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trottman
03/30/2006, 09:30 PM
Is DE and HQI (thin bubs with 2 connectors) the same thing?

If i have a 2 x 175 watt HQI ballast, could it under drive 2 x 250 watt DE bulbs???

would there be any problems with this??





Am i trying to hard to burn my house down?............
capncapo
03/30/2006, 09:37 PM
They are the same but your ballast will not work with the 250s.
trottman
03/31/2006, 03:38 PM
it wont even start them?..... i will have to ask my uncle who works for AB to steal me some 250 magnetic ballasts... thats what i need right?
sirreal63
03/31/2006, 04:42 PM
If they are HQI bulbs they need an HQI ballust, if they are not HQI you need to know what bulbs you will want to fire before you get a ballust. Just because it is a DE bulb doesn't mean it is HQI.

Get a couple electronic ballusts and no worries about the bulb.
capncapo
03/31/2006, 05:16 PM
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=201570


"HQI ballasts are similar to pulse starts in their wiring and ability to run bulbs. the output is a little higher which is meant to run the double-ended bulbs (commonly called HQI bulbs). people run mogul bulbs on these and they run a little hotter and brighter because they are being overdriven. this in turn shortens the life of the bulbs."

"Electronic. ahhh, the great electronics. these will run any bulb at the rated wattage: probe start, pulse start, iwasakis, DE (double ended-HQI). if you think you might change your mind in the future, get an electronic. you can change bulbs to whatever you want and not have to worry about the ballast being the wrong type. electronics run cooler (a magnetic MH ballast will burn your hand if you touch the coil after it's been running for awhile). they also use less energy."
trottman
03/31/2006, 05:33 PM
so will my 2x 175 HQI ballast fire the 2 x 250 DE bulbs?
sirreal63
03/31/2006, 05:36 PM
Very doubtful but they will fire 150 watt HQI bulbs.
capncapo
03/31/2006, 06:06 PM
Sounds like a way to turn a good ballast into a bad ballast to me.
sirreal63
03/31/2006, 06:25 PM
If this on that aquatraders fixture I wouldn't do anything that even remotely pushes it. lol
chadfarmer
04/04/2006, 10:10 PM
250w is a lot more heat than a 175


if you wanted 250w than maybe you should have bought a 250w light


how much cash do you have in the light, with the fixture and the new bulbs anyways
Lost His Marbles Name
04/04/2006, 10:14 PM
Just go with 400W HQI 14K and be done with it.