ARC MH's from Aquaria Canada ?
 

Has anyone used these bulbs? Are they any better than the SA's ? My SA 10000K are really yellow.

Brent

I have a 20000K Arc bulb. It is too blue and lifeless for my tastes. :sad:

i just got the 20ks, they're too "dark" so to say...they look like i've just got actinics on, mind you they're only a few days old.

I had the 10k, it was way to yellow for me. I now have the 14K which I like more but they are bluish. I might add a PC 10k or something to balance it out a bit more.

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I just ordered two 250watt 14k bulbs from Aquaria.ca, should arrive within the next couple of days. I'll let you know. Good deal none the less!

the 175w 14k's ive got are very blue, more so than the 50/50 pc's we're running on another tank. But it does light up the green shrooms and orange/red zoo's about 10 times better than the pcs

they're about perfect for my taste, but, it is very blue. id hate to see the 20k's

I have one problem.. maybe someone who knows electrical can chime in.. I have my MH on a digital timer.. If the timer is used the MH does not fire. I have to unplug the ballast and plug it in while the plug is hot (with power) for it to fire.. Any clues as to how to fix this?

If my explination sucks let me know and I will try to re word it ... :eek: :biggrin:

TIA!!

Hmm, that's strange. Try a mechanical timer. Some of the newer digital ones use a solid state relay, which could be defective.

Sorry Chad I cant help you. My ballasts fire on my timer...

as for the bulbs, I ordered a few 400w 14k bulbs for my future growout tank - they fire each and every time no problem ( I was having problems with the Ushios firing). But they are bluer then the pics of the 20k radiums I've seen online....

They are bluer then just my actinics.... Oh well! Sooo cheap

I wonder if they are marked wrong :question: . My 20000K is blue, but not overwhelmingly so. Certainly not as blue as just actinic PC's. I will probably keep it, and some day in the future supplement it with a daylight T5. :mrgreen:

For those who are curious about the 14k ARC bulb.. This is how my tank looks with it.

http://www.lchres.com/Images/tank-oct-2004.jpg


Its not as blue as it was originaly. I think it is whitening up a bit. But it has only been fired for maybe 32 hours..

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Any day now! :mrgreen:

Not sure why there are 2 posts.. can a mod delete the second one?

sure :mrgreen:
PS. I hope I got the correct one !!

If the colour rendition is correct, the bulb is more blue than my 29K Arc bulb. :mrgreen:

I can say my 400w 14k arc bulbs have burned in now and honestly look much whiter then I had believed possible. When I first got the bulbs, they looked darker and dimmer then my actinics. Now, they look good actually.

Not great though. For the price, absolutely can not complain :)

The longer I use it the more it seems to be a bit whiter. So, the light acclimation process is slow so.. :biggrin: I think it still has to burn in. It seems to also be firing up on a more regular basis. Before it would take forever and sometimes not fire at all.

neat. same story on this end...just got a canopy over my 105 with BOTH bulbs had a heck of a time firing one of them. one went right away the other took about 10 minutes, different wiring, tried them on different ballasts, switched sockets... :evil: but then it went. :lol:

update
 

I finally got my 14k 250 watt bulb from Aquaria on Friday, fired it up on Saturday. I'm impressed, for $50 its not bad at all. I decided not to suppliment with any florescents just a 15 watt actinic for dusk lighting.

I got my 175w 14k bulb up yesterday (on a pfo ballast) I have never had a 14k bulb before, so Its bluer for me then usual but I love how makes everthing glow - definatley worth it IMO.

Chad,

How are the lights now? I'm considering ordering them in DE 250 14K. Did they whiten up any more?

Garrick.

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I've only had them for 10 days and haven't really noticed a drastic color change....maybe a bit whiter though. I am in favour of the blue color so I hope it doesn't fade much more. :smile:

Got a full tank shot with them on Danny..??

they do seem whiter.. but maybe its just me adjusting too it.. I like it so far tho.

mine seem a little more white as well.... could be just adjusting to it though.

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I'm still trying to get my buddy's camera, I promise I will post pics here as soon as I get them. :smile:

update
 

Just a quick update for everyone. My friend's MH setup, which is identical to mine hasn't been firing. :mad: So I took my whole setup to his place to diagnose the problem. The problem was solved by sanding the contacts on the bulbs to ensure a better connection. :smile:

On another note, we compaired the color of the two 14K ARC bulbs. Mine has been in use for about 12 days while his has anly a few hours on it. Mine is very much whiter now that it has been burnt in. I may add some actinic after all.

Danny

my 14k's were not firing either until I sanded the contact. However.. mine still has trouble firing on its own.. I have to plug it in a few times to get it to fire up..

But apparently they are working to fix this problem. Seems to be only on a few ballasts.

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How is the contact in your socket? Mine looked pretty shiney so I didn't bother sanding it but it could help.

You should never have to sand the contact of a new bulb. That is definitely a defect. :eek:

the contact seems to get tarnished very quickly.. either way.. the bulb is not up to the job at the moment

There were people who use these bulbs on AC,some are ranting and raving about it(usually the same people) but from the pics I saw I sure wasn`t impressed.
In no way are they as nice as the S.A bulbs no comparison at all. I know that when I sell a SA bulbs or any other bulb I sure dont have to sand the contacts.

That being said all bulbs go through a period of problems but hopefully they usually get ironed out.

Oh Yeah Im new here :biggrin:

Welcome to the board..!! :bday:
Where abouts are you from..??

Thanks Muck,

Im from Montreal,got to figure out how to add a signature.

ok got it.

I am Danny Zubot's buddy with the identical setup, and while sanding the contact on the bulb worked that night, I am still having the same problem. I have found that I can plug and unplug the ballast over and over, sometimes leaving it on for over an hour, and it still only fires when it FEELS like it. AARGH! I have made a discovery, however. If I plug in my ballast (M58), and lightly run my fingers over the bulb, it will fire. I am led to wonder, do these bulbs have an internal ignitor? It is the static electricity I create on the bulb to get it to fire. Or maybe I need a new capacitor for my ballast.

P.S. Danny, I'll get you the camera on Saturday. I just downloaded all the pics on it.

I dont think Its wouldnt be a capacitor problem because I had a ballast that did have Cap problemand it just didnt fire the bulb any more and I had tried everything like yourself.
If you have a extra bulb or a buddy with a MH bulb try it and see if your Balast fires it.

But I definetly dont think you should have to baby the bulb to get it to fire.

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We did try some switching around. In every scenario my setup fired right away and Rich's didn't. It is a balast problem that we will have to fix. :neutral:

Bummer, thats more $$ than a bulb.

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I'm thinking of taking the balast to a place called Qick Grow here in Calgary. They have these identical balasts, maybe we take a peek at one's insides to help find a problem.

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I have one of those ballasts we got at Quickgrow. I think it is called Lightpro or something pro. It is a M57, and is made in China. I have had innumerable problems with it. I haave given up on those cheap ballasts, and run a couple of Ice Cap electronic ballasts, and have not looked back. :biggrin: