Iwasakis on PFO HQI ballast!!!!!!!!

[VaderWS6]

I just received my new PFO dual 250watt HQI ballast today, and holy crap it makes the Iwasaki SE bulbs bright! They're more than twice as bright as they were using the standard PFO ballast! The Iwasakis are now a super bright white, and look incredibly natural. I'll never have to use actinic supplements again, and highly recommend anyone who uses Iwasaki bulbs to pick up a PFO HQI ballast to power them! I should have done this a LONG time ago! My replacement XM 10k bulbs should be in this week, so I'll let you know how they look as well. I'll try to get pics up, but they really don't show the true intensity at all. Trust me, it looks just like real sunlight! :rollface:

950 PAR ! ! ! :dance: :celeb1: :bigeyes:

[VaderWS6]

Guess no one is as excited as I am. :D

[Ti]

O.k, I'll be excited for u.
YAY!

[otterpop510]

yah!!

[hottuna]

how bout some before and after pics for us... please ????

[1234]

I've been using them for over 2yrs now. You are just overdriving the Iwaski and overdriving will shorten the life of any bulb, but then with the Iwaski's the bulb life is around 2- 2 1/2 yrs. :D

Still think actinic's will still be needed

[Aquaduck]

I don't get excited unless I see pictures. :o But I'm glad you like them.

[VaderWS6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6581862#post6581862 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 1234
but then with the Iwaski's the bulb life is around 2- 2 1/2 yrs. :D



Exactly :D As for actinics, I'm just going to use them for dawn and dusk now.

I've been using Iwasakis since 2003, and I doubt I'll go with another brand bulb since I started overdriving them yesterday with the HQI ballast. I'll get a few pics up, but the pics just don't show the awesome intensity or color at all.... I don't have any before pics that are Iwasaki only, my older pics are all in combination with 440 watts of VHO actinic.

[VaderWS6]

I tried taking pictures, and they all just totally suck. They don't capture the intensity/color at all, and aren't even worth posting..... Now my Iwasakis are so white, they could be passed off as 10k.

:hammer:

[elephen]

From everything I have read you are supposed to run the Iwaski's on a HQI ballast, or else it looks like you have 'pee' water.

I'm really interested to see a XM10k and that Iwaski side-by-side. I'm looking for new bulbs and I have a SLS BW7 dual 250w HQI ballast and was contemplating the XM10k's but may go with the Iwaski's.

Of course thats quite a bit of acclimation with going from 20k Radiums to an Iwaski, even though the Radiums on an HQI ballast are putting out a fair amount. On Sanjay's site 96ish PPFD while the XM10k/Iwaski hovers around 180 PPFD give or take.

[VaderWS6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6585694#post6585694 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by elephen
From everything I have read you are supposed to run the Iwaski's on a HQI ballast, or else it looks like you have 'pee' water.

I'm really interested to see a XM10k and that Iwaski side-by-side. I'm looking for new bulbs and I have a SLS BW7 dual 250w HQI ballast and was contemplating the XM10k's but may go with the Iwaski's.

Of course thats quite a bit of acclimation with going from 20k Radiums to an Iwaski, even though the Radiums on an HQI ballast are putting out a fair amount. On Sanjay's site 96ish PPFD while the XM10k/Iwaski hovers around 180 PPFD give or take.

I just received my replacement SE XM 250watt 10k's today, and tried them out. They burn super white and super intense! I really love them, but they aren't as bright as the Iwasakis. The Iwasakis are the brightest I've ever seen, and even the arc tube glows red for like 20 seconds after they shut off! Tonight I screwed in an XM on one side and Iwasaki on the other. I'll compare tomorrow, and decide which I'll go with for the first year. :D They're both very nice, but the Iwasaki just looks waaaay natural even though the XM shows the color of my corals better.