Specific place to purchase MH's?

[Hydrus]

I have a 55 gallon tank (long story how I ended up with my reef crammed in there for the moment :rolleye1: ) . The sand, liverock, and 4 of the fish are going on 16 years old this year. Its a very well established tank. Over that time I've cycled through corals and anemones etc. several of those are a few years old now as well. I've lost track of how old some of my mushrooms/leathers/zoes are at this point. So anyway, my ex made off with my lighting system and a few other things...both live and mechanical that I had going on my 90 (guess he thought he could get money for them)...anyhow I have pulled together what I could and have everything stable in a 55 now. On that tank I have the "current marine orbit led" 48inch strip.

So long story short (or are we past that now haha) the purpose of this post is to see if anyone has any preferred places for purchasing new MH's. I'm not even sure what I need or want on this tank yet and I'd like to get something that will be good enough for moving back into my 90 or heck...maybe a 120 if I can swing the cash later. There are so many websites out there that sell them. My issue is that the ones I had on my tank were German made and I had purchased several lights when I bought the fixture so I didn't have to go out and look for places that sold them (that's why I bought so many at once - so I didn't have to worry about finding them later). I'd like to get something this time that is easier to maintain and easy to find parts/bulbs etc for and doesn't get so dang hot. That beast was wicked heavy and wicked hot. Plus I don't want to stress about availability of the bulbs/parts.

The thing that I liked about the LED's, was that on its website it gave the average par you would receive as you increase in depth which gave me an idea of where to place things etc. But now my LTA isn't doing the greatest - I assume due to the lighting change and I know that he doesn't get near enough light to do well long term...but I don't know how/what to buy for new MH's. There are several archived posts here that I've read through but many are from 2003 - 2008 and I hesitate to follow those as this industry changes so fast and improves so much that info seems like it would be outdated. Not to mention the specs are sometimes hard to wrap my mind around.

So second issue is, say I find a decent site to buy things from, and I somehow settle on a light...how am I going to have my 48 inch led strip on my tank plus the MH's and not melt either the frame of my tank or ruin the led strip? They are not mounted and I don't think that is even a possibility in this house. I'm staying with my cousin for a short time until I get back on my feet and the house is a bit older so the ceiling is like a weird pressed soft wood stuff that looks like tiles almost. It's hard to describe so it would be a huge undertaking to figure out a mounting system...not saying its impossible but it would be really tricky. So currently my lights are just sitting on top of my tank...over a glass versa-top :mad2: I do have a wooden canopy that came with the 55 so I could mount some metal bars in there to secure lighting to I suppose but not sure how to go about that either. So yea... I'll take any suggestions or direction anyone might have with this goofy situation. I just want to make sure my kiddos are going to be ok while they are in there.

 

[moondoggy4]

Do not place your MH lights sitting right on top of your tank on top of the glass lid.
Look into Hamilton for your MH needs what was true 10 years ago is still true about MH. Also look into Reefbrites MH/Led but these have to be hung.

For a bulb I would go with 250 radiums bulb and a M80 ballast.

 

[Hydrus]

I appreciate that insight, thank you I'm price shopping as we speak lol

 

[yacn]

I purchased my MH's at champion lighting. Blue Line ballasts and retro reflector that is 72" long and houses my VHO Super Actinic bulbs too.

I hang them above my tank with chain.

Thing is....my lights are 10 years old. I don't see lights like mine available anymore. I'm finding it difficult to find 72" T-12 replacement VHO bulbs. I don't think my ballasts are available anymore. I use the screw type MH bulbs which you can buy anywhere.

I think LED's are making MH's obsolete. And T-5's are making my 72" T-12 VHO's obsolete. You'll get arguments about what I just said especially the MH comment. LED's use less energy, don't require expensive bulb replacement every 6 to 9 months and lot's of people are using them successfully. I haven't made the switch yet to LED's but seriously considering it soon...

 

[jonwright]

Mh are easy. Main consideration is how many and which bulb. From a wattage standpoint the $$ cost payback hasn't really been calculated to be worthwhile. The downside for mh is heat (LEDs put out heat as well).

The modern electronic Ballasts can run many different wattage (if they are switchable) as well as fire just about any bulb. Mh are mature so even "old" equipment is current. Many bulbs do not loose significant output or spectrum shift after a year. Changing every 6 months is really unneeded.

Many choices for mh used and really cost effective. Leds are still evolving.

Spider reflectors can be screwed directly to the top of your hood. You may find a fan to circulate the air will help with heat. Nothing fancy is needed.