light questions

[biecacka]

hey ppl!! i have a 220 softy tank that i currently am running 2 250 wt MH on it. 14k ebay lights that were tested by a former member here and had similar results to the higher priced bulbs. anyway i was going thru my box of tank goodies that arent in use( we all have this box) i ran across a dual 65wt pc light fixture that i dont use and it has a brand new bulb for it. 7100k and actinic blue on it, 2 bulbs per outlet. anyway i plugged this in and put it under my lumenbright for reflection purpose and WOW it brightened up my tank tremendously!! now im not sure if i should be using them, its def a bit more yellow than my current set up but not sure if thats bad. it further confuses me because i have been tinkering with the idea of switching to t5's since i can get a better color choices and i have all softy and a few lps, or a dual MH vho, t5 setup. not sure which route i wanna go or if i wanna change what i have. input, ideas anything could be of help.

thanks!! :fish2:

 

[jh2pizza]

I switched totally to T5s. I missed the shimmer of the MH bulbs. I am back now to MH set up.

 

[mrwilson]

I'm trying to achieve the MH shimmer without the heat and energy usage of MH, so I'm going to experiement with LED spotlights (plus T5s). (Of course, LEDs have disadvantages of their own.) We'll see if it works.

 

[jiriki]

If you do not like the current color, then either trying other MH bulbs or going T5's is the way to go.

However, using the ebay bulbs you have and adding a third reflector and ballast might be the cheapest to add more overall light. Cheapest in the long run.

Second cheapest is to add 1 or 2x T5 bulbs and use some kind of actinic or ATI blue plus bulbs which are darn close to actinic with a ton of par. I use 2x of these bulbs in my t5 fixture.

T5 bulbs are roughly $20 a pop and you'll need at least 4x plus all the fixture components if you go the all T5 route. But man.. the color selection... So many to choose from.

 

[UWUALineman]

Halide and VHO.
I also had T5, and was pleased with color, but coral growth/health was so so. Switched to 2 250's Phoenix (running solely MH as of now) and the growth has been great, as well as colors with no regret.
Looking forward to a future setup with the diversity of supplemental lighting alongside halides to compliment the overall look.

 

[biecacka]

so you use vho and halide?
the other concern is a canopy. as of right now i have my 250 sitting on 2x4s on top of tank. i know it looks bad but im debating on a canopy or a fixture that i can maybe hang from the ceiling. canopy just so big and bulky not to mention lack or room to work inside them.

 

[biecacka]

you know the one thing i really noticed about the pc light i added for experimentation was that side of the tank is a LOT brighter and i kind of like it.