Some light questions

[mhaynes01]

I am wanting to keep all kinds of coral.

I have a 50 gallon oceanic, 36"x18"x 20"

I want to get some Metal halides. Should I get 1 250 watt? 2- 150 watt,
2- 250 watt? what is the best combo?

again I want to keep all kinds of corals, i figured i wasn't going to work myself up the higher lights, that i was just going to get the highest spectrum at the beginning so there wasn't any upgrading so i wouldn't be spending more money then i have too.

Price range: 200-350$

[SACoastie]

www.hellolights.com

Good deals here.

[mhaynes01]

Yeah, I was going to buy them from there.

what wattage lamp and spectrum should I get, magnetic or electronic ballast?

this is what i was looking at;

http://hellolights.com/25methalretk.html

with a 250 watt bulb. is 250 watts at 10,000 along with supplemental actinics enough for all corals, ie. sps, lps.

[dwdenny]

I would go with the 2-250w if it was me with like a 14kk bulb for a blueish tent unless you are going to put in some VHO's or T5 for actinic supplementation. James posted a good site for retrofits and fixtures. hth

[mhaynes01]

Yeah I'll have actinics, so is 10,000 a good white spectrum? or 20,000

[SACoastie]

Yeah I'll have actinics, so is 10,000 a good white spectrum? or 20,000

Some of the guys on this site (Ace, Prof, ect.) have suggested going with the electronic ballast over the magnetic ballast for getting the most out of the bulb as well as the life of the ballast.
As far as the Kelvin rating on the bulb I would go with the 20k along with a couple of actics. This is what I would choose, but don't base your decision with my post as I myself am still in the process of deciding which lights to go with myself. I will piggy back off this tread. :D

[mhaynes01]

Lol, well, I was also looking at complete hoods that have the halide actinic s and a moon light, but them seem more expensive then just a retro fit lighting setup, any opinions on that? I would that more then a retro fit just because it looks better and its less work. :innocent :D :P

[caferacermike]

You are going to want a 10-14K for your white. 20K is freakishly blue. If you want super fast growth and don't care as much if the coral is off color and a bit of yellow light, start with 6,500-10,000.

Your tank is a good candidate for 2 halides. The measure I've seen is 9" from center, so an 18" diameter is about what a typical halide produces. I run 2 on my 48" 75g and love it. On my tank I'd actually even consider running 3 bulbs. Wattage is more for depth. If you want to get the maximum intensity for the depth of your tank, IE: SPS on the bottom of the tank, you'd probably be best off with 250's. You could manage with 150's if the SPS is kept higher in the tank. I started with 150's but quickly changed to 250's. That meant buying everything all over again as nothing is compatible.

My suggestion, 2x 250w 14K Pheonix bulbs or 12K Reeflux and about 200w of T5 or VHO full actinic lighting. The 12-14K will produce a bright white light that will wash out the blue of the actinics, however the actinics will reflect from the pigments of the corals and make them "POP" with color. I'd choose electronic ballasts as they are easier on the bulbs, extend life, color shift less, and are a little cheaper to run. That being said, mag ballasts have their advantages as well such as brighter output and cheaper initial price. DE or SE seems to be more of a personal preference. I went with DE as I like the cleaner look of the assemblies. The $29 reflector/socket from Hellolights is a great deal when in stock. I will warn you that there is a huge chance of bulb breakage with DE over SE. Se just screw into a socket, the DE's have a tendency to break the contact area of the bulb when being slid into the socket.

KyleV got a great deal on a hood from a guy that builds them on Ebay. they are mag ballasts but come with mounting equipment and bulbs. These are not cheap Jebo units, instead they use ARO ballasts.

[mhaynes01]

Wow, lots of info, I appreciate it.

lets say i buy one 250 watt 10k. put it right in the middle of the tank, could I still keep most corals just i would have to center them the tank?

