Lighting for a 125 - MH - 250w or 400w

[Gatortailale1]

I know MH lighting been talked about weekly. I just would like some input from other reefers on how much light I need. I would like to get lots of color and good growth from SPS. I have read that can never have too much light because can't replace direct sun.
Also would like bulb recommendations and any pro or con comments about the blueline ballasts.

Looks like only a little over $125 separates cost of 250 v 400.

Also would like to hear from folks who have CSL hoods with the MH & PC and comments from peeps who have MH & VHO. If any PFO hood owners out there, I would like to hear comments about their quality as well.

Do I need a fan at each end of hood or is 1 enough. (maybe the 6 ft hoods come with 2)

Could I get by with a 60 inch hood with 2 400 w vs. a 72 hood with 3 250 bulbs

Finally any bulb suggestions would be helpful. I like the 10,000 light spectrum of my PC bulbs now (more blue/white than the yellow 6700 PC bulbs)

Thanks to all how reply and give me tips.
Craig/Gator

 

[Freddo]

I bought a PFO 48" light setup.
2x400W with the normal ballast, and 2x40W Actinics with the Icecap 660 ballasts. Two Fans on either end.

I love the setup.

The only problem I am having seems to be an electrical one. The room my tank is in happens to be my computer room, and I seem to be having an inconsistent problem with the actinics going out when the Fans and Halogens come on.

It's weird, it happens 50-60% of the time. Some days it is fine, others it isn't. I think it's power related though because when I seem to shutoff the computer, skimmer, etc. the problem seems to go away. The house was built in 1963, and I think I need to rewire the room...

As far as quality goes the hood is all metal with a heavy glass insert. Very well made.

Good luck with your choice. If I had to do it over again I would definitely go with the PFO hood. If I were more electrical/mechanicaally inclined I might go DIY, but I chose to go off the shelf with my second light purchase...

Fred

 

[lil_ol_me]

Idea of amount of light, okeedokee.....

21h x 19w x 60l (98gln) PFO dual 400w and a 1000w(still searching for) in the center. I'm aiming for too much light!! 4 110w vho's to add a little blue into the harsh yellow light of the 6500k Iwasakis.
I may end up with a third 400w PFO, but I'm not too sure, yet.

My 75gln is lit by 2 250w'ers, 6500k Iwasakis on a dual PFO ballast.

Both setups are retro-fit packages, installed in custom hoods. If you have a matching canopy and stand, add your lights to that, instead of dropping a few hundred more $'s for the pretty housing. The wiring for a retro-fit kit isn't complicated at all.

Beware the Sunburst bulbs, they like to explode and/or fall apart.

Dave.

 

[Gatortailale1]

Thanks for tips.

Any advice/thoughts if VHO + dimmer are worth the money, or is it just expensive toy?

 

[TazzBear]

The lighting thing does seem to be an issue for EVERYONE. I will try to keep my $.02 short. Yea, right!!
I have lived in 5 states with a reef tank in all 5. I am sure you are thinking that this is an odd way to start out right. Well, here is what I have tried. Them all. I have done the NO, VHO, 175MH, 250MH, 250MH-HQI, and 400MH. I have used them in mix and match and standalone. Well, they all worked. Just depends on water quality and what you want to keep in that tank. Living in Iowa, I have found the water is VERY good for SPS's. In Missouri, softies and LPS. Texas was hard for everything. Allot of silicates down there and the yellow light from a 5500 or 6500k lamp really gives that green shag carpet look. Sigh. But that is true for any region if you don't tone down the yellow and watch the phosphates and silicates. Not to mention eye appeal. Yellow is not very attractive to me. To get good coralline algae growth, the blues really help to grow them. Again, water quality helps to. It is going to be a matter of taste and monthly run costs. I finally settled on 3 x 250MH-HQI and 2 x 72"VHO (1=50/50, 1=Actinic03 URI of course). This is set up on a 125 SPS/LPS, mushroom, softy tank. I use the 175MH 10K on one of my SPS frag grow out system, 3 x 95watt VHO on another SPS/LPS, softy grow out tank. The 400MH PFO system is currently not used. I also have 4 x 75watt VHO turf sump with more corals growing out there. I have so many corals that I run out of room frequently. And again, everything grows like crazy because I have nearly perfect water. I say NEARLY because there is no way it is ever going to be perfect. (I say that so I can quantify my spending to achieve the ever-elusive perfection! I think it is called "An Addiction") And before anyone tries to blast me, I do know how to prevent any issues I have mentioned here. Also for technical issues, those darn mogul bulbs really have to be replaced more often than the double ended ones. HQI can usually go 18 months before being replaced. Follow this link to read a study done on MH lighting. http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1999/dec/features/2/default.asp

