Help.....

C

chanson123

Blenny
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
#1
I can't figure out why I have low par on 400w mh. (Fixture 18 in above water and reading 150 just below the water) I bought a new bulb and still low par. I possibly thought it was my par meter but confirmed that it is reading correctly. Then I thought it could of been the ballast so purchased new electronic ballast and still low par. I ran the new bulb on the old ballast for 1 week but wouldn't think that would ruin the bulb. Any ideas would be appreciated. This is very frustrating. Thanks
 
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CRW Reef

CRW Reef

Blue Whale
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#2
#2
Hmmmmm I'm no MH guru so I won't attempt to answer that portion, but how are you verifying the par meter is accurate? You can come borrow the club par meter if you want to verify or compare anyway
 
CRW Reef

CRW Reef

Blue Whale
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#4
#4
That's just nutty then and that's all I can say :) No sounds like maybe ballasts or bulbs can you borrow a bulb you know is good?

How is the coloring if the bulb?

I would reach out JDA aka Doug, Cris Capp maybe even Ki see why think and maybe if they have ever seen that.
 
Shaunv

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
#6
Do you run carbon? Water clarity can drastically change Par.
 
amonchak

amonchak

Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
M.A.S.C Treasurer
#8
#8
What reflector are you using?
 
A

aquarius

Blenny
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
#10
+1 on reflector as a possible source of low par. Using my par meter I can tell when it's time to clean the glass or replace the bulbs. Also is lowering your lights a feasibility, I'm not familiar with your particular reflectors but they may not be designed to be that high off of the water? Some MH reflectors need to be that high to get good spread but at the cost of significant par reduction so lowering your lights may reduce your spread and probably light spillage while also increasing your par. It's worth exploring especially if you can handle the additional heat and your tank isn't so deep that the reduced spread shows visibly. Also if you have a plain white bucket drain some of your water into it and see if the water is clear. If it is not and has a yellowish or brownish tint to it your par can be significantly reduced and you will need to do a large water change, run activated carbon or ultra fine filter socks or possibly a combination to clear your water and increase your par. I run 250w Pheonix 14k bulbs in Hamilton Cayman Sun reflectors 6.5" off the water and get 550 par 8" below the waters surface. HTH.
 
Walter White

Walter White

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#11
#11
Sorry Chris I meant to get back to you on those ballast types types. I'll do that soon. Can you verify what ansi code your ballast is specs for? M59, M135, etc
 
Walter White

Walter White

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#12
#12
I suspect you have an m59 which just doesn't drive the bulb well enough to produce good par or you potentially have something going on with the ballast.
Like Chad mentioned maybe Doug (jda123) will chime in.
 
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