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light options
- Thread starter mookie
- Start date
Lighting is the area that seems to have the most opinions as to what is best, so I'm going to start this off by saying that anyone else's opinion is just as valid.
Assuming you have a 50 gal tank that is 36" long, and 18" wide, and your goal is to keep SPS corals, I would go with two 150w HQIs (Double ended bulb), or two 175w MHs (Single ended bulb). My preference would be to use 14000K bulbs, but anything from 10000K to 20000K would be fine, depending upon how much blue you wanted.
I would not recommend a clamp on fixture like the Viper. If the clamp comes loose, it's going to fall into you tank. Obviously, this is not a good thing. My personal preference is to suspend MH lighting from chains or cables.
You are going to find that a single MH bulb is going to be good for about 2 linear feet of tank. Since you have a 3 foot tank, a single bulb would cause dark areas, no matter where you place it, or how powerful it is. If that is something you can live with, you could consider it, but most people prefer the tank to be more or less evenly lighted.
If you are going to go with MHs, I would also recommend electronic ballasts, since they will pay for themselves in a bit over a year with the electricity saved.
You could also consider T5's or PC's. The trick with them is to get enough bulbs over the tank. I'd use a fixture with six 39w bulbs for T5s, or three or four 96w bulbs for PC's. I think you'll find that most fixtures use far less bulbs, so consider two fixtures.
Yea, I know, all of the good options tend to be expensive. (smile)
Assuming you have a 50 gal tank that is 36" long, and 18" wide, and your goal is to keep SPS corals, I would go with two 150w HQIs (Double ended bulb), or two 175w MHs (Single ended bulb). My preference would be to use 14000K bulbs, but anything from 10000K to 20000K would be fine, depending upon how much blue you wanted.
I would not recommend a clamp on fixture like the Viper. If the clamp comes loose, it's going to fall into you tank. Obviously, this is not a good thing. My personal preference is to suspend MH lighting from chains or cables.
You are going to find that a single MH bulb is going to be good for about 2 linear feet of tank. Since you have a 3 foot tank, a single bulb would cause dark areas, no matter where you place it, or how powerful it is. If that is something you can live with, you could consider it, but most people prefer the tank to be more or less evenly lighted.
If you are going to go with MHs, I would also recommend electronic ballasts, since they will pay for themselves in a bit over a year with the electricity saved.
You could also consider T5's or PC's. The trick with them is to get enough bulbs over the tank. I'd use a fixture with six 39w bulbs for T5s, or three or four 96w bulbs for PC's. I think you'll find that most fixtures use far less bulbs, so consider two fixtures.
Yea, I know, all of the good options tend to be expensive. (smile)
all the 2x150w 36" fixtures are out of range for me.
but would having the 250W 10k MH, a 10k t5, and a actinic t5 allow for the sides to be illuminated by the t5 and would a single actinic be enough to get a good blue look?
i would put the high light demanding SPS closer to the middle and my softies and mushrooms on the sides?
but would having the 250W 10k MH, a 10k t5, and a actinic t5 allow for the sides to be illuminated by the t5 and would a single actinic be enough to get a good blue look?
i would put the high light demanding SPS closer to the middle and my softies and mushrooms on the sides?
How blue do you want it to look? I would say that it would not look very blue at all, since 10000K bulbs look very white, and only the actinic would add a lot of blue.
If the budget is limited, I'd get a single 150w HQI pendant, or a 175w m
, and use that over one side of the tank or over the middle of the tank, and be content with the dim side, or sides. Then place my SPS corals more or less under the light.
Then, in time, get a second identical pendant and light the entire tank. While you are waiting, you could put a couple of PCs over the dim side of the tank.
If the budget is limited, I'd get a single 150w HQI pendant, or a 175w m
, and use that over one side of the tank or over the middle of the tank, and be content with the dim side, or sides. Then place my SPS corals more or less under the light.
Then, in time, get a second identical pendant and light the entire tank. While you are waiting, you could put a couple of PCs over the dim side of the tank.
well i ended up getting the 250w aquamedic for $229
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12112&N=2004+113352
with a 10k bulb. for actinics i will be getting:
http://www.aquarium-supply.biz/ordering/lighting_Aqualight_T5.htm
questions sould i get a two bulb fiture with both bulbs actinic.
or get two single bulb fixtures with actninics, this was i can have one light in front of the MH and one behind it
and how does this set-up seem?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12112&N=2004+113352
with a 10k bulb. for actinics i will be getting:
http://www.aquarium-supply.biz/ordering/lighting_Aqualight_T5.htm
questions sould i get a two bulb fiture with both bulbs actinic.
or get two single bulb fixtures with actninics, this was i can have one light in front of the MH and one behind it
and how does this set-up seem?
What you got is going to give you good light. I would have opted for a 14000K bulb though and skipped the actinic. This is personal preference though, and some feel the actinic bulbs give better color to SPS corals.
One other note about Aqua Medic fixtures. I have an older one that uses three 250W HQI bulbs. Originally, the model I had was made for the German market, which uses 240 volts, rather than our 120 volt service. To solve the problem, they added a step up transformer in front of the original 240V ballast. This made the unit a massive electricity hog. (Remember, a transformer or magnetic ballast is only about 65% efficient, and since there were two, the math is .65 x .65 = .42, so less half the electricity going into it was used for the bulbs. An electronic ballast is 90-95% efficient.)
I replaced the kludge of transformers and magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts, and in about 8 months paid for the cost of the electronic ballasts with the energy savings. The fixture also lost about 50 Lbs in weight.
I do not know if the new Aqua Medic fixtures are doing the same thing or not, but you should check it out. Even so, you might want to replace the magnetic ballast with an electronic ballast just for the electricity savings.
One other note about Aqua Medic fixtures. I have an older one that uses three 250W HQI bulbs. Originally, the model I had was made for the German market, which uses 240 volts, rather than our 120 volt service. To solve the problem, they added a step up transformer in front of the original 240V ballast. This made the unit a massive electricity hog. (Remember, a transformer or magnetic ballast is only about 65% efficient, and since there were two, the math is .65 x .65 = .42, so less half the electricity going into it was used for the bulbs. An electronic ballast is 90-95% efficient.)
I replaced the kludge of transformers and magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts, and in about 8 months paid for the cost of the electronic ballasts with the energy savings. The fixture also lost about 50 Lbs in weight.
I do not know if the new Aqua Medic fixtures are doing the same thing or not, but you should check it out. Even so, you might want to replace the magnetic ballast with an electronic ballast just for the electricity savings.