Your Metal Halide Questions Answered

[ssirishpride]

hmmmm... that is a lot of purple and yellow, reminds me of something else i have seen around here before. what can it be?

[The Propagator]

 

I being serial here peoplz !

[Withers]

Is there any general guideline on how high to hang a 150 HQI pendant over a 20 gallon tank? I'm thinking 4" to avoid light spillage issues, but am I going to fry the tank at that height?

[seanyb]

Is there any general guideline on how high to hang a 150 HQI pendant over a 20 gallon tank? I'm thinking 4" to avoid light spillage issues, but am I going to fry the tank at that height?

 

 

Hey vic, I have a 150w viper over my 12g about 4 inches above it and the tank stays around 78-80 i leave my fan on in my room during the day and i dont see a temp change much at all. I also live in az and it gets pretty hot in the house and theres still no change. And all my softies seem to love it.

[Withers]

You just made my day

[seanyb]

good

but remember i dont have any hard corals YET, so i dont know how it will effect those . But my mushrooms have tripled in size in the last week. At least 1 new head on each of my zoas, and my xenia is growing like weeds(and i hate it now).

Edited March 4, 2009 by seanyb

[Mr. Fosi]

My 150W Sunpod is 4.25" off my water and I have no heat issues.

 

Closer is better because you exponentially increase the amount of PAR that actually makes it into the water.

 

Just in case you didn't see it, my super awsome 14K 150W MH PAR thread.

Edited March 4, 2009 by Mr. Fosi

[seanyb]

My Sunpod is 4.25" off my water and I have no heat issues.

 

Closer is better because you exponentially increase the amount of PAR that actually makes it into the water.

 

Just in case you didn't see it, my super awsome 14K 150W MH PAR thread.

 

 

Very interesting thread, i read the whole thing right after i got my light.

[slippy steve]

175w 5" over a 14g = 80f

[Withers]

This tank is going to be mostly softies anyway (no skimmer), so I'm not too worried about PAR, just heat, and aesthetics.

[Kamao]

Are there any differences between 70w and 150w bulbs, except the watt of course. Any difference in size, lenght and so on?

[got2envy]

I bought my first MH fixture and ordered the 14k Pheonix bulb...I have T5HO over my other tanks and dammit I am in love with the shimmaz...I may have to sell my NEP and buy a 36" MH fixture for my 46 bow

 

*shakes fists at sky* dam you MH! dam u!!!!!11

[Rababe]

I was wondering. I have a PC lighting over a 30 gal tank and I just bought a 150watt Mh light and ballast? Should I switch over slowly? I heard it could melt the coral.

[Mr. Fosi]

Def acclimate, especially if your PC lamps are old.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=192751&hl=

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t=0&start=0

[Rababe]

So would you say it would be good if i use the Mh light for 3 to 4 hours a day and then slow add half hour every couple of days? The Pc light was only 3 months old.

[D3monic]

I have a 2008 model jbj 28gal hqi with 18watt pc actinic upgrades. I am looking at replacing the HQI bulb.(150watt) I have a few sps and minimal softies but my true passion is zoanthids. What would be the absolute best bulb to really get those colors to pop?

[Mr. Fosi]

20K. Many people like the Radium series.

[D3monic]

20k wont be too blue will it? I plan on getting a clam or two here shortly does that really matter as far as the K goes?

[RyanR1212]

thanks a lot for posting that. it is really helpful for a new person who just got into the hobby. it helped me out a lot.

[fiction101]

I have a question, is there a certain side that you should use when hooking up a DE bulb, or can you just put it in any way you want?

[Mr. Fosi]

Pretty sure it doesn't matter.

[DashingAquatics]

I have a question,

 

Currently I have an Odyssea 250 watt DE MH fixture, I recently added a Vertex Ballast, as well before I replaced the Ballast I had purchased a MH bulb off of ebay for 30.00 and the colour had a nice blue tint to it. Now the bulb is lit up with the Vertex Ballast and its gets blue when it's warming up then it turns more white/ almost yellowish.

 

Its very bright to look at brighter then when I had the old ballast/bulb.

 

I have heard that a better Ballast makes a hudge differience, is it true that an expensive bulb is a litter better or a lot better then a cheaper bulb.

 

What are the benifits of purchaseing a 80-90.00 cdn Ushio bulb vs a 30.00 ebay bulb.

 

Rich.

[Mr. Fosi]

The color is "better" and more stable in the more $$ lamps.

 

Phoenix 14K FTW, IMO.

[DashingAquatics]

Thanks

[Collar Crazy]

Thanks

 

I have a somewhat silly question here. I'm going to be setting up a 15 or 20 gallon nano reef, and I'm deciding between MH and T5 lights. I'm concerned about the UV from the metal halide. I read the part in the original post about covering it with glass, not staring at it-but I'm worried that when I am sitting down in my living room, the light will be high enough off the ground that it will be in my eyes. I hope that makes sense-if I'm sitting, I'm going to be lower than the light, and I don't want that in my eyes.

 

Can anyone with a MH setup chime in and let me know if you can see the thing when you're sitting down? Short of actually buying one, hanging it, and trying it out, I don't have any way to know if this will happen. I don't know anyone with a reef tank.

Thanks.