lighting options for 65g

[davidadelp]

I have a 24" 150w 14000K MH over my 65g and it does great my only complaint which makes me wish Id got the 36" is the brace in the middle of the tank makes a shadow in the tank if the light is suspended.

 

[RG21]

Ok.. I made a couple changes.

Scratching the lumenarc 3s, after further research I too discovered they won't fit.

So I'm going with

(2) 250w hamilton ballasts
(2) Hamilton cayman sun reflectors (leaves me plenty of room for T5s, and has moonlights for nocturnal viewing)
2 x 24w actinic t5 retrofit

This I think will be a perfect lighting system..

Any bulb suggestions?
I'm kinda leaning toward 14000k too...

 

[RG21]

Or maybe the Bali sun.. Which do you suggest?

Bali sun:
http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Bali-Sun-Reflector---Mogul-Based-Reflector--LED-2051

Or cayman sun:

http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Cayman-Sun---250-Watt-HQI-Reflector-with-LED-lights-1801

 

[Mmiller40gt]

Or maybe the Bali sun.. Which do you suggest?

Bali sun:
http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Bali-Sun-Reflector---Mogul-Based-Reflector--LED-2051

Or cayman sun:

http://www.hamiltontechnology.com/item/Cayman-Sun---250-Watt-HQI-Reflector-with-LED-lights-1801

The Caymen is for a DE bulb and should put out more light. 250HQI for the win!

 

[RG21]

The Caymen is for a DE bulb and should put out more light. 250HQI for the win!

The cayman comes in borh SE and DE models. So I could do either. Is there a significant advantage to using DE over SE?

 

[Mmiller40gt]

The cayman comes in borh SE and DE models. So I could do either. Is there a significant advantage to using DE over SE?

De bulbs allow for better reflectors. You can also run them on a hqi ballast and get even more light/par.

I know you said at the beginning of this thread you were trying to avoid a fixture. But your flirting with the same budget and could have a cleaner looking all in one unit.

 

[Mmiller40gt]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sunlight-Supply-Maristar-36-inch-500w-/271010365879

That is a steal for 150$. On the 48 inch unit he says add dual galaxy ballast for only 99 more, might be worth asking about. A complete new fixture with built in t5 ballast, fans, and reflectors for half of the price of single reflector you posted.

 

[RG21]

I'm not buying this setup at full retail. My cousin owns a hydro shop and most of it I'm getting cheap. The 2 ballasts im getting for $65, the t5 retro I'm paying $40, I already have a canopy. The only thing I'm buying full price is reflectors and that's only if I go with the hamiltons