MH question

[kegogut]

I was wondering what the penetration was for 150w DE radium.

The reason I ask is because I have a 6x2x30" deep 220 and Im looking into a 5ft. fixture that has three 150w MH that I would get radium 14k bulbs for,it also has four 48 inch T5 I have 2 blue plus and 2 purple plus to use.

Im wondering if there will be enough light penetration with the fixture for a 30" deep tank. Id place sps high and softies lower etc. Anyone have 150s over there tank that can give depth of coral placement and fixture height or advice etc?

Thanks!

 

[dz6t]

I think 150w is too dim for a 30 inch deep tank. 250w halide is more suitable.
I used to have 150w halide (14K Phoenix) on 75 gallon which is only 21 inch deep. It could only work for soft coral.

 

[kegogut]

I think 150w is too dim for a 30 inch deep tank. 250w halide is more suitable.
I used to have 150w halide (14K Phoenix) on 75 gallon which is only 21 inch deep. It could only work for soft coral.

Thats what I needed to hear,thanks for the advice.

 

[sirreal63]

Go with a 10k Ushio and there will be no problem.

 

[kegogut]

Go with a 10k Ushio and there will be no problem.

Does that bulb penetrate deeper that the radium? How much more white/yellow is it than the radium?

 

[sirreal63]

Yes it does Dave, significantly higher par from the 10k. Give me a few hours to get back home and I will give you a few pics of each. The Radium is more white than blue, it is not the same color as the 250 watt version. As far as only being good for softies, that isn't exactly true, there are too many variables at play to say that. There are plenty of people who have used 150's with SPS with great success, even some with tall tanks.

Though it is not a great fit for a 30" tank, the right combination can work. What fixture is it, and what ballasts?

 

[sirreal63]

This is a par reading I did between the 150 watt Radium and the 150 watt Ushio 10K. The tank is 40x40, the rockwork was arranged in approximately a 30x30 area. Ballast was M81 and the reflector a LumenArc Mini. The bulb is 30" from the sand bed but the tank is only 17" high. The first number is the Radium and the second the Ushio, if there is only one number it is the Radium as I did not test all areas the same. The pic is overexposed to allow for the numbers to show.

Radium with EcoXotic 445nm leds as supplement.

Radium, leds and VHO SuperActintics.

10K Ushio's

You should be able to tailor the look with your T5's. Your ballast will make a difference. If these are old stock bulbs, electronic under drives the 150DE, the M81 does a very good job at driving it close to spec. Using a 175 watt electronic will slightly over drive the bulb. If these are new stock bulbs, then the electronic will drive it just fine, but I do not have par numbers on the new bulbs as I went to a single 250 Radium over my tank. (Radium made a change to the bulb which spec's a lower nominal wattage than the old version, and I would imagine all of the old stock is out of distribution already)

I don't think I would try high light loving Acro's on the sand bed with a 30" tall tank, but with good reflectors, high par bulb and the proper ballast you should be ok in most others areas of the tank. Stick with high par bulbs in both the MH and the T5 and you will be ok, not ideal but it is doable.

This was the old 125, same LumenArc Mini's and XDE10k's on the ends, a 250 10k in middle with 320 watts of VHO actintic, bulbs were about 30" from sand.

 

[kegogut]

Thanks for all the info Jack. Very helpful and very nice looking tanks.

I would be looking for more of a white-ish blue look to my tank. I was told that radium 14ks would give me that look along with some blue plus and purple plus for the T5s. The fixture will be about 10 inches above the tank making it 40 inches total off the sand bed.

 

[sirreal63]

What fixture is it?

 

[kegogut]

Im not sure of the model but I was told its a marineland 60" with 3x150w DE MH w/ 4x 54w T5HO and some actinic LEDs.

 

[sirreal63]

Here is what a member here did with a Marineland unit on a 27 or 28" tall tank, 10K bulbs and excellent husbandry. Unfortunately this tank suffered a catastrophe unrelated to light.

Palting is usually very modest but his tank speaks for itself. These are old pics from his build thread.

And where it was a year before...this is pretty darn good growth and color in a year under 150's and a tall tank.

It is hard to say that 150's don't have enough power or spread. I played around a little on Sanjay's site and pulled this up. Bulb, reflector and ballast combinations have more of an impact on PAR than wattage. Though it is usually easier to get more PAR from higher wattage, it isn't a guarantee, you can actually lose PAR with a poorly set up light. It is telling when a 150 watt 10K can smoke a 400 watt 20k.

No it isn't a great fixture, but it is capable with the right bulbs. There are plenty of examples of 150's doing what people have said for years that they cannot. The example above is 10K bulbs. I saw one yesterday from a 180 that looked great.

 

[kegogut]

Well I talked to my buddy with the fixture and unfortunately it only has 2 150s instead of 3.
He does have some lumen bright DE reflectors set up for 250s though. I would have to get ballasts but it might be worth it.

 

[sirreal63]

The LB's will give you plenty penetration, but you have to raise them pretty high to get any usable spread.