mh lighting
- Thread starter apapas
- Start date
snowstar
Premium Member
If you are a do-it-yourselfer, then getting retro fits kits for metal halide & T5/VHO/PC combo units is a good way to go. You can get them from many many different places on the net. Just be sure you understand what you are getting into when you go to select your ballasts. I prefer to spend the extra dollars and usually get electronic ballasts - usually ice cap. Many will tell you that it's not that big a deal and or difference - all I can say is that most of the new electonic ballasts will push any metal halide bulb and they will do it while running much cooler than the conventional ballasts. Been there done that conventional ballast thing with both MH bulbs and VHO.... and seems like the bulb spectrums were always shifting at about 7 months into their little short lives. Now the argument that the conventional ballasts will generate better PAR with some MH bulbs I will not argue or can I argue -- the PAR values ARE better for some bulbs using conventional ballasts - but given the extra heat and shorter usuable bulb life -
Now if you are not a do-it-yourselfer, for about the same amount of money as you would spend on a top notch retro fit kit (ballasts, bulbs and reflectors), you can get a complete unit at JoMars. I think they carry both the Current Orbit and Orbit Extreme both are good options for shallower tanks or tanks that will not need the "Punch" to get down to the bottom of say a 24" deep tank to support say sps corals placed low in the tank. They have just started carring the coralife Aqualight and those are good all in one units that you can get in more than just a 150watt MH bulb. Coralife makes those in 250watt and and possibly even higher....not 100% sure on that though.
One of the biggest differences in the do-it-yourself and the ready made, is most of the d-i-y are mogul style MH sockets where as the ready made are all DE with the UV shields. There is a lot of debate on which bulb type is better - and a lot of great reef tanks out there some with SE some with DE....
Most of the RC sponsors are great if you choose to go retro - I have always had good luck with premium aquatics and that is where I have gotten almost all my lighting parts for the d-i-y moments and for the let me just buy a complete unit events in my tanks life....
Now if you are not a do-it-yourselfer, for about the same amount of money as you would spend on a top notch retro fit kit (ballasts, bulbs and reflectors), you can get a complete unit at JoMars. I think they carry both the Current Orbit and Orbit Extreme both are good options for shallower tanks or tanks that will not need the "Punch" to get down to the bottom of say a 24" deep tank to support say sps corals placed low in the tank. They have just started carring the coralife Aqualight and those are good all in one units that you can get in more than just a 150watt MH bulb. Coralife makes those in 250watt and and possibly even higher....not 100% sure on that though.
One of the biggest differences in the do-it-yourself and the ready made, is most of the d-i-y are mogul style MH sockets where as the ready made are all DE with the UV shields. There is a lot of debate on which bulb type is better - and a lot of great reef tanks out there some with SE some with DE....
Most of the RC sponsors are great if you choose to go retro - I have always had good luck with premium aquatics and that is where I have gotten almost all my lighting parts for the d-i-y moments and for the let me just buy a complete unit events in my tanks life....
Nathan4Wvu
Do you like Phil Collins?
cool touch lighting they are great and have great prices
www.cooltouchlighting.com
www.cooltouchlighting.com
