LIGHT QUESTIONS.

[RICKY81]

ok so i have my light for about 1 year already, and know that they recommend to change them every year. i currently have the Outer Orbitz 150 watt PowerPaq 10000°K HQI double ended bulb(s) and Dual 460nm/420nm Actinic square pin compact fluorescent bulbs.48"560 watt: 2-250 watt HQI; 2-130 watt6lunar light. a few questions that i have are:

> i want to upgrade my mH from 150w to 250w but do i need to upgrade my ballast.
> currently have 560 watts and want go up to 760 watts, is that too much, and how much is recommended.
>what is the difference from the lights:
420/460 nm 130w
6700k/10,000k 130w
Actinic 460 nm 130w
Actinic white bulbs or 50/50

I have a 75 gal mixed reef tank.

any suggestions and/or recommendations will be appreciated thanks for taking the time to read and provide info.

[caferacermike]

I run 700w over a 75g and think it's just right. You can't simply swap a 150 for a 250. Nope, it takes a lot of work. The ballast must be changed and the insulator/sockets must be changed for larger pieces.

6700K bulbs are no good for your reef. They are a yellow color that makes algae grow like crazy.

10000K bulbs will look like natural daylight with a touch of yellow and red. White light will be the brightest.

50/50 bulbs can be mixed many ways. Generally a white bulb and a 20K or actinic bulb made from one PC bulb.

[CoryDude]

How deep is you tank? If your tank's around 24" deep, I think you can stick w/150W. Have you looked at the Aqualine AB 10K bulbs? It's closer to a 12K, but it's got the right mix of white w/a little blue.

[TinyTanker]

run your bulbs short on the time when you put the new ones in DONT TOUCH THE BULB WITH YOUR FINGERS, new cycle for the first month 1/2 the time on during the 24 hour period to adapt the intesity of the light to your corals. pull the light off the surface if you can a little. bit. Dont swap ballasts if anything just get another 150.

chees

[RICKY81]

my tank is pretty standard and its i believe 18 or 20 inches, but i am still confused... what are the insulator/sockets that need to be changed, where can i get those. and Tiny Tanker u mentioned not to switch the ballast to just get another 150? was that another mH of 150w with a ballast....
>>so i can't just use my current ballast that i am running with 150w and change bulbs for 250w bulbs.
>>and the sockets and insulator im assuming go in the light fixture??.

[alton]

Stay with 150MH or change fixtures. Fixtures are UL listed for certain wattage, upsize and you could cause a fire. Also if your new lamps are quite a bit brighter than your old lamps then you are waiting too long to change and you should change them sooner. As a rule MH lamps have a burn in period of 100 hours, so there bightest will be not when first installed but after 100 hours. Like others have said there are better lamps out there that will be better and brighter.

[RICKY81]

ok so now, i have gotten my self a 210 gal aquarium and with dimensions of 72L x 24W x 29H, my question is how many watts should i buy..... i want to do Metal halides and T5's but what do i Need 2-3 mh of 250 or 400 watts... plan on going mix reef. thanx for any infor provided.

?? Which is better single or double ended ??
?? Which brand would u guys recommend ?? xm, phoenix, hamilton, ushio, aqualine ab. or the one with letter g (geisman) or something like that ??

[RICKY81]

BUMP

[TinyTanker]

as many watts as you can get above it. Put a 900 to 1500 metal halide and at least two hundred actintics. The special end caps are necessary, but very funny cause when you dont have them you always think you will be okay and shock the %^&*( out of yourself

[alton]

3 - 250 watters would look nice, but I think you will need to go up to 3 - 400w MH to get the best light level because of the 29" depth. I use SE Reeflux with my 250w's, I have never used 400w's. Some love Radium DE? I would suggest to see if you can find members/stores who have a 29" tank and see what theres looks like. B&B has a tank that size and I think Aquarium designs?