Halide Q & A

I am setting up a 185G - 60"x30"x25". I am looking at using the 250W Radiums for a Mixed Reef with the goal being great color....but I have some LPS that I don't want to overpower. The canopy is divided into 3 sections so I could fit 3 lights or 2 on either end. Would I need Actinic supplementation with this bulb or is it going to be too much with 3?
 
Tang, will your friend have fish only or will there be corals? My 150 is 30" high and visually my pair of 175W 14k bulbs light it up great. However I only have fish so don't worry about PAR. If there are corals involved then 250W minimum for that height and better yet, go with 400W if you want corals all the way to the bottom.
 
I have a 125 standard 21 deep. I plan fish and corals. I will be starting with LPS and Leathers, then start integrating SPS ( as a first). Do I need 125 or 250 watt fixture>? I plan on going with a 1134watt MH/PC fixture by Odyssea.

My buddy is probably going to start off with VHO from is 75 and then move to MHs after he gets cash. The intial setup on these tanks is pretty tough financially, I am buying mostly used, but I have been taking my time and it is coming right along.
Thanks for the help.
 
Yeah, I bought a 3-bulb used retrofit MH setup for $100 complete with reflectors (made into DIY Lumenbrites), bases and ballasts. Added a couple of Plusrite 14k bulbs and this setup rocks! There are good deals out there in the used market.

BTW - what's up with your signature??
 
24" deep 150g tank MH questions

24" deep 150g tank MH questions

So I have been doing salt for about 3 years now, but never got into the more powerful lighting systems. When I went with my 150, I decided to go with metal halides. Having never dealt with this form of lighting before, I have a few questions.

I want to keep mainly SPS and some clams, but have a small mix of others. I have kept LPS and softies great with PCs, so SPS are the only coral I have no experience with.

My plan was doing something like 250w 400w 250w left to right over the tank, perhaps supplementing with some T5s. Would this be enough? Would I need to add the T5s? My idea with the T5s was to have those pop on maybe two hours before the halides and then turn off maybe two hours after to give a dawn-dusk effect as well as allow me to shorten the time those HOT halides need to be burning throughout the day.

I have and will be doing a lot of reeding on the halide section of the forums. Thanks in advance for your time!

~ Bela

EDIT: The tank is not up yet, but I suppose I should add that with a sand bed, the lowest depth would be something like 22"
 
Is your 150 the "typical" size with a footprint of 72" x 18"? If so I'm not sure I would go with a 400w in the middle. That seems like a lot with that depth. I think some corals would struggle with that much light unless they were at the bottom.

Whether to add T5s or not is generally determined by the type of MH lighting you like. Also the bulb and ballast manufacturers make a huge difference in the output you get. Even different combinations of the same products will give different results.

You can plan on T5s for now, at least until you decide on what MH setup you want for sure. I don't think the T5s will hurt much, especially if you are just thinking about Actinic supplementation.

I would read some of the excellent MH threads here on RC:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=624185

And here's another one: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1451643
 
Okay so you have the same 150 that I do, which is 30" tall. In that case, I would consider 2-250w or 2-400w depending on the bulb/ballast combo you choose and how much PAR you want towards the bottom of the tank. The general rule of thumb is 1 bulb per 24" of tank length.

I use 2 bulbs over mine and I don't have any dark areas. I did build some DIY Lumenbrites however so I have very good reflectors. I can't comment on how it looks without them since I haven't tried the MH bulbs without the reflectors but I'm sure they make a pretty big diference.

Welcome for the links too. They helped me decide to go with MH. :)
 
Is there a DIY lumenbrites thread you could link me to as well? :)
How much did it end up costing you DIY per reflector?
 
I suppose it is also worth asking, since you have the same size tank as I do, how far from water level are your 400w halides hung? Do you run a closed top? Any other lighting or just the two halides?
 
Sorry Lord...I posted them in the wrong thread! :)

Here they are: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=15739424#post15739424

Like I said, I didn't think the pics did the lights justice but a couple of other members on that thread thought they looked good so...

I use 175W lights since mine is FO (fish-only). In my case I have a custom canopy that is fully enclosed although I do use four PC fans on the back (always install them to blow in to avoid salt air from destroying them) and breather holes in the top. My lights are behind 1/4" glass splash shields and sit around 12" off the water surface.

Here is a good thread on the reflectors:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1259313&highlight=diy+lumenarc

The link to the CAD file: http://thebrian.net/reflector/

You'll be able to find many more threads on building your own reflectors with a search of the archives. I already had polished aluminum sheets so my cost was basically zero but the results are awesome as you will see in the thread.
 
i have a 110gl corner tank acrylic. just got a 600 wt mh. is this to much light? I've noticed alot of algae growing and starting to get fuzzy green algae is this bad?
 
That's a lot of concentrated light for sure. Wattage is really determined by tank height and how much the water column will filter the light down to the bottom. I bet you have pretty strong PAR all the way down. Corals on the top probably need sunglasses. :)

Lighting is essential for algae to grow but nutrients in the water, such as nitrates and phosphates are what makes it take off. Undersized skimmer (10g sump...that's tiny), tap water, overfeeding, poor maintenance habits can all contribute to algae growth due to excess nutrients. High intensity lighting will not likely change this condition much and you will need strong lighting for your photosynthetic inverts.
 
Hey that definitely doesn't look bad. In your opinion, though, is it bluer than in the picture? I am just trying to figure out which to get as I don;t want them TOO blue but I want then a little bluer than they look in that picture. I saw a picture of a plusright 14k 250w burning and it looked pretty blue so I would think it would make the tank look bluer than yours, but like you said, the pics don;t do it justice so that is why I ask! :)
Any idea on how the PAR compares? Not only does she have to look nice but she needs to keep the SPS happy! ;)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15741418#post15741418 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kevoglass
i have a 110gl corner tank acrylic. just got a 600 wt mh. is this to much light? I've noticed alot of algae growing and starting to get fuzzy green algae is this bad?
Click to expand...

I am just starting in the halides field myself, so I am by no means an expert, but how long is your lighting cycle? From what I hear here most people will only run strong halides for about 7 hours a day (where I see a lot of people doing 10-12 hours cycles with other lighting). I assume this is a strength reason, however I have never really asked. Maybe someone will chime in! :) Also what are your parameters like. Phosphates, nitrates, etc. can contribute to algae growth, so it may not be strictly your lighting. Do you use 0 TDS topoff water only?
 
I don't consider the "real" look to be any more blue but I definitely have more color overall for sure. My tank looks nowhere near as blue as most of the pics of 20ks that I've seen, which is why I went with 14ks instead. I think there might be some trial and error involved no matter what you do. Camera deficiencies, bulb/ballast combinations and subjective opinion will make it difficult to make an accurate choice without first-hand experience. At least with the Plusrites you don't have to spend $120 on a pair of bulbs to discover that you picked wrong. :)

Sundancer from another thread said he would send an extra bulb he has to Sanjay for testing so I guess we'll have to wait for PAR values until then unless somebody has found PAR tests somewhere else. I haven't seen any numbers for the Plusrites myself.
 
Fair enough. I think I will just try the 14ks and hope for the best. I really would rather have less blue than too much... I really dislike the looks of tanks where it looks like you are going cosmic bowling, except with blue light! LOL I think a couple pages back there were people that said they used these on their sps/lps tanks with no problems. Being that this is a new setup I will have some leeway, I just hate to drop money on "junk" but it sounds like you stand behind it and there are much worse bulbs out there anyway!
 
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