Poll ... MH lighting for 125 = 175w or 250?

[Gatortailale1]

Thanks for taking time to reply. Champion has a special now on 175w MH retro kit with ballast and bulb. 3 kits = $737.

250 blueline retro, ballast & bulb = $914

??? will it be worth extra $177 to get the 250w

 

[mariner]

YES!

 

[pathos]

c'mon. nobody is gonna advise you to get the 175 over the 250. just spend the extra $, you'll be glad you did.

P.S. you may also want to seriously consider the 400W hehehe

 

[toptank]

I just got a dual and single ballast MH retro, socket,relectors and 3 bulbs for $575.00 with shipping from Marine Depot. They are PFOs, 250 watters. I have had PFO before and I like them .

 

[fish_who?]

I would go with the 250 watt PFO's from Marine Depot too. I have them on my 125 (only 2 though).

 

[mariner]

I wouldn't recommend an "E" ballast only because if you have the money to spend on an "E" ballast then you have the few extra dollars to spend a month on the electric bill. And it'll take like three years to break even in electric savings with the "E" ballast. The PFO'S are rather nice for the money. Just my opinion though.

 

[HARRISON]

I had the same question not too long ago. I went with the 250's and I am very happy. I didn't get the E ballast though. I got them from champion lighting and they were the best price at the time. I upgraded to the blueline 10ks and added a set of 55watt PC's I already had as well. One 10k and one actinic. The combo is great. Very blue but very crisp...I would do the same thing again if I had the option. I am going to add a 9watt actinic for moon light next week...

Good luck.

 

[Tcook]

You can also make two 250watt ballast yourself for under $100.
I have seen the light.

 

[Gatortailale1]

Thanks all for the advice. I was leaning toward the 250w. I will also be running 4 - 96 w pc. 2 acts and 2 daylight 8800 or 10k along with blueline 10k bulbs.

Maybe it's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I like the blueline a lot. No tuning, burn bulbs brighter, possibly less energy consumption. With a townhouse that relies on electric for everything, every bit will help. Plus, I met Dr. Mac last weekend and got his opinion right from his mouth.

I guess the kicker for me is that I got bad advice/I was a newbie didn't know sh_ _ the first time I got lights, was told MH would cost 700+ than a PC setup. Now I'm kicking my self for not just droping loot. But when I did setup, 3k was a lot at the time and I just wanted to ease into reefkeeping and learn water chemistry. Now I'm ready to sps it.

At least with DIY setup, I can use the PC ballasts that I have and not lose any money trying to sell for 25% of what I paid full.