dimmable ballasts for MH

[putter]

Hello again fellow reefers, setting up another tanks and I am going with MH T5 and led moonlights, question here is, have any of you ever seen or know of ballasts for the MH that would be dimmable with say a controler like the profilux? If so would it be possible to obtain a link to them?

 

[dcantucson]

I don't believe florescences are dimmable. :dunno:

 

[putter]

The T5's are not the issue, can find ballasts that are dimmable for them, it's the MH that seem to be the issue, and I have found dimmable ballasts for the MH as well but
apparently they will not dim with the controler, just with a manual dimmer on the ballast.

 

[Fitchguy]

Putter--I see where you are going with this and Just want to say I like your style...I have never thought about that and that would be cool. The coralvue ballasts are dimmamble, and the Prolifux controller will pretty much make your fish a private sushi dinner if you want it to. I would call the Prolifux controller and get a technical guy there. Prolifux controller are very computer language specific so if anything, they may be able to tell you how (or why not) you may be able to do this. I would really encourage you to call their support. Those controllers are awesome and dimming a dimmable ballast should be an easy thing for those controllers to do.

 

[putter]

Well it turns out that there are no ballasts that we can find on the market at this time that will allow MH to be gradualy dimmed:grumble: however....we will be setting it up so the T5's ramp up slowly and then have the MH come on, reverse it for dusk, and then set the profilux up to ramp up the moonlights. This controler will also follow a lunar cycle so I should be set. When ballasts do hit the market for the MH all I will have to do is replace the ones I have with the dimmable ones and then reprogram the profilux.

 

[Fitchguy]

I knew that controller could probably do it, just stinks that they don't have a ballst that could do it. You could always get 400 watt ballasts with 250s right beside it and then 175s as well and then just overlap the timers. Lol just a thought! You would think with everything else they have in this hobby they would have dimmamble ballasts of how you want them to be. But a 400 watt bulb needs 400 watts I guess with just slight variance. Too bad though that would have been really cool! Way to think outside the box

 

[putter]

I am sure that some day in the near future, some one will come up with a way to dim MH. If not then the LED people will have a real product on the market for us.

 

[meshman10]

I would want to believe that dimming a ballast at all is asking for a house fire..

 

[putter]

that may be true, but they do have approved dimmable ballast for T5's on the market....wait, that may not be true either, it may be that we are using a dimmable power strip. Giesman has a light out with dimmable T5's and moonlights, not sure that dimming floresents is all that big of a deal, however it proves to be true that trying to dim MH is not something that is obtainable at this time.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Just to poke my nose in. There are dimmable flourecent ballasts out there. Infact, I was just installing some lightfixtures today that are verymuch dimmable. Not quite sure how they go about dimming them in a technical standpoint.

As for the MH, unless some company sees that dimming them for fish tanks would be worth while, I doubt we will ever get a dimmable MH. They are pretty much just used for general area lighting such as temp work lighting or in high bay fixtures where they need to illuminate a large area like a warehouse. Where as flourecents are used everyday in office buildings.

Also, could you post a link to this controller you are talking about? It sounds very interesting

Brian

 

[putter]

Here is a link to the controler, sounds like if you wanna spend the coin that this thing will do almost everything except change the water!!! ProfiLux Plus II (EX) | Aqua Digital

 

[bjohanson1234]

Wow that is very nice. Wish I could justify even the one light bar:shock:

 

[putter]

WOW.....and wow wow wow! just packed the new tank inside....HOLY CRAP that thing weighs a ton!!!! It's going to tip my trailer over....i'm sure it will!!!