radiums yellow? help a mh noob out here.

Boogie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
So i just finished installing 3 250w radiums in lumenarc III reflectors using aquamedic reeflex ballasts. Lights have only been on for 30 minutes but are very yellow/green. I am running the lights through a rkl like controller. Is this normal? Is there a burn in period? Do I need to run around in a panic yet or are my feelings that I just blew 300 on bulbs early?

Thanks in advance.
 

CRW Reef

Blue Whale
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#2
What Kelvin if bulbs did you buy? Yes the bulbs do take a little while to burn in. Mine usually never much more than a half hour though. What brand bulbs?
 

Dr.DiSilicate

Great White Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#3
I think they do have a bit of a burn in but I bet your main issue is that you are accustom to the blue led's it's goon take some time for your eyes to adjust... IMO
 

dv3

Beluga
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
what temp are they? i had 20k radium and it looked nice

not sure how long the burn in period is but i assume there is one
 

Boogie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#5
20k SE radiums with magnetic ballasts. All brand new. Maybe the ballasts have a little "burn in" time too?
 

dv3

Beluga
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
Boogie;142816 said:
20k SE radiums with magnetic ballasts. All brand new. Maybe the ballasts have a little "burn in" time too?
or maybe mike was right too ...what looks blue too you after the LEDs wont be the same with the MH

if nothing is wrong you will get used to it and like it i imagine ....i rember hearing radium bulbs are bluer than most
 

newtoreef

Bat Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
Brand new mh bulbs take up to a week to fully break in I been using mh for 4yrs in my mini garden hehe grew a 15lbs tomato but Yah man don't freak out just yet

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Off The Deep End

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
Welcome to the world of halides, also going from LED's to halides will play tricks on your eyes, i would say to give it a week then decide.
 

Off The Deep End

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
Wait, im confused, dont radiums need electronic or pulse start ballasts? would running them on a magnetic ballast make them yellow?
 

Boogie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#11
Elect under drives radiums. M80 or m81 ballasts are best for radiums. The 250 watt ones

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ReeferMatt

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
Yeah, the burn in on MH is ugly, but it will get better after about 20 working hours. There may be something to probe start bulbs on a pulse start ballast, but this is what I found.
"Most American made bulbs are going to be probe start bulbs, meaning that they have a starting electrode built into the bulb. Most European made bulbs are going to be pulse start bulbs, meaning that they are designed to operate on a ballast that has an igniter wired in the circuit. Often times probe start bulbs will run on pulse start magnetic ballasts, but doing so runs the risk of shortened bulb life and is not recommended by most manufacturers.
An electronic or digital ballast can run any bulb at the rated wattage. These ballasts run cooler and consume less energy as compared to standard magnetic ballasts." Now the question is Aqua-medic ballasts are made in Germany... and your bulbs? I would inspect the packaging, but you are probably safe.
 

Off The Deep End

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#15
The only reason i ask is because i was just reading this on another forum:

"Yup, I have the PFO M80, which is the ballast the Radium SE 250w was designed to run on. It isn't "overdriving" the bulb IMO because Radium made the bulb to run on that exact ballast, all other ballast (Galaxy, Icecap, etc) actually UNDERDrive the Radium 250w SE IMO. The Radium is the only bulb I know of that was designed to run on the M80, all other bulbs are in fact overdriven to some extent on the M80 although each bulb is different. The XM10k runs at 372w, the Phoenix 14k runs at 330w, and the Radium 20k runs at 305w on the M80 ballast. The Radium is very white on the M80 ballast where as the Phoenix is much more blue than the Radium on the same ballast."


Mark im sure it will get more blue after the burn in time, just throwing this out there.
 

tlsrcs

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#16
interesting...so i need new bulbs and have a aqua medic 2x250w magnnetic ballast......how can i see what the actual output is to match it with above bulbs? or am i saf using any? i was going to go with radiums or phoenix 14k or 20k
 

Boogie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#20
Radium bulbs are German.

Ill call the supplier tomorrow and see what they say.

I found people recommended phoenix 14k for de on electronic and radium for se on magnetic

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