bare bones halide vs electronic ballasts (ie icecap)

[Electrobes]

okay I was thinking of getting a bare bones ballast like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2581108951

and build my own box for it, but want to know what the main differences are between it and other ballast (ie icecap). Is it effciency? Electricity consumption? Bulb life differences? etc? thanks!

[Electrobes]

and yes I am not talking about the bulb... just the ballast

[jamal-188]

I"m pretty sure that setup would not be for an aquarium...I think they are the bulbs that are sold at Home Depot etc and are like 6500K, which would be a very yellow color, not what you would want for an aquarium. If you're looking for a cheap setup check out our sponsors or hellolights.com has probe start ballasts for like $85, they will not be as efficeint as electronic ballasts but if you're looking for a cheap setup, you can't beat that price.

[Electrobes]

I am not talking about the bulbs.. just the ballast. I have seen a friend of mine use a 400 watt ballast like this no problem, and I am pretty sure it can power any of the bulbs that are used on aquariums (ie 10,000K, 20000 K, etc). I just wanted to know the differences between this ballast's performance versus the electronic ones.

[Electrobes]

okay after looking at everything I am pretty sure that I could use the bare bones ballast with an XM 10,000K bulb. The barebones is M-58, meaning "probe start" which is what the XM bulbs use. What I could not find out though was how much wattage it took to run this bulb, but for an Icecap it took 252 watts. Considering the expense differences, and that fact that that technology will change in the next few years (plus prices) I think its prob worth it to just get the barebones and use an XM 10000K bulb. It would roughly come out to about 100 bucks for both the ballast and the bulb. The info I got of the ballasts and bulbs tests is from this: http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm

Its quite interesting.. just wish I knew how much wattage was being used by the barebones ballast!

[Electrobes]

the barebones on ebay is actually not different from what hellolights sells... http://www.hellolights.com/25unmagm58ba.html

[jamal-188]

Don't forget you'll need a reflector as well.

[loganj]

The electronics run cooler than the core/coil ballasts. Therefore they waste less energy as heat. That's where your energy savings comes in. Although I don't have the numbers now, I can probably get them for you if you want me to. You can get a Vue electronic ballast and your choice of 6.5k, 10k, or 20k bulbs for around $156.00. The electronic ballast manufacturers also claim to get brighter light and longer bulb life. Check out www.coralvue.com for some more info and some pics of their bulbs running on tanks.