What does HQI mean?

[Mike 1911A1]

I know it may be a dumb questions but in my research on lighting I keep running into HQI halide systems. What does the HQI mean?

thanks,

Mike

[Ti]

An HQI (Halogen Quartz Iodine, or Quartz Halogen) is a type of light source where the light is produced using a very high voltage arc through a gas.

The 'bulb' consists of an outer glass shield surrounding two voltage rails which attach to each end of a smaller bulb containing the gas and with one rod inserted from each end connected to each respective voltage rail.

The lamp is powered by a 'ballast' which consists of a large capacitor and transformer to enable a constant very high voltage to create the arc in the smaller bulb.

These lamps can produce many colours using different metal halides and the most common form are 'Sodium Floods' which produce a slightly orange light and are found around many buildings.

[Mike 1911A1]

Thanks Ti. It seems like alot of people use them for aquariums as well. I would imagine they come in a variety of color temps 10k 14k and 20k?

[Ti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7233326#post7233326 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mike 1911A1
Thanks Ti. It seems like alot of people use them for aquariums as well. I would imagine they come in a variety of color temps 10k 14k and 20k?
yup.
I use them too