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ballast/bulb question

M

mr_X

i'm getting ready to change out my 400 watt sunlight supply magnetic ballasts for 250 watters.
does anyone know anything about Sunlight Supply Galaxy Dual 250W Electronic Ballasts ? this would be a decent solution because i wouldn't have to twist wires- the quick disconnects from my SS 400's will work in the new ballast.

there's also the option of the 250w Icecap Electronic Metal Halide Ballast. what is the best ballast available for mogul socket 250 watt lamps?

also, a ballast/bulb combo would ne nice too. i'll be purchasing new bulbs of course.
thanks. ;)
 
M

mott768

I run the SLS Galaxy 250w dual ballast, I like them better than ice cap. Better warranty and cheaper than buying 2 separate ballasts and the quick connects are a +
 
M

mr_X

mott, what are the best bulbs for those? which put out the best PAR? i can't find any literature on that anywhere. :-\
 
C

Carlo

If you are looking to get maximum PAR out of your lamps you will probably be better off going the IceCap Ballast route. Check out Sanjay's site for ballast/lamp configurations.

Carlo
 
M

mr_X

i ended up going with what i know. my sunlight supply magnetic 400's have never skipped a beat. i went with the galaxy's.
;)
 
M

mott768

I asked Sanjay about the SLS ballast, he did test them and found there was not enough of a difference between Ice cap and SLS electronic ballasts to add them to the web sight. The big difference is the casing and warranty.

I use the reeflux 12k's on my 28" high tank and don't have a problem with keeping sps anywhere in the tank. When you use sanjay's lighting page just choose the ice cap ballast and bulb of choice.

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/
 
M

mott768

I've always like SLS ballasts, when the Galaxy first came out I asked him about them. I found it interesting when he said that there is very little difference between all brands of electronic ballasts, when I talked to him back in Dec. he confirmed what he initially told me. I wish I still had the email I got from him :-\
 
M

mr_X

now, i have to disagree with that statement. i had one of those ebay coralife clone halide fixtures and it came with a no-name elec. ballast, and that thing would not push the bulbs at all. i tried xm 10k, xm 15k, and a couple ebay cheapy bulbs, and the one it came with. that 250 watt ballast couldn't even support my zoos with xm 10k lamps! they grew to almost 2 inches tall, trying to get light!
view these-
armorofgodandredzoos.jpg

starvingzoos.jpg


this was a 250 watt halide and 2 65 watt actinics over a 30 cube.
 
M

mott768

If your talking about the new Odyssea design well they are known for using the cheapest made in china junk, the ballasts they use are very low quality and you could probably build a better one with parts purchased at Home Depot. Sanjay mainly deals with the better after market stuff like: blue line, ice cap, SLS, ARO, Hamilton and PFO. Odyssea is a OK entry level light, the fixture itself is decent but you should change the ballasts as soon as you can afford too.
 
C

Carlo

While there is a lot of truth in that I don't think the Odyssea fixtures are as bad as everyone says they are. At least the newer models are OK. I've got one older and one newer model and there is a world of difference between them.

They ARE NOT in the same class as Ice Cap, etc but then again they only cost half as much so when you take that into consideration you get what you pay for. :) The biggest "gotcha" with them is picking out the "correct" fixture. Many of the popular Odyssea fixtures are 175 watt HQIs and that majorly limits choices of lamps!

Up to this point, I haven't found the need to upgrade the ballast just for the sake of it, but I figure when one of them fails I'd do the upgrade. I could be "missing out" but thus far everything has done well under the lights even at the bottom of a 30" tank, 36" from the lamps.

My personal opinion/experience is that the newer Odyssea fixtures are just as good as Current USA and other bigger known name brands (performance wise) but not in the same class as a good build it yourself fixture/retro or combos like you would see on Sanjay's site which are all more or less "top of the line" setups.

With that said, I wouldn't recommend them to somebody nor would I purchase them new (I'd go IceCap or similar) but I got lucky and got them for peanuts from two people selling them after a month or two so I got really good value for the money spent on them!

Carlo
 
M

mr_X

i agree..they are cheap! i think they are a third of the price of a name brand even. and i do like the construction quality of the unit...just not the ballast.
i used a 250 watt fixture over a 21 inch deep tank with a 2.5 inch sand bed. again, those zoos are 3/4 the way up the rockwork. that single armor of god, which i have pointed out is probably 6 inches from the fixture. this unit was only purchased about 7 months ago. i sold it anyway...dirt cheap, with all those extra bulbs :'(

so, my 3x 250 watt SLS galaxy fixtures are on the way, along with 3 hamilton 14k's. i'll be staying with my lumenarc mini reflectors. i'll have some SLS 400 watt magnetic ballasts available relatively soon.... ;)
 
M

mott768

Carlo,
Your one of the lucky ones with the new design. Faith used to be a distributor/retailer for Odyssea and you would be amazed with what you see on the other side, since they went to the new design they have been inconsist with quality. If you start carrying odyssea in your store you'll know what I'm talking about. The fixture is good but the electronics are bad, very inconsitant with type and model ballast. Not only that the craftsmanship started to go down hill on the electronics (cold soder points) pinched wires and so on.
 
C

Carlo

Mr_X you'll like your new setup much better!

Mott, no chance I'll be carrying them in the store. I've read way to many horror stories on RC about them. :) I just got a real good deal on two of them and figured at the prices I paid for them I could use them as parts and still be ahead of the game. I got lucky and got good results with the 2 units I have so for now they work for me.

I'm a DIY type guy so a couple of hours fixing solder joints or replacing this or that isn't going to upset me much at all but I wouldn't expect a customer to have to jump threw hoops to get something new working correctly! I also wouldn't want to be selling products with a "notorious" reputation. There are plenty of other products in the same/close price range with much better reputation and consistent performance.

In all honesty I haven't followed the threads on these fixtures lately at all. They may/could have taken a serious turn for the worse and I wouldn't know about it.

What I don't get is why they couldn't put a bit better QA in place to put out good products and raise the products a bit in price. They would have a better product still priced very well and would get good PR among the budget buying crowd. I just don't get some companies.

Carlo
 
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