More help in Lighting 125 gallon w/ Halides

[Genaroleon]

I will be setting up a new 125 gallon (may go larger) 72x18x23 in the next couple of weeks - reef setup with a couple of fish here and there. (will move my fish from my 75 gallon FO)

Please bear with me, Ive checked out all the light spectral analsys of the differnt brands from the various links found on here... and myself being completly supid with this.. have confused myself more than i think i should have :lol: I dont get all the abreviations .. (ex DE, hqi etc)

Since my tank is going to be a 6 footer. Im assuming I will be needing 3 MH Bulbs - for the most part. I will be looking at retrofit systems. I am looking at 3 Halides which are 250watt 14,000K Hamiltons ... i am not sure what supplimental lighting i will go with yet. Nor do i know if I want Electronic Balasts, Magnetic, Icecaps... etc etc... it all gets confusing when its broken down that far HAHAHA... ive seen that the 20K's are too blue and the 10K's are to white... so i figured the 14ks where the way to go..

Can anyone give some advice ....
I was reading the post below about his light setup.. also those older posts... but im still a little confused

 

[Joew]

A popular way to go is do 10k20k10k, i've hear alot of people are doing that.

JoeW
_________________
BMW F800S

 

[Tackett]

What exactly are you confused about?

 

[Genaroleon]

What exactly are you confused about?

Im confused about the different brands of bulbs and their outputs... the different ballast options and brands... supplimental lighting. After looking around it seems that bulbs of the same caliber (if thats even the right word), depending on the ballast and other factors.. will put out more or less lighting.

I dont want to spend $1,000+ dollars on a halide setup, only to realize I should have gotten this ballast instead of that... this bulb brand .. this supplimental lighting...etc

Righht now I have a fish only 75 gallon ... so lighting is not a huge problem in there...

 

[Tackett]

Well as far as the different brands go, I guess you are talking about DE and such? I dont think this affects the quality of the bulb. Just depends on your application. DE bulbs provide a longer area of light, as opposed to SE bulbs, so again just depends on your application. IME 3 DE bulbs will cover more area than 3 SE pendants will. But equal wattages and Kelvin ratings will produce the same "amount" of light. As far as supplimental lighting goes, with the amount of light you mentioned before that you were thinking about getting, supplimental lighting is unecessary. The 10 20 10 combo that joe mentioned is a great way to go. I dont think I would screw with the 14's, though others will probably disagree. Regardless, I think you will be happy with whatever you decide to get. I know this post probably didnt do you a friggin bit of good, but my lighting knowledge is very limited compared to everyone elses. I just thought I would throw out my .02 just incase it might help.

 

[Entacmaea]

My two cents: I think going with any higher wattage MH bulb for your tank is going to be in general a healthly choice for the inhabitants, so the real question is what look do you like? One of the great things I like about 10K bulbs, then supplementing with VHO's, is that you can to some degree taylor the look to your whims- more actinic for bluer look, less for whiter look. It gives some nice flexibility.

What I would do: 3 250watt pfo mini HQI DE pendants, 10K AB bulbs, Ice Cap ballasts, then supplement with actinic VHO's.

The possibilities are endless!

 

[Genaroleon]

My two cents: I think going with any higher wattage MH bulb for your tank is going to be in general a healthly choice for the inhabitants, so the real question is what look do you like? One of the great things I like about 10K bulbs, then supplementing with VHO's, is that you can to some degree taylor the look to your whims- more actinic for bluer look, less for whiter look. It gives some nice flexibility.

What I would do: 3 250watt pfo mini HQI DE pendants, 10K AB bulbs, Ice Cap ballasts, then supplement with actinic VHO's.

The possibilities are endless!

what i need to do is see what bulb and intensity the LFS use so i can kind of see what color they put out.

I do knwo i will be going the 250 watt... 400's would put out too much heat..

I will be mounting this in a canope so some fans are going to be a must

 

[Anonymous]

...and physical separation between the reflectors and any wood surface. 1/4in. is fine in my opinion, but I am not a professional at this so don't blame me if your house catches on fire