SaltyinNJ Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 I am in the process of planning a DYI canopy for a 29 gal that I want to convert to a reef. I have an existing 55wt PC light that I had purchased from ahsupply when I was doing live plants. I want to add another 1 or 2 55 wts PCs to this setup. The problem is that the ballast for the ahsupply kit is very close to the bulb socket. Can I just extend the wires from the ballast? I don't want to mount the ballast in the hood. Also, should I go for 3 x 55wt or will 2 x 55wt be enough for LPS and softies? Thanks Link to comment
Guy Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 Salty, I have a 29 gallon as well and I started out with 2x55 watt PC’s. I ended up switching to 175 MH as I added a few LPS . To be honest, I thought the 2x55 watt looked brighter than the MH to my eye, but keep in mind that I have no idea what the actual difference would have been with a lux meter. But I have been entertaining the idea of adding a 3rd 55watter to the hood and going back to PC’s. I had softies under the 2x55 but never tried LPS under that light. If you go with 3x55 I think you will be successful. I had ordered the 55 watt Blue/white combo bulbs and liked the color, but you would get a bit more of a blue effect if you ordered a 10k and a blue bulb and installed them separately, but it’s not a tremendous difference. As far as the wire being close to the ballast, you should be able to extend this as mine was fairly long from AH supply. Guy Link to comment
SaltyinNJ Posted January 10, 2003 Author Share Posted January 10, 2003 Guy, thanks for the response. It was good to hear your experiences with the 55s and the 175 MH. I was wrestling with the idea of going with a 175w MH, but I kept reminding myself that I am planning on softies and LPS. Also I was concerned about the heat. Have you noticed any difference in growth rates between the PC and MH? I will probably just try extending the wires on the ballast then so I can mount in away from the canopy. If I get a 2 x 55w kit I was planning on having one 10k and one actinic. I already have a 50/50 bulb for my existing 55w PC. Hopefully this would be pretty balanced and not too blue. Link to comment
edying Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 Salty - I have the 2x55 PC (6.5k) over my 29G. Works fine for softies - zoos, leathers, shrooms and xenia all do well. I also have a couple of plate corals that come on my LR and have been doing well for 2+ years. Haven't had too much success with LPS however... problem should have a little more light for those. Link to comment
SaltyinNJ Posted January 11, 2003 Author Share Posted January 11, 2003 Thanks Edying, I am concerned for the hammer coral I currently have in my 7 gal. It is doing well under the 32w smartlite and I want to transfer it to the 29. Bye the way, I am planning on selling off my 7 gal Minibow setup once I have the 29 going. I will post it on hear when ready. Link to comment
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