New to MH lighting

[Danzig]

Please don't give me information if you didn't take the time to read my WHOLE post or dont have knowledgeable experience on the subject. Also please do not recommend a certain other product to me based on a bias, if you recommend something back it up with more than a claim, show me some evidence (i come in peace =p). For those of you who do help me, thanks for taking the time of day and its very much appreciated!
I'm new to MH lighting and have a few questions.
I have a 54 gallon corner tank which is awkward to light. I was planning on using a coralvue lumenbright mini reflector (not the wide one) to get good use of my light. I was thinking of going with 175 watts to keep heat issues/and excess energy usage down. I will have some SPS, maybe 5+ or so frags i hope to grow out, i can place these near the top if need be..(to keep excess energy down) I dont want to go with a 250 if i don't really need to, but i also don't want to go with the 175 and see no growth. FYI my tank is 18'' deep. Should i go with a 14k bulb?

I was looking at this ballast: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JB41L2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A1O863TZYF0C7N

I like this ballast because if it ever comes to it, i can switch between bulb watts and HQI if i ever want too, it also has some fancy microprocessor or whatever and alot of safety features (lol).

I like this reflector: http://www.saltysupply.com/Coralvue-Lumen-Bright-SE-Pendant-p/cv3333.htm?CartID=1

The description says it all, plus they have pretty good reviews, heres a nice thread to look into: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-06/review/index.php

And i was going to go with this bulb: http://www.saltysupply.com/Coralvue-175-watt-14-000k-Single-En-p/cv3312.htm?CartID=2

its a bit cheaper than some other ones, but if you have a better one in mind for a similar price let me know. I also am not sure on spectrum but i figured 14k is a good middle point between the 10k-20k and not too white or too blue.

 

[Danzig]

Anyone??

Will that bulb work with that ballast? I know some bulbs are pulse start or something i just want to be sure.
Also,
Will i need to buy an additional cord of some sort or is this all compatible and plug and play?

 

[alton]

I answered your other post, but the ballast shown here is selectable not dimmable, so which one did you get? Also use the Reeflux from coralvue or radium, the regular lamp is not my favorite. Reeflux and Radium are pulse start. I use the lumenbright pendants and love them I have 3 on a 300DD tank and love the coverage

 

[Danzig]

I answered your other post, but the ballast shown here is selectable not dimmable, so which one did you get? Also use the Reeflux from coralvue or radium, the regular lamp is not my favorite. Reeflux and Radium are pulse start. I use the lumenbright pendants and love them I have 3 on a 300DD tank and love the coverage

They are both the same ballast http://reefwarehouse.com/ballasts-p-2672.html

Will i be fine if i just buy a 250 bulb and then turn it down to 175?

 

[AquaTDV]

I currently run 3 -175 coralvue/Icecap ballast with 15K Iwasaki bulbs and their PPFD (87)is greater than most 250s. The CCT is also in the 14K range definately worth looking into

 

[AquaTDV]

Picture comparison:

Outside 250 12K Reefflux
Middle 175 Icecap 15k Iwasaki

Excuse the conditon of the tank I just rearranged my rock work to make more room for the Gigas....

 

[Danzig]

Picture comparison:

Outside 250 12K Reefflux
Middle 175 Icecap 15k Iwasaki

Excuse the conditon of the tank I just rearranged my rock work to make more room for the Gigas....

Thanks for sharing! Thats a huge clam and a nice tank! Im not sure what information i should be getting from you post though..

 

[James77]

Will i need to buy an additional cord of some sort or is this all compatible and plug and play?[/B]

You will nee to buy an adapter to run from the ballast to be able to splice the wires to that particular reflector. The connectors on the Lumatek are proprietary, so you would something like this:

http://www.aquacave.com/15-ft-Lamp-Cord-for-Galaxy-Blue-Wave-Ballasts-P1727C210.aspx

It is called the "Smart Volt" cord, and even the switchable ballasts COralVue sells even has them. You can find them cheaper than that, thats just for example of what you need.

Overall great ballasts. The HQI setting is not exactly matching an HQI megnetic ballast, but close enough. I've had no problem running any bulb on them, I use the Lumateks as well.

