Halogen vs Metal Halide

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Hello Reef Central

I am new to salt water and slowly building my setup. Tank is 55 gal. Goal is live rock with a few coral and fish. My question is on halogen light vs. metal halide light. Can Halogen light be used? The cost is so much lower than metal halide. Are there problems associated with using halogen lights?

Thanks FH

 

[theatrus]

Major problems with halogen, the first being efficiency. Halogen lights only convert about 15% of the energy going into them (in watts) into visible light. Metal Halide is around 40-45%. Fluorescents are about 35-45%.

Second problem is spectrum. Halogens are way too yellow.

 

[puffer21]

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