within the next year as soon as more of these get into circulation and more people start changing their bulbs.I am sure off that

[eshark]

Jakester! YOUR QOUTE "In fact most run the Radium on a ballast that overdrives them because it looks a lot better than on a standard m135."

Where do you get this from? There is no other ballast execpt a higher wattage ballast that will overdrive this bulb!
Get your facts right. Buy the correct ballast (M135)/ bulb combination (Radium).

[Mr. Brooks]

I have coralvue ballasts. I was just shipped the wire arc support style bulbs. I'm going to run them on the coralvue ballasts for a while then switch to the new galaxy select-a-watt ballasts I just bought. I'll let you guys know what I find.

[tegee]

FWIW......I am running a new lighting setup using Hamilton M80 HQI ballasts with 250w Radiums (w/ the metal tab and or older design bulb). Been very happy with the performance and after using CoralVue ballasts with ReefLux and XM bulbs will not go back to the older setup. Love the new setup.

The only problem I am having is one of the three LumenBright reflectors is driving me nuts. When I screw in the Radium bulb is wiggles pretty loosely in the socket and does not make a good connection. Thus causing it not to fire. It is definitely related to the reflector and not the bulb. CoralVue send out another new socket for the LB reflector and same issue. Funny thing is the other two sockets/reflectors hold the Radium bulb nice and snug. Don't know what can be the problem.

What a hobby we choose:-).

[rtbm]

also FWIW I absolutley love to look of the 250 on an m80 ballast. Definantly nicer looking than the 400's on the coralvue on a good day.



This is without a doubt what I have been what i have been looking for the last 4-5 years in my lighting. Now I get it.

I would definantly say that if you want the most out of your radiums use the correct ballast. This whole thread is a testament to that now.

[Nanook]

[moved]

[eshark]

A radium 250w bulb looks great with the M80. Another reason i like the magnetic ballast over a electronic ballast is you can service magnetic ballasts, you can replace starters or capacitors when needed. Electronic ballast gets fried and you have to replace it with a new one.

[Nanook]

Aquamedic cube has an M80 ballast which runs the 250 watt Radium close to spec. I am getting ready to buy four of them so I can run my other tank with four 250 watt Radiums as well. Since SLS no longer makes the Bluewave 7's. The Aquamedic is easily accessible to replace components and has a cooling fan as well. Looks pretty well ventilated:

http://www.aqua-medic.com/reeflex_magnetic_ballast.shtml

[tegee]

Dave.....

Good choice. I was looking at those as well and ended up with Hamilton's. They do not get hot or even warm to the touch for that matter and do not see need for a fan. Accessibility is two screw on top panel. I tried one first to see how I liked and went for two more three weeks later. All US made and Hamilton has been great when clling for tech help and specs.

Just be careful, price did not include an $11.95 cord which was extra. I little frustrating but I got over it. Didn't know and had to wait another week for the cord to arrive.

Thought you would like to know.....

[rtbm]

I just bought three of the aqua medics and they are running my 250's as i type this.

Seems like a decent ballast to me. my only concern is if the fan quit running and i diddnt notice right away could something happen to the ballast.

I guess i never like the idea of moving parts 24-7.

I bought three 12' cords on ebay. just look for computer cords or computer extention because it's the female end that you want.

Ii know this thread is straying away from the original topic of pink 400's but If you are thinking about going with radiums, I would very much recomend running the 250's on the m80 over 400's on an electronic ballast. The 250's actually seem to have more punch than my 400's did on a good day on the vue's. Like i said earlier this is the the look i have been searching for. I tried many bulbs and ballast combos.

[Vince]

Tagging along

[surfjeepzx]

OK , I just finished reading the WHOLE thread. We don't want to start up the "which ballast is best for Radium" topic as that has been well covered.

I have a set of the older style 400 ballasts that run the Radium bulb on my tank. This is the third set I'm on with the wire supports and all three sets have behaved perfectly for me. A nice blue color, not too white, not too blue. I've never had a pink bulb. As a matter of fact I discovered with reading this thread that my ballasts are the 'older' type Coralvues.

So I've been running the older ballasts with the older bulbs and have had zero issues. The bulbs last about 8 months before I see the corals start to react with slower growth and less pop. It's a gradual thing so I date the bulbs and start paying attention around 8 months.

I agree with Jakester and I will not start chasing ballasts around to satisfy a changing light bulb. There are other choices and will be more as time goes on. I wish Ushio would make a SE 400 20k. I'd be gone. If this lamp issue is still present in about 5 months when I'm due for new lamps I'll simply try a new lamp. Who knows maybe I'll discover a new look that I've been looking for just like rtbm has discovered with the new lamp/ballast combo.