[5.0Stang]

10k is very white and 20k is very blue. If it was me i would get 2-250 20k halides w/ vho actinic w/ diy moonlights like other people on this fourm have done. Im planning 2-250 10k w/ vho actinic on my 100 but i do know people that grow sps w/ 20k on 100's. That would be good if you ever want to upgrade. But those complete hoods look good and have less heat but i think they only put 175w DE halides but thats for a 5' tank maybe only 2 for a 3'

[mhaynes01]

I am at the most willing to spend. 300$$, now i was look at PC's 2x 96 watts, i already have 1x96 watt fixture.

would 2x96 watt 10k adn 1x96 watt actinic. wor with most corals. the tanks dimensions again are 36"x18"x20"

[mathias]

if you put the MH in the middle of the tank and you have a center brace... on most 55gal tanks the center brace is a thick plastic so heat over plastic not a good idea....


but if you go with MH I recommend 20k my tank never looked better ... xm 20k is my favorite...

[JimD]

Best thing to do is to go look at different lighting settups and then make your decision. Most of the information given is useless without actualy seeing the different lighting scenerios working and I dont mean pictures as pics rarely do the lights justice. I believe that eventually youl find that a good 10k lamp and a generous ammount of VHO actinics will do the job nicely. My 65 gallon acro tank is lit by a single 250 watt Reeflux 10K SE driven by a Coralvue e-ballast and three VHO 95 watt actinic 03's on an Icecap 430 e-ballast and Im very pleased with the results.

[caferacermike]

This is the store of the guy Kyle bought from.
http://stores.ebay.com/Aquarium-Lights_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZQ2d999QQftidZ2QQt Zkm

At $300 you might try a T5 set up like this.
http://cgi.ebay.com/T5-HO-Aquarium-light-36-inch-8-X-39-watt-new_W0QQitemZ7769144286QQihZ018QQcategoryZ46314QQc mdZViewItem

2x 150w halide retro $285 DE with electronic ballasts.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Metal-Halide-Retro-Aquarium-Light-2-X-150-New-HQI-bulbs_W0QQitemZ250090140726QQihZ015QQcategoryZ4631 4QQcmdZViewItem


2x 250w SE retro kit for $260
http://cgi.ebay.com/Metal-Halide-Retro-Aquarium-Light-2-X-250-New-w-bulbs_W0QQitemZ250070050468QQihZ015QQcategoryZ4631 4QQcmdZViewItem


36" 250w halide and 2x 95W VHO actinics + moon lights. Ready to go out the box for $429
http://cgi.ebay.com/36-Metal-Halide-1-X-250-HQI-VHO-light-aquarium_W0QQitemZ250077205414QQihZ015QQcategoryZ4 6314QQcmdZViewItem

36" retrofit kit.. 250W halide and 2x 75W VHO includes everything for $349, mounted on a reflector/just screw to your hood.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Metal-Halide-VHO-retro-1-X-250-metal-halide-2X75-watt_W0QQitemZ4303088247QQihZ001QQcategoryZ46314QQ cmdZViewItem

I've seen 2 of these units up close and have seen them in trouble free use for months.

[mhaynes01]

Thanks a whole bunch

[junkstang]

on my tank, same as your's I run 2x175w reeflux 12k lamps and it looks great. they give a light tint of blue so that all the colors stang out but not over board. the ballasts are electronic and the lights have been on for 7hrs a day for the last 8months and have lost very little candle light output yet.

[mhaynes01]

thanks, I think I'm going to go with;

http://hellolights.com/25hlmhrekith.html

[caferacermike]

Those are the reflectors I bought a long time back. Rumor is that they are not always in stock and get back ordered for months. Make sure to ask if they will ship right away. It seems I lucked out when I got mine as several others I spoke to after had ordered but not received theirs. Note that in the link I sent you for the same price you can include bulbs from the Ebay seller, the Hellolights do not come with bulbs for that price.