MH for my 55

[leoristo]

I have a 4' 55G. Currently under 4x54w T6 bulbs that need to be replaced.

I am buying parts to upgrade my lighting to MH. So far I have one pendant with reflector only.
I want to phase the expenses in time so I thought of getting a dual electronic ballast that runs 2x150-175w. This way I can set up a first pendant and start keeping corals in that half of the tank and later, when I get more funds I can add the second pendant on the other half of tank and introduce other corals that need more light.

I saw this ballast from coralvue:
http://www.coralvue.com/175metalb.html

Any comments/suggestions?

 

[leoristo]

Here is the tank at dusk with 2 actinic T6

 

[leoristo]

I also found this:

http://www.aquabuys.com/page/aqb/PROD/ss_galaxy_dual_150w

 

[leoristo]

any feedback at all?

 

[Entropy]

I would run Iwasaki 175w 15k bulbs and just run them off two ARO ballasts. The ballast you linked to will work, but it only has one power cord which means both halides have to come on at the same time. I prefer to stagger the lights by about 30 mins on a two bulb setup, but you may not be interested in that. $200 seems expensive though. Don't forget to troll the RC for sale forums as well.

 

[leoristo]

Thanks for the reply Rich,
I am interested in staggering the two lights but I just assumed that two single ballasts would cost more than a dual. I will look into ARO ballasts.

 

[leoristo]

So, actually the ARO 150/175 single ballasts are $100! This helps phasing the investment!

ARO ballast on ebay

The item looks pretty raw, does it need to go inside a case or just wire a chord with a 3 prong plug? I already have the female chord to go to the pendant.

 

[DarG]

The 150/175 watt electronics are actually 175 watt ballasts. Technically, they can overdrive 150 watt halides to some degree and skew the spectrum. Probably also shortens bulbs life but I dont know for sure or to what degree. But For example, one of my favorite 150 watt lamps color is off/poor (yellow) when driven by a 150/175 watt ballast.

You didnt mention what pendant you bought but if it is a 150 watt DE pendant, I personally would not buy that ballast or any 150/175 watt dual wattage ballast, including the ARO because they are all 175 watt ballasts. Go with a pair of true 150 watt ballasts or a dual true 150 watt if you want to run 150 watt halides. If you plan on running mogul based 175 watt lamps, then the ballast is fine. The ballast in your link is a Galaxy ballast which is pretty popular. Im not sure if anyone makes a true 150 watt dual electronic ballast. But there are plenty of true 150 watt electronic ballasts available. Icecap (hatch), Ballastwise.com (inexpensive, good reviews) just to name a couple that are marketed to the aquarium hobby.

 

[leoristo]

The pendant I have is just a very cheap double ended socket reflector

I am totally open as far as DE or Mogul or wattage or whatever...
Just trying to figure out the best and cheap way to go.

So far then I have decided that I will go with two singles instead of a dual. That's already something!

Now looks like I have to rethink of Mogul vs. HQI?

 

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15057739#post15057739 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by leoristo
The pendant I have is just a very cheap double ended socket reflector

I am totally open as far as DE or Mogul or wattage or whatever...
Just trying to figure out the best and cheap way to go.

So far then I have decided that I will go with two singles instead of a dual. That's already something!

Now looks like I have to rethink of Mogul vs. HQI?

Well you already bought one of the 150 watt DE pendants, right?
It looks like it should work fine for a 55 gallon judging from the picture.

You dont really have to rethink mogul or DE/HQI. The 150 watt halides are double ended. The 175 watt halides are mogul based. 150 watt halides would work fine over a 55 gallon, I would just stay with some of the higher par 150 watt lamps if you want to keep higher par corals.

If that is the way you decide to go, my advice would be to purchase true 150 watt electronic ballasts. Or, go with 150 watt magnetic HQI (M81) dual or single ballasts. But that is more expensive.

Here is a link to a 150 watt electronic. These are inexpensive but I havent seen any bad reviews for them at all. It's a good option on a budget.

http://ballastwise.com/item.asp?PID=126&FID=17&level=1

 

[leoristo]

Thanks for the link, $50 looks like a sweet deal!

How much electrical/DIY work will this ballast require?

So (roughly speaking) the dilemma between mogul and hqi comes down to those few extra watts?

 

[leoristo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15057786#post15057786 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DarG
[...] I would just stay with some of the higher par 150 watt lamps if you want to keep higher par corals.

Could you point me into the right direction?

 

[Entropy]

None of the 150w bulbs will touch the 175w Iwasaki 15k par wise. Color is another story, but par wise the Iwasaki 15k compares to most 250w setups.

 

[leoristo]

The ballastwise ballast for 175W is only $10 more..... looks like we are back to the drawing board?

 

[Entropy]

Isn't this hobby grand? Since you have time and plenty of options, I would troll the RC for sale forum. You should be able to find a used setup for much less than new.

 

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15057991#post15057991 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by leoristo
The ballastwise ballast for 175W is only $10 more..... looks like we are back to the drawing board?

There are higher par bulbs overall in 175 watt. The Iwasaki is a par monster, like Entropy states. But lighting is just on part of the equation. You can light a 55 with either 150 or 175 watt ... or 250 or 400 watt. Yes, there are atleast a couple of members who use or used 400 watt halides over a 55. Why? ... I guess because they wanted to, certianly not because they needed to.
It's up to you. Equipment costs in terms of ballasts, pendants, bulbs are pretty much the same. I was under the impression that you already purchased the 150 watt DE pendant so I directed you to that ballast.

For 150 watt DE, most any of the 10K's, the AB 13000 or the other German 14K's (ushio, Giesemann) Iwasaki 50000K, Radium 20K ... and others all have decent to good par in their class. Some are bluer than others. The Radium has a white/blue look. The Iwasaki has a nice white/actinic look. I think the 150 watt Phoenix had pretty good par as well with a blue look.

With 175 watt you have more options for bluer lamps with better par than many of the bluer lamps in 150 watt. But not all the 175 watt bluer lamps do. There are quite a few bluer 175 watt lamps that are weak in par.

An advantage to 175 watt pendants is that you can always use 250 watt lamps in the same pendants (and even 400 watt in some, same base, longer lamp) ... you just need 250 watt ballasts and lamps. 150 watt DE is all you can use in a 150 watt DE pendant (some are adjustable for 70 watt as well).

 

[leoristo]

Thanks guys, I'm soaking info like a sponge!

Ok, I have decided for mogul base.

I will get rid of the 150w pendant I have.

I will get a good 175-250w pendant for future upgrades. I like to leave doors open for the future!

I will buy the 175w ballastwise.

Now let's take a look at the bulbs.....

 

[leoristo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15057953#post15057953 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Entropy
None of the 150w bulbs will touch the 175w Iwasaki 15k par wise. Color is another story, but par wise the Iwasaki 15k compares to most 250w setups.

Sorry, I am not very good with the reef lingo...
"par wise compares to"... means puts out the same light intensity-luminosity-lumens

 

[leoristo]

Other 175w good bulbs??

 

[Entropy]

Par is the amount of light your corals can use. (Photosynthetically Available Radiation). Higher par bulbs can generally keep a wider range of corals. Color is also important for a nice looking tank.

Do you like your tank warm (6.5k yellow, natural sunlight), white (10k), blue white (14k), or blue (20k)?