Since the previous two articles [1,2] on 250W Double Ended metal
halide lamps, I have received several more 250W DE lamps, and some more
250W Electronic ballasts – Blueline, Reef Fanatic, and EVC.

10 more 250W DE metal halide lamps available within the reef hobby
were evaluated along with 5 ballasts used to drive these lamps. The
lamps and ballasts are listed in Table 1. As usual these lamps were
tested using the identical setup to all previous tests, thus allowing
for direct comparison between the lamps.

Table 1: List of lamps and ballasts tested

Spectral Output of the Lamps (single ballast)

Since the ANSI-M80 is the recommended ballast for 250W double ended
lamps, we decided to compare the lamps using this ballast to establish
a baseline of performance.

Figure 1 below shows the spectral output of the 10 different lamps
when operated by the same ballast – the M-80 ballast. These spectral
plots are for the shielded lamps

Figure 1: Spectral plot showing a comparison of the spectrum all the 250W DE lamps tested

Table 2: Comparison of PPFD, CCT, and Power use of the different 250W DE lamps with the M80 ballast – unshielded and shielded

Comparison of Lamp Performance Under Different Ballasts

This section presents the results of testing the different lamps
using different ballasts. For each lamp tested different ballasts were
used to fire the lamp and data is presented for the unshielded and
shielded case. Spectral data is only provided for the shielded case,
since we feel that most lamps will be used in this manner.

Aqualine Bushke 20000K

Table 3: Aqualine Bushke 20000K

Figure 2: Spectral Plot of the Shielded Aqualine Bushke 20000K Lamp with the different ballasts

EVC 10000K

Table 4: EVC 10000K

Figure 3: Spectral Plot of the Shielded EVC 10000K Lamp with the different ballasts

EVC 14000K

Table 5: EVC 14000K

Figure 4: Spectral Plot of the Shielded EVC 14000K Lamp with the different ballasts

EVC 20000K

Table 6: EVC 20000K

Figure 5: Spectral Plot of the Shielded EVC 20000K Lamp with the different ballasts

HAPPY REEFING 10000K

Table 7: HAPPY REEFING 10000K

Figure 6: Spectral Plot of the Shielded HAPPY REEFING 10000K Lamp with the different ballasts

HAPPY REEFING 14000K

Table 8: HAPPY REEFING 14000K

Figure 7: Spectral Plot of the Shielded HAPPY REEFING 14000K Lamp with the different ballasts

HAPPY REEFING 20000K

Table 9: HAPPY REEFING 20000K

Figure 8: Spectral Plot of the Shielded HAPPY REEFING 20000K lamp with the different ballasts

ICECAP 10000K

Table 10: ICECAP 10000K

Figure 9: Spectral Plot of the Shielded ICECAP 10000K Lamp with the different ballasts

ICECAP 20000K

Table 11: ICECAP 20000K

Figure 10: Spectral Plot of the Shielded ICECAP 20000K Lamp with the different ballasts

CORALVUE 15000K

Table 12: CORALVUE 15000K

Figure 11: Spectral Plot of the Shielded CORALVUE 15000K Lamp with the different ballasts

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank several people whose help made this study
possible. They were kind enough to provide us with lamps and ballasts
for testing: Patrick at PFO Lighting, Andy at IceCap Inc, Perry at
Sunlight Supply, Vince at Ocean Encounters, Moonpod at RC, and Champion
Lighting, Reef Fanatics. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Paul
Walker of Penn State University for the use of the spectroradiometer.

References

1. Joshi, S. and Marks, Timothy, 2004. Spectral Analysis of 250W Double Ended Lamps and Ballasts, Advanced Aquarist, Feb 2004
2. Joshi, S. More Spectral Analysis of 250W Double Ended Lamps and Ballasts – Part II, Advanced Aquarist, August 2004