Conversion bulb? I thought the special ballasts could run either standard bulb.

Apparently I am unaware of the whole situation. I am a somewhat experienced grower, but I've never worked with any 'switchable' lighting systems like that.

Perhaps someone with more experience than I can tell us just how that system, in its various configurations, is different from non-switchable hardware. I won't lie; I've considered buying one but never studied up on how they really differ. Is this kind of catastrophic bulb failure more likely with this setup?