Andy16 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Ok so heres my debate. I can get the 2X55 watt kit from ahsupply.com or this, http://www.hellolights.com/17methalretk1.html Idk what is better and i dont want to waste my money on something bad. I was given the advice to put the MH into my 36 watt light fixture i currently have. It is the coralife 1X36. It seems like a tight fit to me but i may be wrong. I am also a little intimidated at the idea of taking apart my light. Link to comment
Dutch Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 First off what is the size of the tank?(dmensions) Next what are you going to keep in this tank. Alot of people jump to MH because its the apex of lighting, but many times its over kill. if you have any interest in sps or clams i would go with the MH. PC are good for what they cost, but IMO are no as good as VHO.(color) One thing to remember is that MH bulbs are from 70-100 bucks but they do last awhile. Now as far as the ballasts there are a few options, but I believe these are the cheapest. Once you tell me the size of the tank i can recommend some lighting. Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 youre debating pc vs halide? ooookk. There is no comparasin Halide > pc any day of the week. Id always choose halide over pcs especially if you can afford it Link to comment
Andy16 Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 I have $90. Yea its not a lot but what do you expect from a 14 year old. The tank is 20 gallons and it is 24 inches long and 12 inches wide with a depth of 16 inches. Ive heard a lot about "shimmer lines" with MH and i thought that would add a lot of character to the tank giving it a more tropical look. I really just want to keep anything that interests me. I would love to keep sps, but the clams are secondary to corals and fish. I figure if i have enough money to buy a MH setup i should go for it. Now i changed my mind to just buying a 175 watt ballast and the socket(which ever one is recomended when i get that far) and then building my own to to accomodate my 36 watt PC and the MH. I would even like to keep my 18 watt flourescent if possible so i can add a different color temp to it. This way it would probably be cheaper because i could buy a cheap reflector. Please keep the comments comming. Help is appreciated. (i will also probably buy the lights off of ebay since the light bulb itself is more then the ballast.) Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 well i know ive drummed this into the ground but hey, its the best ive seen, look at krakerg's CSL Mod in the diy section. He didnt pay a lot to do it and after that mod you can keep whatever you want in that tank. I think it was around 165$ all together Link to comment
Andy16 Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 That is a very good idea and is similar to what i would like to do. Unfourtunataly, his is CSL and mine is coralife and the coralife set up is not very similar to the CSL setup. Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 up to you. Id sell the coralife if it was me, i really dont like their products. Lot of choices out there just gotta decide whats right for you. Sadly i went the pc route when i started and now im spending more for halide but the benefits are greater with halide i can keep whatever i want. Plus ill have actinic supplementation. Also if i ever want clams ill just throw in another 70w HQI Link to comment
Andy16 Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 It depends on how much i can get for the coralife and what i will beable to get with that money+$90. It sounds like a plan if i would get a good amount of money for it. It has been used since last year christmas and has been taking apart, but there is absolutely no damage to any of the parts at all. Link to comment
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