Ballast choices - what would you do?
 

Looking for a couple of 175W electronics. Three choices:

1. Icecap ($187 at J&L) - most expensive, but proven, high quality and great customer service. Plus they're still a viable company unlike . . .

2. PFO ($149 at J&L) - being discounted because of their legal troubles. Probably no warranty but I've never had any issues with their products - electronic ballasts are solid state in any event so there's a lot less to go wrong.

3. Vertex ($124 at J&L) - cheapest and an unknown quantity. I really wish Sanjay would have gotten around to testing these ballasts by now. At least they have a 3-year warranty.

Which one would you buy?

From what i have been told from an LFS Icecap and Vertex are made in the same factory just labled diffrent.

oh cool.
I would love to see that substantiated....

I'm looking for some 250 ballasts and it seems like the ice caps have the best performance with my bulb of choice, the phoenix.

and wasn't it the icecaps that made the175 watt iwasaki par buster?
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/review#h12

Seems whenever I do dd into ballasts, icecap consistently comes up as a solid performer...

Hi Franklin

If you are interested in a tar core ballast you can pick up 175w Advance Ballast ( m56 or m57) at any of the electrical wholesalers for about $65. They use a little more electricity and are usually a little noisier.

Tom R

Have a old Allanson 175w which I imagine is similiar. Haven't myself actually measure but spec input wattage as 210w.

Thanks Tom, but I am looking at the 175W electronic + Iwasaki 15K combo that will produce more light and use less juice than with a TAR.

I've been very happy with my BlueLine

Also I have run Gallaxy Unfortunatly they do not make a 175 just 150

J

I have a 48' fixture with 2x 175w 15k iwasaki MH and 2x 40w t8s that Im not using if you want it to test or whatever...
pfo ballasts.

I was actually surprised with how much light this thing gives.

If you open up a PFO ballast it is Advanced ballasts inside it. I have this one and there is no noise at all. Sorry to side track this thread.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/pf...+2+x+250W.html

is it branded as such?
how can you tell?

funny how all this stuff is the same sometimes...lol

Ya the ballast says right on it Advanced. kinda made me mad because work for an electrical wholesaler and we sell Advanced could have saved a lot of $$$ putting one together my self.

aren't they almost 1/3rd the price?
Glad I didnt buy mine new....lol

If vertex is indeed the smae as the icecap and you are dead set on buying new...
It would seem obvious the best choice would be vertex and the 15k iwasaki par busters...?
performance and some savings....a rare combo.

I know EVC and Aromat ballasts are both Chinese - these are the other two 175W e-ballasts that Sanjay has tested. I've asked Icecap where theirs is made.

I'm not surprised that Vertex is simply a rebadge job. The only question is which manufacturer is being rebadged.

Well i get cost so its like $35 for the ballast and like $10 for the upgraded ignitor a $.50 switch and $10 junction box, a little know how = priceless

As for them all being the same.... There is only a handful of ballast manufacturers everybody just puts their name on it, hence why i can believe that Vertex and Icecap are the same. But im sure you would never get that on paper.

I have now heard from a lfs employee who does a lot of the ordering for his store that the Vertex are in fact ice cap rebadges.
still just hearsay I suppose, but promising.

Since I have both a PAR meter and a Kill-a-Watt now I can put whatever I end up getting to the test.

you see this?
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...ghlight=icecap

Interesting. Thanks.

IceCap and Vertex are the same ballast.

Sanjay has tested them. He's lazy. Here's a communication via email:

Yes, I tested your ballasts, and need to start writing up the results. Basically it performs as well as or better than the other electronic ballasts. With electronic ballasts I have noticed that they all tend to perform in a tight range.
I will send you the results as soon as I finish writing it up.
sanjay.

Enjoy :)

This is exactly what I'm looking at too. I'm also wondering the PAR on the Galaxy ballasts, I sure would like to know!!! I do know however that the PFO ballasts look IDENTICAL to the IceCap ballasts when you take them apart. I do not believe they are at all different from eachother, so I would have a hard time paying the extra bucks for an IceCap.

Anyone see this site yet?
http://fishneedit.com/index.html

I know they most likely are Chinese, But for the price, wonder what the quality is like? I like the modular design of the fixture too