Please Help Me Out!!!!

[seth16]

I have never looked for or into metal halides and i think i may want to get one from ebay or something for my 55 (soon to be) and i will post a couple links, IDK if any of these are good, i want a strong lighting for my tank.


Will this be enought light for my whole tank, it is only 15"
long...??? :

http://cgi.ebay.com/400-450watt-MET...1QQihZ004QQcategoryZ46314QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/HPS-METAL-HALID...9QQihZ016QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/400-Metal-Halid...6QQihZ007QQcategoryZ46314QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


What a bout this one??/ :

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-400-watt-ME...7QQihZ008QQcategoryZ42225QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



SOme of those are "work" or "grow" lights, but it still puts out the wattage, but IDK, there are tond os the same ones on there, and if one is ok, then i may go for it, but i wanted to ask your guys opinionfirst, i have about $150 to spend on a light...

 

[dugg]

The third one from seller 360summer360 while it isn't what you need exactly, if you will contact him and ask about his new 400w ballast and reflector with mogul socket, and then order a bulb elsewhere, you can get a good system for what you have to spend. I have been doing bussiness with him for a few years, and he is a great guy. With a 55gallon, you really need a 2x250 watt system instead of a single 400w. MH only covers 2ft by 2ft per bulb, and 2x400 is way too much for a 55.

You can contact him either with email through ebay, or Phone From 10am - 6pm (317) 345-1369
after hours (317) 345 1369

 

[seth16]

so , what you are saying is that i need to ask for a 400w ballast with mogul socket, but you also say that i need two 2x250 watts instead of 400...??? i dont get it...lol

 

[InLimbo87]

the idea is that, if you are going metal halide, you will need two sets of bulbs/ballasts in order to cover the entire area of your tank. only one will not illuminate the entire tank...

 

[ryanhayes96]

seth.... metal halides.. like eac seperate bulb will cover a 2 foot area. sonce the 55 is 48 inches long you will need 2. One for each 24 inches. also keep in mind that a 55 has a center brace so one metal halide pendant for each 24 inches. But yo cannot set metal halides right on top of the tank either. they WILL break the glass top on your tank or melt the center brace. so unless your dad will let you ang 2 metal halides from your roof i would go with something like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/Current-USA-48-...ryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


its a lot of money which i dont think you would be willing to dump on lighting. also i have heard that metal haide lighting will raise your electricity bill like 30 bucks a month. also stay away from oddysea lighting. they are notoriuos for catching fire. remember my t5's?:lol:

 

[dugg]

Lol, now that i went back and read that, let me clarify a little. If you are stuck on wanting a 400w contact him about a new one instead of the rebuilt one in the listing. He has new ones for almost the same price. A single 400w is not a good choice for a 55 at all though. since a MH only covers a 2ftx2ft area, it will only cover 1/2 of your tank. If you try to place it in the center, it will not light the outside 1ft on each end, and you will have a shadow in the center from the tanks center brace. A 2 x 250w will be a much better choice for your tank. The bulbs he sells are not really fit for a reef tank though. They will work for a while, but they are very yellow in color, and don't really have a good spectrum. If you go with the ballast from him, you will want to order bulbs elsewhere and get hamilton or XM bulbs instead of the generic bulbs he sells with his systems. To give you time to get money for bulbs, you might ask around for a few used bulbs that someone might have laying around. I have 1 hamilton 250w 14k bulb you could have. It is mostly used up for usefullness for corals though. It has about 11 months of use on it, but you are welcome to it if you need it.

 

[seth16]

yes.... i do...lol

 

[ryanhayes96]

seth if you really want some good lighting order some retrofit t5's with INDIVIDUAL REFLECTORS! individual reflectors double the amount of light output t5's have.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12772&N=2004+113175

get the 216 watt 48 inch one. its the exact same i have. also if you do order some individual reflectors(4) for it. that way you could keep clams acros... anything you want. many reefers are now swithcing from hetal halide to t5 becuase t5's run cooler and arent as expensive hth

 

[InLimbo87]

. also i have heard that metal haide lighting will raise your electricity bill like 30 bucks a month.

Lol definitely not the metal halide for a 55g tank... RC has an electricity cost calculator on the main page if you want to find out for yourself. I think i found that my 150w metal halides ran 7hrs per day cost me somewhere around $3-$4/month extra on my bill (than having no lights at all of course).

 

[InLimbo87]

I lied... $31/year which comes out to $2.58/ month. so if he were to get 2 150w metal halides, it would cost just over $5/month. This is approx of course because everyone's electric prices vary...

 

[seth16]

I mite be able to swing that dan, i will take you advice and go with it, thank you guys, i am very much a newbie when it comes to metal halides and stuff.........lol

 

[flfirefighter13]

Do some serious research into the MH VS VHO VS T5 debates, I knwo lots of people running solely VHO which will be much cheaper for you to get into. I was running only VHO on my 75 and had all kinds of softies plus a fe caps growing like weeds. I now have 440W VHO over my 125 with 2 150 W MH's.... catch is the MH are only on for 3 hours a day and everything seems to be loveing life. Caps are growing like crazy, softies are to. Remeber you can use less wattage for most corals as long as you put them near the top, hard coral up top, softies down low and you should be able to find an affordable option. I didnt look at the links due to me being at work and dialup takes forever, but keep in mind with MH you have to check Kelvin temp of the bulbs as well, many work lights or grow lights can have some very weird Kelvin rateing that arent great for coral

 

[waterfaller1]

Re: Please Help Me Out!!!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9024503#post9024503 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seth16
Will this be enought light for my whole tank, it is only 15"
long...??? :

How do you figure he needs 2 Metal halides?

 

[flfirefighter13]

Yeah im perplexed now, missed that at first 15" long and 55 gallon?...... Seth what are the dimensions of you tank?

 

[damac20]

If it were me I'd do 2 250 watt MH... especially if you're gonna get into sps. I bought 2 175 for my 65 and I already regret it. If you get the sps bug that most people do once you start you might as well go for the 250's from the start verses having to upgrade in the future.

 

[seth16]

it will be a 55, 48" by 12" (i think)