An interesting email regarding Radium and the proper ballast

[stancfii]

With the m80 almost extinct, I have been looking for the most suitable way to drive a Radium to spec. I know you can find the M80 used, but was curious what the best option would be for someone that wanted to buy new. I decided to email the sales department at Radium.de, I found the reply to be very interesting:

We have contacted our main US importer for aquarium lighting and asked him for his advise. This is what he answered:

I do not recommend using any magnetic coil based ballast any longer. We only sell electronic metal halide ballast. If the customer must run a magnetic ballast then I would recommend the M153. I would also tell the customer that magnetic metal halide and HPS ballast may not be on the market much longer due to EPA regulations. You can recommend our electronic Luxcore ballast that have different voltage outputs and if the customer wants to overdrive the lamp with more voltage then he can just turn the dial up for increased voltage output.
www.coralvue.com/luxcore-250w-selectable-wattage-electronic-ballast

Hope this information is assistant for you.

Regards,

Michael Kremer

Radium Lampenwerk GmbH
Sales Europe/Overseas
Dr.-Eugen-Kersting-Straße 6
51688 Wipperfürth

/
I was hoping to get a different response from engineering or the like, but I guess if the bulbs don't last as long, they can sell more :)

Has anyone tested the 250HQI setting to see what amperage it drives a radium? I've read that the higher frequency of electronic ballasts can reduce the life of the bulb. I wonder which one would give the bulb longer life: An electronic ballast at a higher freq, or a M153 at a lower amperage?

[ganjero]

You can still find brand new m80 ballasts. Obviously the US distributor (Coralvue) is going to recommend electronic ballast since that is all the produce; that said, I have not found issues using Radiums with e-ballast.

Running a Radium on a M153 ballast is not recommended, and that leaves a lot say about the person answering the email.



http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Metal-Halide-HQI-250-Watt-Assembled-Ballast-378

[AaronReeph]

You can still find brand new m80 ballasts. Obviously the US distributor (Coralvue) is going to recommend electronic ballast since that is all the produce; that said, I have not found issues using Radiums with e-ballast.

Running a Radium on a M153 ballast is not recommended, and that leaves a lot say about the person answering the email.



http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Metal-Halide-HQI-250-Watt-Assembled-Ballast-378

+1 I would [I]not[I] want to run a Radium on an M153 ballast.

As for M80 ballasts, here is a link to the first one that came up in a Google Search:

http://www.aquariumplants.com/Aqua_Medic_Reeflex_Cube_Ballast_1x250_Magnetic_p/am70050.htm

The Radium was designed to run on an M80, I don't know why anyone would recommend something else. Generally, Radiums on electronic ballasts are under driven, (not sure about the 250 "HQI" electronic modes) and look bluer than they would on an M80 ballast.

Here is a slightly out dated but still very informative article:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/8/review

[ganjero]

The Radium was designed to run on an M80,
Not a 100% accurate but close but the M80 is the closest American ballast to match the bulb specs.

[AaronReeph]

Alas...you are correct! I forgot the name of the European specification

[alton]

FYI to match my 10 year old Coralvue ballast on output I have to use the 250HQI setting on my Luxcore ballast. I am getting up to 24 months out of some of my lamps with an average of 18 months.

[alton]

You can still find brand new m80 ballasts. Obviously the US distributor (Coralvue) is going to recommend electronic ballast since that is all the produce; that said, I have not found issues using Radiums with e-ballast.

Running a Radium on a M153 ballast is not recommended, and that leaves a lot say about the person answering the email.



http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Metal-Halide-HQI-250-Watt-Assembled-Ballast-378

M153 is a pulse start ballast and Radium is a pulse start lamp? Energy codes are a contributing factor why M80 and other ballast/lamps will be slowly but surely leaving the market. Remember the old 175w Mercury Vapor lights? Gone

[AaronReeph]

Alton, thanks for the information. Was your Coralvue an M80 ballast? Do you recall what your average lamp life was on that ballast?

How would you compare the color spectrum between the two settings (and two ballasts)?

Edit:

Didn't see your new post. The M153 ballast is not a HQI (high current) ballast. It would under drive HQI bulbs.

[stancfii]

What I don't get is the reply that if I want more voltage, just use the HQI setting, implying that it is fine to run it on the regular 250w setting. This is just as wrong as running it on a M153 ballast, maybe more so since the M153 runs it at 2.6A, closer to the spec of 3A than the electronic at 2.2A. The electronic runs both improper amperage and frequency, while the M153 runs it at the right freq but slightly fewer amps. The bulb is a 300w bulb (spec'd for 3A@100v), I'd love to try it on a 310w S67 hps ballast!

[stancfii]

Does that make sense, or am I missing something about how the ballasts work. Core and coil drive the bulb at their operating current and the bulb uses the volts it needs, correct?

[alton]

Alton, thanks for the information. Was your Coralvue an M80 ballast? Do you recall what your average lamp life was on that ballast?

How would you compare the color spectrum between the two settings (and two ballasts)?

Edit:

Didn't see your new post. The M153 ballast is not a HQI (high current) ballast. It would under drive HQI bulbs.

If you looked at my tank right now with 3 x lumen bright pendants one has a 24 month Radium on a Luxcore ballast (just replaced my 10 year old Coralvue ballast), a 12+ month lamp on a Coralvue dimming ballast. And a 2 week old radium lamp on a regular Coralvue ballast. You could tell me which was which, none are blue, all three are bright white with a hint of blue. The 24 month old lamp that has run for two years on my original coralvue ballast that I got from David at Coralvue has only dropped 10%! I have had only one Radium lamp drop 10% at 12 months, the next one to it was 16 months.
Maybe someone can post on here who runs Radium lamps on an M80 ballast who regularly checks there light levels with a PAR or foot candle meter on how long there lamps are lasting?

[Timber77]

I run 400 radiums on pro (son of agro) ballasts which run them at 430 watts.

In the past I used 250 radiums on m80 pulling about 305 watts on a kilowatt meter (so minus out about 10% or whatever you factor for inefficiency) the bulb is probably seeing around 275 watts. and have run 400 watt radiums on m80s which pull about 320 watts from the m80 . Mainly the amount of blue is affected. Ive run the 250's on icecap ballast's and they metered around 270 watts power draw.

[moondoggy4]

Thanks for the all the good info, I still need two M80 ballast.

[stancfii]

It was made clear to me by a very knowledgable source where my misunderstanding was. I was mistaking line operating current for arc operating current, the values being significantly different depending on the code of the ballast. I suppose I was trying to reinvent the wheel by looking into other magnetic ballasts besides the M80.

I'm strongly considering putting one Radium on my 40br as a standalone with no actinic supplement, and using a lumen arc mini for a reflector. I just want to make sure I buy the best choice (which seems to be the m80) the first time around.