MH for my 55
- Thread starter leoristo
- Start date
The Sunlight Supply Reef Optix 1 may be the best smallish reflector, 9.5" wide, for use over narrower tanks like a 70, 90, 55 gallon. The Larger symmetrical reflectors like the Lumenarcs and Lumenmax reflectors produce wider spread but they are meant for 2 foot coverage and they will throw a lot of light beyond the front and back edges of a narrow tank like the 55. They throw a good deal of light beyond my 18" wide 90 gallon. I own several quality pendants/reflectors including the Lumenmax 2 and 3 as well as the Reef Optix 3 (DE versions). I picked up the Reef Optix 150 watt DE version to try and am currently using the Reef Optix over my 90. They are very good reflectors. Very uniform and complete coverage over my wider 90 gallon so there would be no problem with complete coverage over your 55. So if you can up your budget by 10 dollars, I see them as low as 110 dollars at Aquacave. That would be my choice over a narrower tank like your 55. They have the Reef Optix 1 which is the Mogul base version. Aquacave.com
You can search Reef Optix 1 but I doubt you will find them for lower than 110 dollars unless you can find them used ... or possibly ebay. So for 10 dollars more than your budget you end up with a quality reflector that will work well over your tank. These reflectors also reviewed well in reflector tests/comparisons.
http://www.aquacave.com/reef-optix-1-plus-pendantbr-reflector-by-sunlight-supply-1140.html
The mogul lamps dont need to be run with a glass shield over the reflector so these dont come with the glass shield. But it is available seperately if you wanted to use it. The glass shield is about 10 dollars if memory serves.
They are overpriced like everything else. The socket is porcelain though, not plastic. The have to use 4 or 5KV pulse rated sockets. Still, it's a sub 10 dollar part.
The point is this ... there can be a HUGE difference between reflectors. The cheap pendants/reflectors have little to no design in them at all and use the cheapest reflective material available and are often not vented well at all. The better reflectors actually are designed to provide uniform light spread (and reduce the hot spot as much as possible) over their designed coverage area. The initial investment is higher but it is a one time expense and well worth the initial extra expense in terms of performance. I have used both cheap and quality reflectors. The difference can be seen with the naked eye although measuring with a par meter like is done in the testing is the best way to see what is happening. But the difference can be as distinct visually as a spotlight compared to a flood light. I will never go back to a cheap reflector or one of the budget halide fixtures with small halide reflectors with little or no engineering after using both and realizing the difference. But you certainly can keep a reef with cheap pendants. I think it makes sense to do it right the first time and get the better performance. More uniform coverage and decreased hot spot intensity or hot spot area can mean more flexibility in coral placement.
leoristo
New member
You convinced me! 
175W ballastwise $60
175w Iwasaki 15K $80
Reef Optix 1 $110
--------------------------------
TOT (per lamp) $250
Quite expensive...
I understand the quality of the iwasaki, but considering I am planning to start with softies, mushrooms and zoo's, could I get a cheaper bulb for the first year or so?
Other question, would it be ok tu supplement the single MH with a 24" PC fixture to light the second half of the tank until i get the second MH?
175W ballastwise $60
175w Iwasaki 15K $80
Reef Optix 1 $110
--------------------------------
TOT (per lamp) $250
Quite expensive...
I understand the quality of the iwasaki, but considering I am planning to start with softies, mushrooms and zoo's, could I get a cheaper bulb for the first year or so?
Other question, would it be ok tu supplement the single MH with a 24" PC fixture to light the second half of the tank until i get the second MH?
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15068438#post15068438 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by leoristo
You convinced me!
175W ballastwise $60
175w Iwasaki 15K $80
Reef Optix 1 $110
--------------------------------
TOT (per lamp) $250
Quite expensive...
I understand the quality of the iwasaki, but considering I am planning to start with softies, mushrooms and zoo's, could I get a cheaper bulb for the first year or so?
Other question, would it be ok tu supplement the single MH with a 24" PC fixture to light the second half of the tank until i get the second MH?
The Iwasaki is a high par lamp, as high as many 250 watt lamps. If you dont need all that par, and you wont, you certainly can go with another lamp. It also isnt a blue lamp. More of a crisp white lamp. So before you choose a bulb, decide what look you want. Do you want a noticeable but not overwhelming blue tint? A strong blue tint? Crisp white, no blue, no yellow? Or a warmer white look? There are halide bulbs that can provide any of these. The big deal with the Iwasaki is the strong par. I like the bulbs color with supplementation to add a little more blue but it isnt the only bulb there is.
The reflector is the most important aspect of the halide system. As long as the bulb provides enough par to support your corals then you are fine. With those reflectors over your 55 you have many options in terms of halide lamps. If you want to save some money up front, you can even go with the 20-30 dollar generic lamps sold on ebay. They arent the same quality and may not last as long but lots of reefers using them and if they provide the par you need then they will work fine. Personally, over a 55 gallon with what you are planning on keeping, I would probably go with the Ushio 20K ... It is a white bulb with a distinct but not overwhelming blue tint. A quality lamp and probably can be found for about 60 dollars. It doesnt have the par that the Iwasaki has but in my opinion it would provide more than enough to support the corals you are planning on keeping. The Ushio 20K's are popular in all wattages and reefers keep anything from low light softies to sps under them. Lighting is just one component of the tank. But again, it depends on what color you want from your halides and your bulb budget as well as the par that you need and/or want ... one may use higher par halides if they wanted maximum growth for example while a bluer halide with less par will provide plenty of light for the corals to thrive but the growth may not be as fast.
You can run one halide for starters. Make sure that the corals that need the most light are under the coverage area of the pendant which will be about half the tank length wise ... it would be a bit more if there were no center brace. Then the lower light corals can be placed at the edge of the coverage area.
If you already have corals, make sure you acclimate them slowly over to the halides from the PC lighting. Use several layers of window screen and/or raise the pendants up high for starters. You may also want to run the halides for a shorter period of time in the beginning. Remove a layer of window screen every few days to a week and then begin to lower the pendants after you have finally removed all the window screen. You can adjust any of these methods as needed. Less or more screen layers and/or lower or higer halide pendant level and/or longer or shorter photoperiod ... all depending on how your corals are responding to the new lighting. If you but corals from a LFS, know what type of lighting they are under and whether they are right under the light or at the edges at the store so you can place them in the tank so they are getting similiar amount of light as they were in the store. And just be prepared to be flexible with placement. If they need less light, move them to a lower light area.
Despite the reflectors providing a good, uniform spread ... the par is always higher, up in the tank closer to the reflectors and decreases lower down in the tank. This is obviously the case with all light sources and it is no different with halides EXCEPT for the fact that the halide is a point source light and there will always be a hot spot directly under the lamp itself and in that general area. So keep in mind that the highest intensity is high up in the tank in the area directly under the lamp. As you move left or right and front or back at the same depth level in the tank the par will decrease compared to what it is in that area directly under the lamp itself ... this is an important difference between halide and other lighting sources. And then, like all other lighting, par decreases with depth in the tank. So you may not want to place any corals directly under the lamp or in that general area, up high on the rocks, during the acclimation process to the new halide lighting.
Im just trying to throw in as many pointers as I can think of, off the top of my head, to help you make the switch to halides.
Im going to PM you with some bulb info that I dont want to post here.
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