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Phantom versus Galaxy Digital 1000w Ballasts

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Phantom versus Galaxy Digital 1000w Ballasts

VolcanoVapin 23 Replies 8,115 Views
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VolcanoVapin

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#1
I've narrowed down my choices to the Phantom (Hydrofarm) and Galaxy (Sunlight Supply) ballasts.

Anybody have any opinions on which to go with? I know the phantom is newer.... but also a bit more expensive...
 
#2
Specifically looking at the newer dimmable ballasts, by the way... Are all of the Galaxy ballasts dimmable? Looking at a few good deals on ebay, but they don't say whether or not the Galaxy is the Select-A-Watt/Dimmable version...
 
#3
HTML:
VolcanoVapin said:
I've narrowed down my choices to the Phantom (Hydrofarm) and Galaxy (Sunlight Supply) ballasts.

Anybody have any opinions on which to go with? I know the phantom is newer.... but also a bit more expensive...
Click to expand...

Don't know too much about the Phanthom but I've used my Galaxy for years now never had a problem not even with non digi bulbs, my hortilux bulbs worked just fine. I hear Phanthoms are pretty good though.
 
#4
I have both and like both. Phantom's ballast gets a lil hotter but I like thats its dimmable. -PDX
 
#5
I would go with the Phantom's for the dimmable feature and they are reliable.
 
#6
The newer galaxy ballasts are dimmable too though... I just can't tell if these ones on ebay are old or new, because they don't say "Select-A-Watt"...
 
#8
I got a Galaxy & it kicks ass.. It's even dimmible & runs pretty kool.. My old school 600 watt ran alot hotter then my 1000 watt Galaxy..& it comes in a super kool Dank green.. I love it so far.. I love it so much I want another 1
 
#9
Yo, G.o.D. Have you switched to the Solis-Tek? I believe I saw you said you were using Phantoms at one point.

I'm really curious to know what you think, because I can actually get the Solis-Tek for a little bit cheaper than the Phantoms...

EDIT: Just read about them. All of that ignition control / software controlled info doesn't seem all that important to me since I'll only be using one of them, not a whole system...

So, G.o.D., would you still say to go with the Solis-Tek? I think I like the 600/750/1000 dimmable feature better, as it would be cool to use the 600/750 settings when it was too hot to use the 1000... don't really need the 400 watt setting of the Galaxy or Solis-Tek...
 
#10
Well, I went ahead and ordered the Solis Tek because I'm impatient and I found it for a damn good price. Hopefully I'm not missing out on anything with the Phantom...
 
#12
I've been running Phantoms since they came out. I have both 1000 watt and 400 watt versions. The 1000W can be dimmed down, but I never dim bulbs, and have never used the feature on any of the ballasts I've owned. I used to have Lumatek ballasts, but never used the feature on them either.

I was told by a rep for Hydrofarm that there is a major spectrum shift when you under power bulbs. I'd have to talk to someone up on their physics, but he said the gas doesn't get as hot as it is intended to get, and while it may look similar to your eye, running 600W through a bulb designed to operate at 1000W , does not produce the spectrum that it puts out when running as intended.

This is just my opinion, but if you need to dim your bulbs, you are better off running your bulbs at full power and figuring out a new way to deal with heat.
 
#13
i have booth; the galaxys are huge compared to the phantoms; seem to weigh a bit more too. Phantoms are advertised to be run vertically mounted. Has a lil arm on the side to keep em off whatever they're mounted to so they aren't flush like the galaxy's will be

the phantoms come with adaptor cords for sunlight supply hoods... if you're running galaxys you better be running sun light supply reflectors or you need to buy a separate adaptor to convert to the hydrofarm plugs

galaxys use an alalog knob to dim and the phantoms use a button... phantoms seem to be a bit more digital of the two digital ballasts

dimming is great for preventing shock the first few days of transplant into a new room
 
#14
MTgrower said:
I've been running Phantoms since they came out. I have both 1000 watt and 400 watt versions. The 1000W can be dimmed down, but I never dim bulbs, and have never used the feature on any of the ballasts I've owned. I used to have Lumatek ballasts, but never used the feature on them either.

I was told by a rep for Hydrofarm that there is a major spectrum shift when you under power bulbs. I'd have to talk to someone up on their physics, but he said the gas doesn't get as hot as it is intended to get, and while it may look similar to your eye, running 600W through a bulb designed to operate at 1000W , does not produce the spectrum that it puts out when running as intended.

This is just my opinion, but if you need to dim your bulbs, you are better off running your bulbs at full power and figuring out a new way to deal with heat.
Click to expand...


How bout if u stuck a 600 watt bulb in the 1000 watt Galaxy & turned it down to 600 would it run normal then?
 
#16
I have run a hydro store for the last 4 years, here is my 2 cents

I have more Phantom returns than all other ballasts combined. I got 3 more back this week alone!!

Solis tek look good, the rep was in last week, but there newest and greatest is not on the market yet.

Lumatek is a solid brand, very good customer service on returns.

My choice is the Quantum, comes with all the cords as well, never had one come back
 
#17
MakinGoo said:
How bout if u stuck a 600 watt bulb in the 1000 watt Galaxy & turned it down to 600 would it run normal then?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking it'd run just like on a 600w ballast. The Soils Tek has 400, 600, and 1000 watt settings just like the Galaxy. I'm going to try dimming the 1000 to 600 first because I already have the 1000, but if I don't think I'm getting good growth I'll go ahead and get a 600 watt bulb to compare to.

It'd be interesting to see a 1000 watt hortilux bulb dimmed to 600 right next to a 600 watt hortilux bulb to see the difference in color spectrum/intensity.


G.o.D, how come you didn't comment on Phantom versus Solis Tek?
 
#18
Paul Nepal said:
I have run a hydro store for the last 4 years, here is my 2 cents

I have more Phantom returns than all other ballasts combined. I got 3 more back this week alone!!

Solis tek look good, the rep was in last week, but there newest and greatest is not on the market yet.

Lumatek is a solid brand, very good customer service on returns.

My choice is the Quantum, comes with all the cords as well, never had one come back
Click to expand...

No offense, but it seems every single hydro store owner says something completely different in regards to what gets returned the most. A LOT of them say Lumatek get returned the most, some say Quantums are returned the most, some say Galaxy, etc.

As for Solis Tek having something new in the works... well, that kinda sucks since I just bought their current ballast, lol, but isn't their current ballast newer than all of the other digital ballasts mentioned in this thread? can you say what new features they're working on?
 
#19
Galaxy 1000 watt select-a-watt ballast. The best imo
 
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