Chrash236 Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 It seem I always have a dumb question for all of you, I built a custom hood and stand for my new tank (pics coming soon) and now I am on to the lighting, I know that I want to be able to keep anything that I want in this tank, and budget is really no matter as I only want the best. I have contacted a couple of people about lighting, but I wanted to come and ask the experts. The tank—The new tank I am setting up is a 20-gallon high, with a 10-gallon sump. I will have 40 LBS of live rock and 20 LBS of live sand in the tank, Also the tank will house a custom sea life chiller that is able to bring the tank down to 55 degrees if I wanted it to. So heat is not an issue for me. My question is since this is my first attempt at a solid reef only; I will not have any fish in this tank, due to already having twenty fish in my house. I want something that is very colorful and pretty. So what would you all pick out for your ultimate system of lighting? That is do able!!! The hood interior is 25-inches long, 15-inches wide, and 8-inches high. It also houses two 3.25-inch fans that pull heat out. Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 That's Easy. A 250w MH HQI (if you can find a UV sheild) 12k or 14K MH with 2x75 watt VHO Actinic. Or since you have a Chiller You might as well go with a 400 watt MH and just acclimate your Corals very slowly. Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 or to make it cheap and easy: http://cgi.msn.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...0&category=3212 That should be plenty of light and all you have to do is buy a MH bulb. Link to comment
Chrash236 Posted September 14, 2003 Author Share Posted September 14, 2003 Question wouldn't a UV sheild just be temper glass? I have heard that VHO light isn't as good a power compact, does anyone feel different! The link you gave me was good I will wait and see what else is said, thanks Jahkaya for the advice. Link to comment
Chamkeeper Posted September 15, 2003 Share Posted September 15, 2003 If money is no problem, please order two of those units and send me one.... LOL Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Custom Sealife Prizim Pendant with 2 32 W PC and 1 250 W Iwasaki 65K bulb. 550.00 or so from www.Championlighting.com best purchase ever. (3 for me) Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Not that many would agree, but I do think 250watts is a little overkill. Yes, it could be done, and corals would have to be acclimated every time...many corals would not be able to be kept...and it would be a great Acro and Clam tank...but why? I would go with a 175watt and a couple 36-55watt Power compact actinics. This combo would allow you to keep anything from shrooms, leathers, and the such, all the way up to acros and clams. I choose the single ended MH over the double ended, as he mentioned that he might be a little new to this, and the single ended will have the protective UV sleeve built in to it. double endeds are great for nanos, but their penetration drops off significantly at greater depths. The 175watt would give him greater versitility should he want to upgrade to a deeper tank ever, especially since all he would have to do is swap out the ballast to get all the way up to 400watts. Link to comment
foo Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 wetworx101 wrote:. double endeds are great for nanos, but their penetration drops off significantly at greater depths. Is that true? Why is this the case? Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 I dont know why, but it seems to be the case. Rarely do you see double ended bulbs over bigger tanks, unless they are shallow. I have seen it stated a few times in various forums, so I believe it is true...but if someone wants to challenge it, be my guest. But I have heard that the drop off factor on double ended is much higher than standard. The other reason I recomended the single ended is because they have the protective sleeve already built in so that you dont need a protective glass. Dispersion is a factor as well. HQI have a much narrower focus, and in general I just dont find them as versitile. With a single ended housing, you can just keep switching out the ballast, and, if needed, the base (mogul or standard) to fit a huge variety of bulbs. Believe me, I am not knocking the double ended...they do their job very well...I just prefer the other... Link to comment
foo Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 I can't dispute it since I've never used anything larger than a 175W Mogul pendant with a BlueLine ballast. But over on RC the opinion seems to be that 250W HQI is the best configuration. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...threadid=201570 They're saying that when measured with a PAR meter (I don't know who would have the $$$ for one of those) a 250W HQI driven by an EBallast puts out almost as much as much light as a 400W Mogul and has much better longevity. As far as dispersion and focusing of light that's mostly a factor or the reflector in use. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 Ahhhhh, you found the 250watt vs. 400watt comparison some of us were talking about! I will have to read it and get back to you. I question if the comparison was done with a e-ballast on the 400watter since e-ballasts for 400s are so hard to find. I love mine though. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 Ahhhh, electric130's posts are the best. I would suggest anyone looking into MH and getting confused should read it. One thing I forgot was the options of single ended vs. double bulbs. I prefer 12,000 and 14,000K bulbs...not too common in DE (In fact, I dont think I have ever seen). SE bulbs can be 5500, 6500, 8000, 10K, 12K, 13K,14K,20K by many mfgs. DE bulbs also seem to cost more. On the 250watt DE vs, SE: it's all in the ballast. Farther down in the article it talks about how a 250DE and SE will have the same output. HQI is actually a brand, not a type, of pulse start ballast that works well with many types of bulbs, but that is it. If you compare apples to apples, I'm sure the 400wSE will kill anything when on a good HQI or E ballast. For slightly brighter, HQI seems the ticket, but for lower operating temps, efficiency, longevity of the bulb, etc...go with electronic. They work with anything anyways...at any size. Now if I could only find that info on how DE bulbs have a narrower and less penetrating beam of light....hmmmm. Link to comment
foo Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 Yeah I like people who post too much techie info too. talks about how a 250DE and SE will have the same output I must have missed that part. the 400wSE will kill anything when on a good HQI or E ballast Yeah they weren't clear on that whether they tried a 400W IceCap or BlueLine. Currently there's no such thing as a 400W DE bulb right?I did think they had some useful comments about longevity of their bulbs on the different setups. That info alone that kinds of put me off from going to 400W because they were saying they were getting only two thirds the life of a 250W. I have to question some of their testing methodology. Too much of their data was qualitative and anecdotal. Someone was comparing the power utilization and equating that with actual light output but they were mixing less efficient magnetics with different eballasts. Don't get me wrong still some interesting information in there. Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 I have read that there are indeed DE 400's, now If I can find that information. I'll let you know when and if I find it. Link to comment
Chrash236 Posted September 18, 2003 Author Share Posted September 18, 2003 So does anyone have a suggestion on what I should buy, a full set up please Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 CHRASH: Your Best Bet for the Price is the 175 + 2 75 VHO's that is on EBAY. The Main Question would be "What Corals are prettiest to you"?. Some Like Softies, others Love SPS. The Next Question would be "did you plan on having a wooden Canopy, or would you prefer a Pendant Style." If you wanted to do a retrofit, then there are too many options to choose. The Ebay deal I posted is great, but it most likely would not fit in a Canopy. Give some input so I can point you in the right direction. Link to comment
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