M/H light

[Reef Swimmer]

Been looking at the m/h lights in the f/s section and wondering which would be good for my 90. I run 4 t5s now but I'm thinking its not enough. I also don't wana melt anything either. I'm thinking 4 to 6 hrs of run time should be enough, but I'm not sure.

[Zack]

2x 150 watts or maybe 2x 250w's

[Reef Swimmer]

Can I run a lower wattage light in a m/h fixture?

[Zack]

Maybe 75watts but I doubt they'd do what you want them to do. What happened to the acans?

[Reef Swimmer]

When I bought it they had two heads and when I picked it up it only had one. Neil has my lps execpt my hammer. I was thinking of getting the 400watt setup and running 175watt lights.

[Reef Swimmer]

I just has a duh moment. I'm still getting the acans but they are on layaway.

[Zack]

I think you have to match the ballast to the bulbs? Not 100 percent sure on that though

[Big_Pun]

i think you should stick with t5. if you get mh, you will be complaining about heat and what to do. my rule of thumb is if you want mh buy a nice fixture with t5 and built in fans and external ballast, run a open top(no canopy) , 250w is best so you can suspend them high enough so lil heat is transferred or a small fan blowing across helps but you get enough power punched down to sand bed. i ran mh for years no issues, my temp with mh is the same as with leds now.

yes wattage on ballast needs to be matched with bulbs and no it cant be split between two bulbs is you get a high wattage ballast, i bulb per ballast unless it states its a dual bulb ballast.

[alton]

Stick with T5, I can't believe a fellow MH user would make that statement? Anyway back to the topic, I would start with two selectable electronic ballast from 150 to 250+, get two mini lumibright pendants, use 175w MH lamps 8" off the water.
1. Selectable ballast because if you think the 175s are not enough you can switch to 250's
2. Luminbright pendants are vented towards the top so the heat is able to escape versus all going into your tank, plus the glass lense keeps the lamp clean, dry, and last longer.
3. 175w because in MH we tend to over light our tanks, and as we have learned with T5HO and LED we do not require a PAR level of 500 on the sand, 200 works just fine for most SPS and LPS
4. 8" off the water because that is what I have mine at with no issues.
Good luck at what ever choice you make.

[Big_Pun]

my statement is in response to him wanting to buy used setups floating around maast. there isn't any setups that would work for his tank and canopy.

[alton]

my statement is in response to him wanting to buy used setups floating around maast. there isn't any setups that would work for his tank and canopy.

It still hurts, just joking. I can't remember who did it but someone on MAAST cut holes in there canopy to allow the pendants to be semi recessed and still release the hot air?

[allan]

I ran a single 400W Metal Halide over my 190 for a couple of years with an awesome result. Single bulb and only had to replace it every 9 months or so. The dimensions of the tank was 4' by 3'. It was the perfect set up.

Do you still have that ganked up mismatched T5 set up? If so, you're ripe for getting your lights straight. But not sure what you should go with. MH is cheaper as far as bulb replacement if you have four or more T5s. But you will have to ensure you've an eye cast to your water temp. Easy to control, but you will probably want to get a controller to help you keep it steady. You'll want to stay away from any wild fluctuations.

I ran 10 T5 bulbs on my 190 before switching to the MH. My tank got hot with those as well, with a canopy. Replacing 10 bulbs cost me $250-300 once a year.

[alton]

It was Lucky

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?69908-Luckys-300gln-system!!-Full-Tank-Shot!!!!!/page7

[Reef Swimmer]

Yeah I still got the t5 setup. I got acan LEDs on layaway at pollys for 600.


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[Big_Pun]

Yeah I still got the t5 setup. I got acan LEDs on layaway at pollys for 600.


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if you have leds why do you want mh? waste of money. they are not magic and make corals magically grow faster cause you hang them over your tank. you need to learn how run your tank first to see growth then any good light will work.

[Reef Swimmer]

I don't have them yet and I was just looking into them.


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[Big_Pun]

I don't have them yet and I was just looking into them.


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you have a 4 bulb set up. i would just correct that issue and get correct wattage bulbs. use the money you dont spend on mh on getting your leds quicker. all the mh setups need new bulbs so thats more money, thats why people sell them inexpensive

[alton]

If you stay with T5 Pollys has UVL and Elegant Reef has ATI. UVL for the true Actinic and ATI for Aqua Blue Special, Purple Plus, and Coral Plus