For each lamp/ballast combination listed, data was collected on the Spectrum, Photosynthetic Photon flux Density (PPFD) or PAR, as well as data on the power consumption of the ballasts. The power consumption was determined using a Vector True RMS power meter into which the ballast was plugged. The Vector power meter also records the voltage and current. The test setup used was the same as previous lamp tests [1].

  USHIO 400W 10000K

The Ushio lamps are a very popular lamp in the hobby, and this lamp was te sted to establish a baseline for comparison.  Also, there have been recent claims that this lamp burns brighter with “HQI” ballasts, and similar claims for the Venture Pulse Start ballast. 

Table 2:  Ushio 400W lamp with Different Ballasts

The spectral plot of the USHIO 400W 10000K running on these different ballasts is shown in figure below.

As seen from the plot, there is very minimal change in output of the lamp when using the Venture Pulse Start ballast or the M59 ballast.  However when using the lamp with the PFO-HQI ballast and the HQI-Taiwan ballast, the output is about 36.5% higher, but it is also accompanied by an increase in power consumption.  The amperage draw is about 35% higher with the PFO-HQI ballast, but not as high with the HQI-Taiwan.  It could be that these “HQI” ballasts are overdriving the lamp, given that the spec sheet at (www.ushio.com) states that the recommended ballast is M59. The long term implications of lamp performance using “HQI” ballasts have not been tested.

USHIO 400W BLUE

Table 3: Ushio 400W Blue lamp with different ballasts

As seen from the data, there is very little variation in the output irrespective of the ballast used; however, the PFO-HQI ballast draws more current and about 10% more power. This lamp is very similar in spectral characteristics when compared to the Radium 400W 20000K lamp (see reference [1] for a spectral plot of the Radium lamp).

Sylvania Aqua Arc 400W

These lamps were listed on Hellolights.com and it was the first time we had heard of them. Table 4 shows the test data on this lamp as run on the 4 different ballasts.

Table 4: Sylvania Aqua Arc 400W lamp with different ballasts

As seen from these plots, there is very little difference in the performance of the three ballasts – M59, Pulse Start, and PFO-HQI.  The HQI-Taiwan ballast generated slightly more PAR, with most of the increase in the non-blue wavelengths, at the expense of higher power consumption. Overall, this seems like an excellent lamp.  Major difference from the Ushio 10000K is the difference in the peaks – at 420 and 436 nm.

AQUALINE 400W 10000K

Table 5: Aqualine Bushke 400W 10000K Lamps with different Ballasts

 Again, here it is quite obvious that there are two very similar groups of spectral output, with the M59 and Pulse Start Ballast having almost identical output, and the two “HQI” ballasts generating higher output with almost similar spectrums

400W Vion Z6 and Xanium (Hellolights.com)

Recently Hellolights.com introduced the Vion Z6 and Xanium Series of lamps at attractive prices; this has piqued the interests of many hobbyists. 

Table 6: Vion Z6 400W

The figure below shows the spectral output of the Vion Z6 400W lamps.

As you will see from the spectral plots, the Vion Z6 sold as a 10000K lamp appears as a poor imitation of the Ushio 10000K, with a lot less PAR and much lower color temperature.  The output for the Vion Z6 is very similar for both the ballasts.

Xanium 400W

Table 7:  Xanium 400W

This is an interesting lamp. Although it has a large spike in the 454 nm range like some of the other similar lamps (ALS and Blueline, see tests results in reference [5]) it has a better PPFD value when compared to these lamps. The PPFD values for the ALS and Blueline lamps were 66.84 and 71.60 respectively. This lamp is currently being marketed as a 15000K lamp, and like all the other lamps with predominantly blue color its CCT could not be calculated by the software.

175W AB 10000K Lamps

Two new 175W Aqualine lamps were also tested in an identical manner with the standard (M57) Magnetek Ballast and the venture Pulse Start ballast.

Table 8: 175W Standard Ballasts

Table 9: 175W Venture Pulse Start Ballast

In addition, we tested two used 175W AB 10000K lamps that were used for 3200 hours over a period of eleven months. These lamps were driven by a pulse start ballast throughout their use.  The owner indicated that he was very surprised that the inner arc tube had not blackened, and hence was very curious to know if the lamps were still useful. The data for these lamps is as follows:

Table 10: AB 175W Used Lamps (3200 hrs) Venture Pulse Start Ballast

The plot showing spectral results for one of the lamps is shown in figure below.