Metal Halide Lighting

[SSLVRNBLK]

Is 150watt Metal Halide 10000k too much for Biocube 14?

 

[1troy7]

I have one on my 12 gallon. It will be fine, but remember they do put out alot of heat. As long as you have cooling fans in place, you will be fine.

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

So they get a lot hotter then PC lights? How far above the tank do you have it? Do you any advantages to having such a powerful light versus just getting a 70 watt?

 

[SSLVRNBLK]

Anything on this? Need answers looking to purchase it today if worth it?

 

[moze229]

Much hotter than PC lights.

Asking whether or not 150 watt Halide is too much for your tank is entirely dependent on what you plan on keeping in the tank. I have a 150 watt halide over my 24 but most of the time it's really too much. In the 14, you could easily keep almost anything with just the 70 watt. My light is suspended about 6" above the water - it's a Current light fixture.

In the 13 years that I've been keeping reefs, I have concluded that many people 'over-light' their tanks. If I had it to do over again, I'd just mount the PC's over mine and be done with it. I don't keep SPS anymore. I probably would have upgraded to T5's by now though.

If you are looking for HO light, the best bet is LED now. No heat, hardly any electricity, and most are dimmable to control lumens as you see fit. So you can buy something that may be a little too much and if you need to you can just dim it to your needs. My halide is going soon - I'm just using the last life left in the bulb that I currently have.