Anyone running Phoenix 250w HQI?

[stevenp]

I'm considering a a big change in my lighting setup. I'm currently running x2 250w Hamilton 14k DE, on IceCap ballasts.

I've found that the color seems to shift prematurely, and according to Hamilton Technologies the ballast is the problem. These bulbs can be fired on many ballasts, but apparently perform best on an HQI M80 ballast.

I plan to swap out my IceCaps for good quality M80 ballasts, however; it appears there are better bulbs out there for this ballast, particularly Phoenix 14k.

Is anyone running these bulbs on an HQI M80 ballast? What do you think of the color and growth?

 

[Gardiner]

Interesting, I am doing the reverse. I am swapping out my M80 ballasts for Ice Caps. I have repalced 2 already and am happy with the results.

I don't know much about Hamilton, but Ice Cap has a great name in the business.

 

[stevenp]

Interesting, I am doing the reverse. I am swapping out my M80 ballasts for Ice Caps. I have repalced 2 already and am happy with the results.

I don't know much about Hamilton, but Ice Cap has a great name in the business.

Are you running DE or SE? If I were running SE I wouldn't be switching to M80. I'm only doing so because certain DE bulbs need to be overdriven to achieve the best results/lifespan.

 

[Gardiner]

I am running Double Ended.

 

[stevenp]

Interesting. What bulbs are you running?

 

[RayD]

I run 14K Phoenix and Icecap ballasts. Love it.

 

[Mr.HaHa]

steve

i am running 14k phoenixes with the new 250w icecaps.

i have experimented with xm 10ks and reeflux 12ks and i truly prefer the pec 14ks.

youre in the woo which is somewhat close to wellesley. youre more than welcome to check them out if you like

 

[stevenp]

I run 14K Phoenix and Icecap ballasts. Love it.

Are those the new or old style IceCaps?

steve

i am running 14k phoenixes with the new 250w icecaps.

i have experimented with xm 10ks and reeflux 12ks and i truly prefer the pec 14ks.

youre in the woo which is somewhat close to wellesley. youre more than welcome to check them out if you like

Thanks, I might take you up on that. What kind of life are you getting on the bulbs?

 

[Gardiner]

I run Ushio 250w 10k DE bulbs. I noticed a little less light out of the Ice Caps but a better color. I plan on moving to Ushio 14ks, as I found the Phoenix too blue.


I saw on RC that Ice Cap is currently doing some testing on their ballasts vs. M80s.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1236502&perpage=25&pagenumber=2

 

[Mr.HaHa]

Are those the new or old style IceCaps?



Thanks, I might take you up on that. What kind of life are you getting on the bulbs?

new style ice caps. i actually had the old ones and had some issues with them but icecap replaced them with the new ones. no hassle either.

growth is certainly no where near the xm10ks but i still get very solid growth on my sps corals. for example, my superman will encrust prob 1/2" to 1" in a month and my blue milli adds about an 1" per month as well.

as for life of the bulbs, i just intalled new bulbs. my last pair of phoenixes lasted about 10 months but in the last month i noticed a considerable drop in the amount of blue the bulbs were putting out.

 

[RayD]

I also have the new style Icecaps. Just bought them brand new last month.

 

[stevenp]

I should note that I'm running the old style IceCaps. Sounds like I should be considering the new IceCaps.

 

[RayD]

They're awesome. Closest to the true bulb colors, super quiet, and they fire just about any bulb.

I modded my Giesemann fixture to accomodate the Icecaps and I happy with the results.

 

[JohnK]

Steven,

If your interested I'll give you a killer deal on my used dual M80 set up. (shoot me a PM if your interested).

 

[JayM]

I've got blue wave magnetic ballasts I'm going to retire. One 2x250, one 1x250.

After next week, when I get back from my trip, I'm swapping IN my new lumatechs.

You are welcome to borrow the ballasts, and also 2 14k phoenix DE bulbs if you'd like to see how they fire your fixture. I think I may even have some 20k 250W DE if you want to compare. I may keep them as spares, or I may put them in the FS forum

I am now running Ushio 14k's, soon to be on lumatech digital ballasts

 

[Gardiner]

Jay, how is your growth with the 14k Ushios? I have Ushio 10ks and just ordered a 14k test bulb.

 

[JayM]

I would classify it as 'good'. I think the 10k bulbs might give faster growth, but I like the crispness in color of the Usio 14k. I also ran phoenix 14k's, and the blue was too much (for me)