new lights!

[AndrewBobDrew]

I am getting really close to getting my new 60g setup but budget is running thin now so need a substitute for the metal halides until more cash magically appears. What are HWL lights, got some in my house, look pretty good?

 

[ChrisV]

Save for the MH you will be really happy you did, I definitely wouldnt skimp lighting to get a tank setup early.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to RDO!

HWL are halogen work Lights.

They might work for a cycle, but not much more. Color temp on those are usually around 3k. you're asking for an algea outbreak then.

B

 

[cjsrch]

just go with vho till you have enough cash to buy those esxpensive mh.


odds are youll fall in love witht hem and stay with them anyways. alot cheeper to run. id rather replace a 22 $ bulb every 18 months then a 90 $ mh bulb every 3 ....

 

[RobertoVespucci]

That's interesting especially when you consider that most people replace VHO every 6-9 months and MH every 9-12.

5 110w vho x 2 per year x $22 is $220 plus shipping.
2 250w mh x 1.33 per year x $90 is $240 plus shipping.

Not a big difference there.

 

[cjsrch]

they do but it isnt needed the bulbs last about 2 years befor any colorshifts. mh every 9 months. well they must enjoy that colorshift as it usualy starts after 4 months. plus mh get danmaged just from touching them.. what kind of bulb does that. the oil from your skin can cause black spots on the bulb.

 

[RobertoVespucci]

Really? No color shifting in 2 years? Got a source for that?

 

[Anonymous]

they do but it isnt needed the bulbs last about 2 years befor any colorshifts.

Source? You didn't give one in the other thread, so I suspect you still don't have one.

mh every 9 months. well they must enjoy that colorshift as it usualy starts after 4 months.

I believe color shirt starts immediately on all bulbs no matter what kind - the question is how drastic is it and how long does it take before the shirt is extreme.

plus mh get danmaged just from touching them.. what kind of bulb does that. the oil from your skin can cause black spots on the bulb.

That is a misunderstanding. You can touch the bulb, you just have to clean it with rubbing alcohol before you fire it - other wise the heat from the bulb cooks the oil from your hands.

 

[ChrisV]

I think its the oil from your hands that scorches onto the hot MH bulb and reduces light output, same thing would happen to any bulb that gets that hot. MH bulbs do last atleast 8 months for me... HQI way out perform those vho and thier kw hour consumption for the lumens generated, right?

You should try and refrain from feeding people that nonsense cjsrch

 

[Anonymous]

This is how halogen/mh lights work:

You turn it on. As the filament heats up it actually burns away. The particles of the filament become loose in the envelope (glass enclosure of the bulb) As the filament burns away, it gets hotter and hotter. As the particles cool down, they become charged, and are attracted to the hottest part of the filament- Which, conincidently is the thinnest part of the 'burned away' filament. The loose particles attatch themselves to the filament, and re-inforce where it was getting thin. The particles heat again and do the whole thing over!

That's how you get lots of light out of a small bulb.

Now, Imagine you've touched the envelope (glass part of the bulb) You've left a fingerprint on the glass. Now you turn on the light. As it heats up, and cooks the oil on the glass, that spot becomes the hottest part of the lamp. So guess where the loose particles gravatate towards? You guessed it. The glass, not the filament. Then what happens next? Remeber that filament that has been burning away? it gets too thin and breaks. Or the glass gets too hot and breaks, then oxygen hits the filament and it burns out.

I like the look of MH's over pc's or vho. I like the shimmer lines.

If you don't have any corals yet, save your money and get MH's.

B

 

[ZooKeeper1]

Metal halides dont have a filament.