You will read allot about PPFD: photosynthetically available radiation" (PAR region; 400 to 700 nm) which is a good indicator of a lamp's ability to support photosynthesis. Well, an Iwasaki provides 104.5, a 10K Coralife 51.57, a 20K Coralife 37.24 and a 10K HQI 128.80 for new bulbs. As for the darn 12k or 10k color rating. Hold on to your hat guy. The only ones worth talking about are the Iwasaki 6500 and 10K HQI. The Iwasaki ran at 7457 correlated color temperature" (CCT) and the HQI at 11,723 correlated color temperature" (CCT). That is the colors blue and violet you see with our eyes. But, you can read all of that in the link above. I personally like the HQI. Small, simple, long lasting, great color and my corals LOVE it. By the way, my electric bill is $190 a month. And that is down since I got rid of that 400MH, and the chiller does not run as much. They really put out the heat. I wish I could grow electricity as well as I do coral. I almost forgot to mention. I purchased ALL NEW bulbs from Feb to September this year to do my own tests with all of the MH and VHO's. So I am only speaking about my experience. I have also been doing an experiment is stressing SPS frags. Drastic changes in temp, salinity, light and treatment. Most of my corals are not stressed. I compare with a control group and experiment group. I sure hope this will help toughen up these corals so that we can all have them. My way of pushing evolution. Plus it helps to get third and fourth gen stock from other addicts. They just seem to do better. I sure hope this helps you. If it is any consolation, I bought the HQI last because of cost, but they seem to work the best. Like everyone says, buy just a bit more than you can afford. It all comes out in the end. PFO's ROCK. The Hamilton ballast gets very very hot and of course the IceCap VHO are awesome. Stay away from IceCap MH ballast. Do you want to send the bulb and ballast to them to be "TUNED" to run correctly or even start. Sure, every time I change bulbs I can wait weeks for them to "TUNE" my lamp and ballast. Whats up with that. Don't get me started, I already know the answer. We have talked about it. But, I digress. Good luck.

 

[absolutc]

I have a 155 bowfront tank. I recently invested about $1,500.00 on lighting. I was not too pleased with this, but it had to be done. The basic layout of the lighting is as follows: 3 - 250 MH's Each with their own IceCap ballast. 2 - 175 VHO - Both Acitinic Blue and run on an IceCap 660 ballast. My two cents is this, If your going to do lighting.. great, however THERE IS SUCH A THING AS TOO MUCH LIGHTING!!

With approximately 1100 watts of light shimmering down on my tank, another problem arose. HEAT! I had to buy a 700 dollar chiller/heater - used. This has saved me some heartache as without it.. the temprature of the tank SOARED to 98 degrees F. With the chiller, It stays at a constant 76-78 degrees. Lighting makes all the difference. If you cannot afford ballasts like IceCap magnetic ballasts are just as good. Although they are big, bulky and heavy. Depeding on how big your tank is.. here is a good mixture of lighting that works on all tanks. 1-3 Metal halides. Again depending on tank size and depth 175/250 watts will be more than sufficient. Remember, the higher you go, the more money you will spend. You will have to cool the tank somehow. Fans mounted in the canopy will NOT CUT IT! For the blue part of the spectrum, 2 VHO Blue's. Thats all you need. For example on a 125 you would do 2 - 3 175 watt MH's and 2 acitinic blue VHO's. Again, its to taste. But remember.. the more wattage.. the higher the temprature will go. You will HAVE TO BUY A CHILLER to keep it cool. Power Compacts just don't cut it either. Had those on a 75 gallon. Looked shabby and bleak. Be prepared to spend at least 600.00 bux on good lighting. At most 1,000.00 bux. If you would like to see my tank please do not hesitate

Good luck. Also.. check out this link.. it has great deals on lighting and their customer support is SUPERB!

Marine Depot