MH recomendation

luminary, I have kept all my current SPS's in the upper half of the tank and yes I have the 240 tall (96 X 18 X 30) with a DSB. So this leads me to another question.

So if it where your tank, what would you do? 2 400's, 3 400's, 3 250's or 4 250's?

Please keep all the suggestions coming, I am defiantly in the planning stage right now and appreciate all the input.

By the way DaddyJax, I already have a chiller on the tank.

Thanks All
 
I would do 3 400w.


They are about half the cost! They last around 9 to 12 months depending on ballast and hours per day. AC's last a little longer but for the cost!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8223474#post8223474 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Warnberg
luminary, I have kept all my current SPS's in the upper half of the tank and yes I have the 240 tall (96 X 18 X 30) with a DSB. So this leads me to another question.

So if it where your tank, what would you do? 2 400's, 3 400's, 3 250's or 4 250's?
Click to expand...

How deep is the bed? Or more specifically, what's the depth from water surface to the lowest point where you are going to place high light corals?

In any event, I would most likely go with 3x250 using a good bulb. I have used and like AquaConnects (14k), Ushios(10k) and ABs(10k). And I'd supplement with VHO actinics. Even with my 250s I've had some bleaching problems due to light intensity. I really have no interest in moving higher than that. But I also prefer shallower tanks and I'm running it bare, so my advice may be biased.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8223539#post8223539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DaddyJax
They are about half the cost! They last around 9 to 12 months depending on ballast and hours per day. AC's last a little longer but for the cost!
Click to expand...

I change within 12 months even with the ACs...For half the price I'm definitely gonna give them a try next round! $120+ per bulb really pinches the wallet :D. Is the color temp of the bulb comparable?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8223625#post8223625 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by luminary
How deep is the bed? Or more specifically, what's the depth from water surface to the lowest point where you are going to place high light corals?
Click to expand...

Sand bed is 4 to 6 inches deep, the lowest high light coral is approximatly 12 to 15 inches from the top of the tank.


Something like this? With a third one of course
http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104377.html

Thanks,
 
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12 inches from the surface with 400 watters == melted corals IMO. As I said, I've bleached corals in that situation with 250s.

To be fair, it does depend on the bulb you want to us too. There are some bulbs that you might choose for coloration that aren't as intense. So some high color temp 400s might be the same intensity as lower color temp 250s. There has been lots of information published on the PAR/spectrum of MH bulbs if you search around. That might help you out...
 
Warnberg,

I assume you are upgrading your electric?

Anyone,

Would it make power sense if 400 Watts are used, to use 220 Volt power for the ballast? I assume this would make operation cheaper?


Good luck,
Chris
 
I do not add anything to my tank, I am running a shuran Jetstream 1 calcium reactor and do a water change (40 gallons) once a month.
 
Have you thought about adding more fish or adding amminos to try to get things to color up?? There are some really nice T5 tanks that have lots of color. In the very distant future I was going to try 2X250 or 2X175 6500K MH with T5 actinic supplementation.
 
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Warnberg,

I would think your electric bill will increase if you go to 3 - 400 watt MH. That is 1200 watts. I believe you are currently using Icecaps to power 8 4' T5s. I ams sure that this is less than 1200 watts.

I believe Rob had done some test on the amp draw of IceCap 660s when overpowering T5s.

I know someone in St. Pete was selling 220 Volt - 400 watt MH and I belileve he said he orginally had 120 V 400watt MH and switched to save on his electric bill. I was just curious, thought if you could save a buck it would be worth it, but it may take awhile to get the ROI for the 220 Volt upgrade, but if you are running new electric you may want to consider it.

Keep us posted.

Chris
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8224789#post8224789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by guntercb
Would it make power sense if 400 Watts are used, to use 220 Volt power for the ballast? I assume this would make operation cheaper?
Click to expand...

Using 220 instead of 110 would not negligably change the overall cost. You pay for power in terms of watts (more specifically, kilowatts). Watts = Volts * Amps. If you look at the ballast specs, a 220 volt ballast requires about half the amps, yielding roughly the same wattage, and hence the same cost.

The myth that running equipment off of 220V power is cheaper comes from two things. First, higher voltage means less amperage, which usually means less heat. This doesn't directly equate to less cost, however it is less heat you have to cool (which indirectly means less overall cost). Second, since 220V devices are running at a lower amperage they are usually slightly more efficient. It's unlikely that the gain in efficiency will have a noticable impact on your electric costs.
 
I remembered reading somewhere that stated that 220V lighting is prohibited by the NEC in residences. I did some searching..This is very interesting reading (pages 2 and 3). My take from it is that there is some disagreement about whether 220V lighting in residential dwellings violates the electrical code.

Given the disagreement between the two experienced electricians, I assume that you'd pretty much get the luck of the draw if an inspector ever came into the picture (or say, if the insurance company was submitted a claim due to fire). For basically no benefit, why add the risk...

edit - In searching around a bit more on the internet, the few stated opinions that I've found side with lighting over 120V in a residential dwelling as being prohibited.
 
Matt,

Did considering running 220 volts for your tank?

As far as codes, the tank is not built in, but you do raise an interesting point with insurance company. I guess if 220V are considered I would consult the building codes.
 
I thought about it but honestly didn't see the benefit.

Depending on how you interpret the codes, it doesn't matter if it's built in or not. Keep in mind I'm neither an electrician or an inspector so my "knowledge" isn't exactly "expert" :).
 
From my understanding a lower voltage circuit draws more current that a higher voltage circuit. I was looking at the line current (what you are paying for) for the T5HO centium ballasts. Here is what I found.

2X54T5HO Line current
120V 1.00 amps
230V .52 amps
277V .43 amps

Dont quote me cause i am no electrician either. Robthorn might know.
 
I was looking for Robthorns electric cost study on MH v T5's (I thought I saw something like that one time) but I still can not find it. Rob can you help us out here?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8231652#post8231652 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TAMike97
From my understanding a lower voltage circuit draws more current that a higher voltage circuit. I was looking at the line current (what you are paying for) for the T5HO centium ballasts. Here is what I found.

2X54T5HO Line current
120V 1.00 amps 120 watts
230V .52 amps 119.6 watts
277V .43 amps 119.11 watts

Dont quote me cause i am no electrician either. Robthorn might know.
Click to expand...

Right, lower voltage draws more current for the same load. As you can see from the actual power draw, there is no appreciable change in the cost of operating those ballasts. Yeah, there is a very slight decrease but not enough to even be noticed, especially when you consider the efficiency range of those ballasts. You could very easily have a 277V ballast drawing more power than the 120V ballast and still be within the manufacturers tolerances.
 
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