Which ballast should I get?
 

So I am still in the planning stages for my upgrade which is on pause at the moment due to lack of funds. I have 2 lumenbright (mogul) pendants, but no ballasts yet. I intend to run 250W lighting. I read that certain ballasts can produce a nicer light than others. I was thinking of going 12k, 14k or 20k as I really like the blue touch to the lighting.

What brand of ballast should I get and why?

Of you want the highest output possible, then go with the PFO HQI ballast to run a european mogul bulb. The bluer the light the less intensity you will get though. It's better to run 10K with some strong actinics, than 14 or 20K with no actinics.

Google "Sanjay reef lighting", and check out that page. It compares the output (PPFD) of many different ballast and bulb options.

Can I use an hqi ballast on a mogul bulb? (I am assuming mogul means screw in?):redface:

I would definitely go with a galaxy ballast, they are electronic, work on mogul and HQI, affordable and the performance is second to none in my opinion. I use a galaxy ballast with my 250W HQI on my frag tank and love it. As for a bulb I would see if phoenix makes a 14K in mogul as the HQI bulb I have is nice and blue and crisp not to mention really reasonably priced.

Heres a pic of my frags under the 14K Phoenix bulb

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...2/DSC00892.jpg

Mostly just European moguls will run in an HQI; like Giesemann, XM, Ushio, . Go to "Search performance data", then "by ballast", then select the 250w PFO HQI, and you will see which bulbs will run in it, and what their PPFD is. You can click on the bulb name, and it will show you the PPFD that bulb will give in each ballast as well.

Here's the link for Sanjay's reef lighting page: http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

Definitely check out Sanjay reef lighting.
I would get M80 ballast for the highest light output and they hold their value the best.

I agree, if you don't mind the extra electrical usage the M80 (aka 250 "HQI") ballast with a mogul bulb is the way to go for maximum PAR.

HQI all the way

Hmm...Sanjay's thing is not working for me. So what brand name is good for that type of ballast? Would I only be able to run an XM or are there other types of bulbs too? Is an M80 a magnetic ballast? How long do these last?

a true M80 is a magnetic ballast. they last a long time. be carefull of electronic ones as they under drive the bulb but thee are some new ones that are suposed to be good. as for power savings it is minimal between electronic and magnetic ballasts.

Steve