 

[James77]

To answer your question in the other thread about it running any 175w bulb. Yes it will. "Dimmable" is an incorrect term for these ballast, these are switchable multi wattage ballasts. You are dimming nothing when you switch it from 250-175, you are making it a 175w electronic ballast that should run any bulb on the market. It may not run the bulb 100% to its spec requirements, since alot of bulbs run best with magnetics but it will run them fine. A great 175w bulb is the Iwasaki 15k, a PAR monster but very white.

edit; oops, didn't see the comarison above had the iwasaki in it

 

[reeferman1128]

MH are becoming a thing of the past. LED would be less expensive both in the short term and long. If you are handy you can build your own custome to your tank design. You also have the ability to custome which ever color temp you prefer. rapidled.com.

 

[James77]

MH are becoming a thing of the past. LED would be less expensive both in the short term and long. If you are handy you can build your own customer to your tank design. You also have the ability to customer which ever color temp to prefer. rapidled.com.

Halides are here for a while, aquarium lighting is not the sole dictator of that either.

A lot of people, myself included, have switched back to their previous lighting after trying LEDs. I have tried LEDs, halides, and T5s and halides have given me the best results across the board. I did not like them or the result I had with LEDs. Electric savings are not a given, since not everywhere has super high tiered electric rates. Heat also does not affect all hobbyists the same, I actually welcome any heat. Bulb savings? We are in a hobby that is already an excess, when I need to start calculating savings out 10 years from now, I will get out of the hobby. I'm more concerned with keeping the coral in my tank happy as can be rather than save X dollars a month.

 

[sirreal63]

MH are becoming a thing of the past. LED would be less expensive both in the short term and long. If you are handy you can build your own customer to your tank design. You also have the ability to customer which ever color temp to prefer. rapidled.com.

Good job on reading the very first sentence, made in red to help it stand out. Reading is Fundamental.

Danzig, I don't really see any issues with the setup you originally posted. Don't run a 250 watt bulb at 175 watts, it is brutal on the bulb, which is expecting a certain starting and running power and deviating from that has the potential to shorten the life of the bulb. If you go with the LumenBrite, make sure you have a lot of room above the tank, these are spotlight fixtures and need to be raised to get adequate coverage. The 175's are all you will need for an 18" tank but you will of course have the option of going to a higher wattage bulb in the future.

 

[reeferman1128]

I only hear roughly 1 of 10 people who go to LED then go back to another. I have a fellow reefer with 500 watts of MH on one side of his tank and 150 watts of LED on the other and the led side has equal to if not better color and growth. Some corals being fragged from the same colony. This is of coarse a matter of personal preference and I am not here to say anyone is wrong. My point is MH are quickly being phased out for a reason and I would highly recommned looking into LEDS.

 

[ganjero]

If using 175w the 15K Iwasaki bulb has no competitor. Everything else looks good. Some retailers will send you the reflector with a cable that is compatible with the ballast if you buy both of them from the same retailer, just talk to them to be sure. I would check reefspecialty for the reflector ballast combo, great customer service.

It's quite annoying seeing comments like the one below in every lighting post....same posts used to come up all the time when the T5 boom and MH are still here. Yes at some point MH probably will disappear but that is something to discuss in another thread & another time

MH are becoming a thing of the past. LED would be less expensive both in the short term and long. If you are handy you can build your own custome to your tank design. You also have the ability to custome which ever color temp you prefer. rapidled.com.

 

[Danzig]

I want to thank everyone here who commented you all really helped so much. As for LEDs i didnt ask for input on them, but now that were on the subject i currently am using 2 ai blue units over my tank..

 

[reeferman1128]

Sorry to annoy. I must of missed where Danzig or anyone else for that matter asked for your personal opinion on past postings of this website. I believe the subject at hand was lighting advice. We should not let our personal feelings get in the way of helping people out.

RAPIDLED.COM

 

[sirreal63]

Sorry to annoy. I must of missed where Danzig or anyone else for that matter asked for your personal opinion on past postings of this website. I believe the subject at hand was lighting advice. We should not let our personal feelings get in the way of helping people out.

RAPIDLED.COM

Actually the topic was MH lighting, and he specifically asked that it not drift from that topic. He could not have made it more clear what he wanted help on. Why you felt compelled to litter his thread with your way off topic post(s) I have no clue. Do you?

 

[reeferman1128]

[flamealert]

 

[James77]

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[Danzig]

Thanks guys no worries lets let that go and please not comment unless it is relevant to my OP or is a reply to a comment regarding my OP.