Show me your 20k Radium tanks?

Hey Guys,

I am going to be running two 250W 20k radiums on a pfo hqi ballast in lumenmax elite reflectors. But I am supplementing that with four 24watt tek t5s. Which t5 bulbs would give me the best effect? I am looking for best brand and type actinic, blue+ etc. All of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
rob020880 said:
Hey Guys,

I am going to be running two 250W 20k radiums on a pfo hqi ballast in lumenmax elite reflectors. But I am supplementing that with four 24watt tek t5s. Which t5 bulbs would give me the best effect? I am looking for best brand and type actinic, blue+ etc. All of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would use a combination of UVL super actinic and ATI Blue+. What are the tanks dimensions?
 
rob020880 said:
Hey Guys,

I am going to be running two 250W 20k radiums on a pfo hqi ballast in lumenmax elite reflectors. But I am supplementing that with four 24watt tek t5s. Which t5 bulbs would give me the best effect? I am looking for best brand and type actinic, blue+ etc. All of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would do all Pure Actinic 03 T5 HO Fluorescent by Giesemann.
They are the most actual actinic T5s out right now.
Ati blue+ are good but imo they are nothing but blue light.
But I still say nothing compares to VHO actinics...lol
 
Here is a pic of my 2x150w with VHO '454's turned on. It is pretty blue with the VHO's on, I tend to run the Radiums more by themselves, and use the VHO's for sunrise/sunset effect.


reef.jpg
 
Halides are one thing but actinics are equally important. Corals need both...I have a mini lumenbright wide reflector alone on my tank with the 250w radium, ran by a bluewave. If I had to do it over I would have gotten an SE mh/vho combo fixture. Im about to setup a new tank and thats what Im going with...You just cant beat the look and the results...I miss that actinic.
Im currently looking for something like this...
http://www.innovativelights.com/pfo-69905.html
 
P8280179.jpg

P8280180.jpg


This is all I have at the moment. I'll take a better pic this week sometime. I'm running 2 400w 20k bulbs and 4 URI VHO T12 Actinics as supplements. 2 @ 4ft and 2 @ 3ft. One of the 3ft Actinics is a 454. Also, now that I've aclimated my tank I'm going to start fading in a 250w 10k Ushio for only 2 hours a day. Right now I have it on for 1 hour mid cycle the 2 400's. It should be interesting. When I open my canopy it's all light bulbs and reflectors!

I switched from my old set up of 2 250w 10k Ushios w/ the Actinic sups to this set up. I definitely like the 400w's better but I could tell the corals were missing the VHO's after my ballast died. When I fixed the ballast the corals came back to life from a flourscence point of view.
 
Rickyrooz1 said:
What ballast is recommended for the 250w and the 400w Radium?
Click to expand...

The 250 watt is easy, and HQI ballast like the Blue Wave or PFO is ideal, you can also run electronic, many like the Galaxy ballst.

The 400 is a different story. It's supposed to be run at 360 watts, but I've also heard it gives off the best color at over 400 watts but bulb life suffers. I got the Coralvue dimmable ballast for my 400 so I can play around with it a bit and find what I like best. Typically lower wattage equals bluer color and less par.
 
Here's a few of mine at the 6 month mark! I'm running a pair of 250w Radiums in Lumenmax Elite's pushed by individual Galaxy ballasts with 2x 54w ATI Super Actinic's and 2x 54w Fiji Purples.

DSC08039.jpg


DSC08067.jpg


Last one....
DSC08041.jpg
 
Here's a few of mine at the 6 month mark! I'm running a pair of 250w Radiums in Lumenmax Elite's pushed by individual Galaxy ballasts with 2x 54w ATI Super Actinic's and 2x 54w Fiji Purples.

DSC08039.jpg


DSC08067.jpg


Last one....
DSC08041.jpg
 
Anyone know what other 250w 20k SE mh bulb works good with a hqi ballast?
I have a radium now which is excellent but, I'm looking to experiment with another bulb come change time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Is it aiptasia or maybe hydroids?
Replies
3
Views
136
griss
griss
F
Starting tank again
Replies
6
Views
172
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
M
How everything change and keeps changing
Replies
17
Views
353
MCReef1420
M
K
Help: SPS peeling strangely.
Replies
5
Views
205
griss
griss
DjPhato
Best species for refugium
Replies
3
Views
140
griss
griss
Back
Top