Stay positive

[JAustin]

Ushio does make a 400w 20K se

[AcroporAddict]

I've been running 3 x 400 watt Radium bulbs on CoralVue dimmable ballasts for two years without issues.

Sounds like a bad run of bulbs to me. None of this would dissuade me from using Radiums. They are the best combination of rendition and PAR I have ever used.

Problem with threads like these is they can hurt Radium sales. Every manufacurer can have a defective product make it to market. It is how they handle the issue that defines them. If your bulb Seller is willing to take care of the issue, then just do it and be done.

[rtbm]

the real problem with threads like this is everyone has an opionion as it relates directly to there own experiences and the debate just goes back and forth.

After seeing what the bulbs did on my setup using my ballasts i am pretty convinced that my ballasts were the problem. Because many people have not had issues running radiums on non spec ballasts does not mean that it diddnt happen to me, specificly on the older ballast. Before i took the 400's off the two newer ballasts had been firing up the radiums quite consistantly actually. I was left to decide, get a newer eballast and hope for the best or just scrap it all and go with what has been proven to work properly. Thats why i decided to go with the 250's. All i really wanted was the three bulbs over my tank to look the same.

Now they do

No one has really came out and bashed radium here. The whole idea was to get to the bottom of an issue regarding either the bulbs or the ballast.

The message remains. If you want to run radiums educate yourself before you do.

[surfjeepzx]

Ushio does make a 400w 20K se
I agree with you rtbm in that you had to make a move based on what you were experiencing and it seems you're pleased with the transition. One thing I did notice in the pictures of your 400 Radiums. The arc tube has a white glaze on it. My arc tubes after 4 months of use still look as clear as the day I got them with about 5 hours a day burn. Just something I noticed.

I just realized I typed that in after 3 days:sad2: It's been a few years since I researched lamps. I remember when I was looking I don't think there was a 20 available. I could be mistaken??

At this time I have to amend my post above. I never noticed the difference until this thread so when I went home the other night I opened the canopy and had a peek. Well well... what do ya know? The current set of Radiums has the stamped metal support. I pulled out my old set of used Radiums and they have the wire. I'm going to assume the set prior to that had the wire too.

This weekend I switched out the Radiums and went back to my 250 Ushio 10k's. I like the Radiums but the Ushios grow faster and have more vivid colors so I'm going that route for a change. I like the Radiums but the corals are in slow motion growth. I need to see some progress for a while and I'm interested in the difference in my electric by dropping 300 watts off the grid.

[jakester]

ESHARK...... Unless you are seasoned radium user and have used different ballast with them please no comments. Its just ignorant! I get my facts from experience and the fact that most people I know run the radiums on electronic ballst with a nicer look IMO. And if you did your homework at all you would also know that any electronic ballast that pushes 400 watts is in fact over driving the 400 watt radium because the specs on the them are actually rated to be driven at 365 watts.

from eshark:

Jakester! YOUR QOUTE "In fact most run the Radium on a ballast that overdrives them because it looks a lot better than on a standard m135."

Where do you get this from? There is no other ballast execpt a higher wattage ballast that will overdrive this bulb!
Get your facts right. Buy the correct ballast (M135)/ bulb combination (Radium).

[JAustin]

I am done with Radium bulbs now. I have ran Radium for 2 years and now they are garbage. I'm talking 400w here. I have dimmable ballasts and at all wattage the they are pinkish. I received two new bulbs and one was so pink i wanted to just throw it away right there and then. I shipped it off for a replacement so we'll see when the new one comes in if it's worth anything.

I fired up a 8 month used bulb that's well over a year old and it's 10x bluer than the new 1 month old radium. The old bulb is all black in the arc tube and it's incredible compared to the new crap.

The new bulbs are different in the inside too.

Looks like I may just go LED.

[Robert Patterso]

I must of got lucky. My bulbs are about 6 wks old and at first they would sometimes fire a little on the pink side but now they fire with that blue/white color all the time . Also on dimmable ballasts.
IMHO I would no way go to led's. Just go to XM 20k's or even Reeflux 20's

[jakester]

I switched to the XM 400 watt last week and am very pleased so far. I am running it right next to my 1 month old "older style Radium" and there is almost no difference. XM has a little more crisp white by maybe 5% but still has to burn in. looking in at the tank they both look like the same bulb.