reefrubble
Premium Member
What is the difference between horizontal , and vertical bulbs ? Can you run horizontal bulbs vertical , with out any problems ?
MH Bulbs , What is the difference
- Thread starter reefrubble
- Start date
akindbro4u
New member
do you still need this question answered?
reefrubble
Premium Member
Do you have the answer ? Ted
akindbro4u
New member
yes i do. let me compile some of my research on it, and get back to you. Let me just say for now that vertical are single ended, whereas horizontal are double ended, or more commonly called de on here. You can not "fire" a horizontal bulb vertically. The metal will pool around the electrode, and shorten the life if not destroy the bulb. DE bulbs tend to have higher PAR ratings, and are by far more efficient. Did you have any other speciffic questions about MH bulbs? I would be happy to answer. As I stated i will dig up my research, if you were looking for anything specific, ie exact par differences, wattage per lumens...........etc. I use a 150 watt 14k phoenix DE HQI bulb. I would never go without MH now that I have it. I love the shimmer effect.
reefrubble
Premium Member
Dude , I'm just looking for knowledge , nothing more . Ted
colaman555
New member
akindbro4u-what in your determination is the best se mh bulb that will give you a crisp blue-white with good growth? I am currently using 2 reeflux and one xm and was not getting much growth. I have tried Steven's 2 xm's he gave me and so I am using all three xm's with still no promising growth. I was told to try the acquaconnects but am actually thinking of doing all t5's instead of the 2 t5's and 3 mh. My husband says no that he wants to keep the halides but I hate to spend over $100 for a single bulb.
Sue
Sue
akindbro4u
New member
a lot of that depends on what ballasts you have, and what your live stock is. as far as the best I would say Ushio. If you want a really good reasonably priced bulb I would go with the Hamilton. Marine depot has all there MH bulbs on sale this month. You can get the bulbs for around 60 bucks. 14k will probably give you the look you want if you are also running actinic. What is your lighting setup, and you tank dimensions now? If you go with all t5s you will loose the shimmer effect, and it probably wont increase your growth. MH bulbs are much better for growth ( there others who would disagree). If you have any more questions feel free.
I am using icecap 660 and I have a 220g roughly, 24x74x30. I am mostly into sofites with a few lps. A few very large leathers. No luck with sps since my phosphates are somewhat high and my leathers are evidently putting out toxins even though I am using carbon. I probably will not really do sps but would like a few pieces of montipora, orange cap, ect. So I know I should stick to mh. I was told the hamiltons are the same as xm's and reflux. I have heard that the ushio's are nice. I need to decide soon. Thanks for your input.
Sue
Sue
akindbro4u
New member
the ice cap 660 is a florescent ballast. What are you using for you MH? If you are trying to get the leathers to grow you are better of with a whiter, cooler bulb. They tend to grow better under 10,000k. I noticed in your pic that alot of the problem with your LPS not growing is that they are shaded by you softies. One of the drawbacks of MH is the spot beam. You have to watch placement a little better. With all the softies you have i highly doubt you could really get any LPS, and almost surely not many SPS to grow well. I have an umbrella leather in my tank that has to go. you would be surprised how toxic they are. I made the mestake of cutting oned in my tank. Well I had to really, and it took months to recover. I have mostly brain corals. I like them alot.
reefrubble
Premium Member
Sue , Is that a type o ? If you are using IC 660 ballast , you have to be using VHOs , or T5s , or NOs . A 660 won't run MHs .
akindbro4u
New member
most lps grow very well under moderate light. The three bigger factors in lps growth are your calcium,trace elements, and alkalinity(DKH). They color up better, under better lighting, but are not really increased growth under stronger light, quite the contrary. I have a torch that grows very well at the bottom of my tank. They are more effected by water chemistry, and the do really like there specific flow type, but will usually adapt rather quickly. Most LPS are very hardy. With the know exception of the elegance. I have never known one to survive for very long. Apparently there is someone on RC that claims to have had one for ten years, but I am skeptical.
Yes Ted, I meant to just say icecaps, but the mh250, I am running 1 icecap660 for the T5's.
I thought that moderate light would be enough for growth since I had plenty of it(growth) in the 75g with only vho's.. Now that I am in the 220g I have noticed that the growth has slowed. I am still going through some issues with phosphates and am working on that as well as keeping the water stable but I was also concerned that maybe the lighting was just not quite what it needed to be. I was told that I could probably get away with using the mh bulbs for a year since I was only doing softies so I was considering changing the bulb soon but not spending quite as much as the other guys do that are doing sps....
I thought that moderate light would be enough for growth since I had plenty of it(growth) in the 75g with only vho's.. Now that I am in the 220g I have noticed that the growth has slowed. I am still going through some issues with phosphates and am working on that as well as keeping the water stable but I was also concerned that maybe the lighting was just not quite what it needed to be. I was told that I could probably get away with using the mh bulbs for a year since I was only doing softies so I was considering changing the bulb soon but not spending quite as much as the other guys do that are doing sps....
akindbro4u
New member
nonna.
That may not be enough for fast growth, but i would be more concerned about the PO4. I bet when you get a handle on that they will adapt to the available light. LPS don't require as much light as you would think. If you have the 250 bulbs you have more than enough light to handle whatever you want to grow, even sps. How long have you had the 220 up and running? I have a torch, that took six months to acclimate, when it did it made up for lost time. You little friends my just be getting used to the neighborhood. A lot has changed in there life. Do you have any recent picks of your tank I would love to see it.
That may not be enough for fast growth, but i would be more concerned about the PO4. I bet when you get a handle on that they will adapt to the available light. LPS don't require as much light as you would think. If you have the 250 bulbs you have more than enough light to handle whatever you want to grow, even sps. How long have you had the 220 up and running? I have a torch, that took six months to acclimate, when it did it made up for lost time. You little friends my just be getting used to the neighborhood. A lot has changed in there life. Do you have any recent picks of your tank I would love to see it.
reefrubble
Premium Member
Awesome Tank Sue .
akindbro4u , I don't think all SE bulbs can be run vertical . Ted
akindbro4u , I don't think all SE bulbs can be run vertical . Ted
reefrubble
Premium Member
May be John , can chime in .
John says to go with aquaconnects and to stay with the mh. He thinks reeflux, hamiltons, and xm's are just okay but nothing special like the aquaconnects. I missed out on the thread that Matt started with the 2 he had for sale for $50. I need to find some used one's since I only do softies and that would be fine for them.
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