mstevens

I just got a pair of Radium 150 watt 20k halides and have a question. One bulb is drastically whiter than the other. I realize that these bulbs are hand made and have slight color variations between bulbs, but one bulb seems to be just a little bit too white.

Has anyone else encountered this or have any comments?

agsansoo

Hello mstevens, What type of ballasts are you running ? Are both of your ballasts the same make and model ?

mstevens

they are both the same model. coralife 150w. I have had the ballasts for about 6 months now and was previously running two coralife 10k bulbs, and they looked exactly the same brightness and color.

agsansoo

OK ... Switch the bulbs with the other reflector/pedant. See if the bulb stays white. If so, it's the bulb, if not, it's the ballast. If it's the bulb, send it back for a replacement. If it's the ballast, not much you can do other than replace it (IMO it's the bulb). One more question, is the ballasts you have dimmable ? I know CoralVue makes some.

mstevens

I dont know why I didnt think of trying that, thanks. I will try that out tonight. And no they are not dimmable.

thanks.

agsansoo

I was sold two ReefLux 12K's bulbs that were not the same color. After looking closely at the two bulbs one was a ReefLux, the other was a Venture bulb the online vendor placed in a ReefLux box !

Buyer beware !

agsansoo

Radium 150 watt 20k halides should be a bright white/blueish color. They are just the perfect color. Great PAR and color.

mstevens

If you will, take a look at my thread under photos and take a look at the first picture and you will see what im talking about.

100 Gallon Reef

The right half of the tank is noticebly brighter than the left.

agsansoo

Yeap I see the difference. Did you switch the bulbs ?

ATP

That sucks. where did you buy it?