MH lighting

[ReefMan32]

I have a 50 Gal Oceanic with Power compact lights i want to add MH lighting now so i can get some corals that require them.... what would you suggest? What wattage and all that good stuff??

Thanks for all the help

 

[stewie24]

It all depends on what you are trying to keep and weather or not money is a factor.
For starters i'd suggest the 36" sunpod in the 1x 150 watt hqi setup.
For a more expensive setup, i'd suggest something like the outer orbit with t5's. That consists of 2x 150 watt hqi's with 4x 39 watt t5's.
I'd only go with the 2nd one if you plan on doing mainly sps.
Stewie

 

[jag1979]

also be careful when you get mh's if you already have softies and lps, they will shrink up under the intense light

 

[ReefMan32]

Well I have No live sock in my tank right now i brought it al over to my local pet store for them to hold for me.... i am redoing my tank and i want to set it up so i can get coral i cant get with power compact....

also i was reading that a lot of the carpet anenome need MH lighting....what type of MH lighting will i need for them....and does this lighting differ from the MH lighting id need for Sps?

PS what exactly is SPS....are they hard to keep?

thanks for all the help

 

[ReefMan32]

Also, as i said i have power comact lighting, n i was wondering if i would just get a MH bubl with a balast and keep my power compact....or would that not me good?

 

[jag1979]

sps are small polyp stony corals

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=322

They require a lot of light (mh's or t5's), a lot of flow (most people shoot for around 50x turnover), a lot of calcium and alkalinity and stable water perams

 

[ReefMan32]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8934517#post8934517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefMan32
Also, as i said i have power comact lighting, n i was wondering if i would just get a MH bubl with a balast and keep my power compact....or would that not me good?

Can i do this with stong MH lighting and still keep SPS?

 

[jag1979]

I would keep the pc's for actnics, then get a 10k bulb for the mh, you will also need a reflector and socket

 

[ReefMan32]

Now i was looking on HelloLights.com and i saw a ballast And a MH Bulb however i can seem to find the reflector and socket

 

[jag1979]

http://www.hellolights.com/hidretrofitkit.html