Halide Q & A

[Powdermonkey]

Hmmm, how about this! The great communicator I am not.

 

[YoungREEFA]

Hi guys, i am wanting to run a 250 watt radium or 2x150 watt radiums. Instead of running them on m81's, will i get enough color and par out of an electronic?

 

[sirreal63]

Yes you will, depending on the height of the tank the reflector.

 

[ivans]

change light from T5 to HQI+T5

change light from T5 to HQI+T5

Dear Colleagues,

I'm going to change the light in my first reef tank (on photo below). Actually I have T5 from Juwel: 3 x 24w Juwel High Lite Blue and 1 x 24 w Juwel High Lite Marine. Now I'm not happy how corals grow and how they look. So, I decided to install one 150W HQI in Nova II fixture from Giesemann and if required additionally use 2 T5.

The question is: - which bulb HQI shoul I use? Now I consider Giesemann 150 W blue, Giesemann 150W coral and Radium 150W.

- could I use available T5 blue from Juwel additionally to one of these HQI? Or better to use some other type?

Personally I prefer some blueish appearance of the tank but not too blue. As I have no experience with these HQI bulbs I'm asking for advice.

Any criticism, opinion and advice will be highly appreciated.

My reef tank - 120 l Juwel Lido - SPS dominated.

 

[YoungREEFA]

Its a 24 inch deep tank, whats the best reflector to go with?

 

[warnutts]

Any input on the Hamilton cebu sun fixture?

It's $800 compared to a spectra/infinity giessman that's almost half off.

Alot of people say it has crappy reflectors, and i really want to run a radium 20k with t5s.

 

[sirreal63]

It will work, the reflector is not as good at getting all of the light back to the tank, but you can certainly grow SPS under it, many people have used that fixture for many years.

 

[ivans]

Dear Colleagues,

I'm going to change the light in my first reef tank (on photo below). Actually I have T5 from Juwel: 3 x 24w Juwel High Lite Blue and 1 x 24 w Juwel High Lite Marine. Now I'm not happy how corals grow and how they look. So, I decided to install one 150W HQI in Nova II fixture from Giesemann and if required additionally use 2 T5.

The question is: - which bulb HQI shoul I use? Now I consider Giesemann 150 W blue, Giesemann 150W coral and Radium 150W.

- could I use available T5 blue from Juwel additionally to one of these HQI? Or better to use some other type?

Personally I prefer some blueish appearance of the tank but not too blue. As I have no experience with these HQI bulbs I'm asking for advice.

Any criticism, opinion and advice will be highly appreciated.

My reef tank - 120 l Juwel Lido - SPS dominated.

Any thoughts will be highly appreciated.

 

[Krazy_Karl]

Well, I've been toying with the idea of trying MH again and am now the proud owner of a new (to me anyways) Elos Planet II fixture. It's 2x250w HQI and 4 39w T5's. I will be switching over from Radion's sometime in September once it cools off so that I don't have to battle the heat issues. I had a 150w sunpod on my biocube when I first started and ran Phoenix bulbs which I liked since I prefer a blue-er spectrum.

What would everyone recommend for bulb combos for this fixture? I always heard great things about radium but since they don't make 250 hqi's anymore that's obviously out the window. Should I stick with the Phoenix bulbs? What combo t5's are most popular for this sort of setup?

Thanks in advance.

 

[grinder143]

So this is the reflector i am using have no idea the name but it is 19.5 x19.5 400w bulb

i am at a crossroad i need to replace the bulb as i am getting some cyano in places. i also have the led to make a fixture that contains 4 heatsinks 25 led on each . this is over a tank thats true dimensions are 40 x 36 x 21 .and is laid out like

never had led so dont really know. i do know i can get some tube or c channel and make some supplemental light and an 14K bulb .i have a 20K now. heat is not an issue as it only gets to 80 now with no fans . is the single reflector enough to keep the sps and clam that is on the sand happy

 

[grinder143]

that is the top view of the tank with euro brace and overflow. Also it shows how i had planned the led fixture with 2 T5. At this point i have been preety happy with the halide

 

[sirreal63]

The reflector is a full size LumenArc, one of the best reflectors ever made. It will work for the tank, you may have to play with the height to get the coverage you want but it will do the job nicely.
FYI the bulb is not the cause of cyano. If you are happy with it, keep using it, with only a 21" tall tank it is more than enough light.
How old is the bulb and what bulb and ballast are you running?

 

[grinder143]

coralvue electronic ballast is 2-3 years old. Bulb is almost 2 years. it has been my intention to swap to led. this was due to heat , then i think i dont have a heater in my tank so if i add one then its a wash. as far as cyano have always been told light, flow nutrients . oh and the bulb is a radium 20k

 

[sirreal63]

I would just buy another Radium (it's time) and go on down the road. Cyano happens to all of us at one time or another, there are numerous reasons for it's arrival and even the best tanks in the world have to deal with it from time to time. Your tank is close to the dimensions of mine, (40x40x17) and I have been considering going to a single large reflector and retiring the dual 150's I run now.

If you do try the LED's, hang on to your MH, you may be putting them back on at some point. With the 21" height, you could also go with a 250 watt bulb and not lose much other than the extra wattage. Alternatively you have the option to run both LED and MH.

 

[grinder143]

at this point i think i am getting another halide bulb. I will add the led i have on 3 sides of the reflector. They were bought with the intention of a full spectrum 4 channel led array and i have all the drivers led and controller . or i may just spread 24 RB, 8 417nm V and 8 430 nm HV around the reflector. But i guess at that point i should run a 14K bulb. It sure is easy to just throw a 20K in and done

 

[sirreal63]

The idea of using the LED's around the reflector is a valid one, the Radium lacks the violet area, which is why people like to run VHO SuperActintics (420nm peak) with the Radium, it adds that extra "pop" as well as adding back in that secondary photosynthetic peak. The 417 and 430nm are the important ones here, the Radium has a very heavy 455 area peak.

I ran some 445nm LED's with my 10k Ushio's and with the Radiums before I went back to the VHO, I am toying with the idea to put them back on for a little more color.

 

[grinder143]

any ideas on how many RB, TV ,HV i guess it would not matter as the drivers are all dimmable

 

[sirreal63]

Exactly. I ran one Stunner and one Panorama Pro and ran them 100% with the 10K and about 70% to 100% with the Radium.

 

[cas1069]

so i have to replace the ballest again on my current 72" 150w fixture. and was thinking of mounting the ballests on the out side of the fixture to give them better air flow keeping them and the inside of the fixture cooler. anyone think this maybe a bad idea?

 

[sirreal63]

It would also be a great opportuny to get away from their crappy ballasts.