please give me some advice
 

hi everyone,

can u tell me if an fpo eye ballast runs other bulbs (eg. xm) beside the iwasaki ones? also, ar there any disadvantage of using the eye ballast n iwasaki bulb?

thanks,

sky

the PFO ballast for the iwasaki bulbs is pretty much only for the iwasaki bulb so you are limited to the "Daylight" bulb. the only problem with this bulb is the color, it is rather yellowish and takes a lot of actinic lights to get it to look whitish blue.

If you haven't bought it yet I would look into the PFO 250 watt HQI ballast or some sort of 250 watt pulse start ballast.

Steve

thank you for your advice
 

hi steve,

first of all, i would like to thank you for your detailed explanation so i have a clear mind now. luckily, i haven't bought that set yet; otherwise, i'll have to stick with the daylight bulb, but i just wonder why would someone willing to buy an ballast that only fits one type of 65k bulb when the rest of the ballast are compatible with most different brand name bulbs. (65k-140k)?

also, i would like to ask u the advantage or disadvantage of using the regular ballast/bulb n the HQI ballast/bulb? oh yeah, will u suggest me to get the double end bulb since it's becoming popular (beside the money issue) n what's the advantage of it? is it really better than the ordinary bulbs? i really want to learn more about it. oh yeah, so what u ar saying 250w is enough ea? (mine is 90gallon) cause i was thinking of the 400w, but i don't even know if i'm looking for too much...all i want is starting to try the hard coral n clams.

thanks,

sky

Re: thank you for your advice
 

The Iwasaki was a cheep alternative (about 1/2 the cost of other bulbs) at the time. it does pack quite a punch but the yellowish color is not for everyone.


OK there are 3 types you are looking at, a regular 250 watt ballast, a pulse start 250 watt ballast and the HQI 250 watt ballast.
a regular one works but has problems some times starting bulbs based on European specs (which is most of the bulbs in this hobby)

a pulse start will run any bulb out there as it uses an pulse igniter instead of relying on the bulbs igniter. this will also increase the bulb life a little.

a HQI ballast is the closest thing to a European ballast we have and runs the European bulbs as they were intended to be run. It also uses a pulse start so you get the benefit of extended life from the type of starting plus the benefit of increased output as the bulbs are being run properly.


I wouldn't spend the extra money on Double ended bulbs personally unless space is a concern. the HQI ballast will run single ended bulbs also (this is how I run mine)

250 watt is good for a tank that is 24" and shorter as a general rule. over 24" then you are looking at 400 watt or 250 watt HQI. If you look at J&L PFO ballast it is only about 30 to 40.00 more to go HQI than pulse. this is why I recomend just going HQI then you have all the light power you will need plus the ability to run any bulb out there in the 250 watt range.

Steve