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