MH Ballast Question

[Anonymous]

What are the differences between the following MH ballasts,and what do you recomend?
PFO
HQI
magnetic
electronic
standard

Do you think a 400 watt,6500K Iwasaki w/out any actinic flourecents to compliment it would be good enough for mushrooms and a few soft corals? Please help.

Ryan

 

[Anonymous]

Ryan,
PFO is a brand name "PFO Lighting Corporation based in Vancouver WA" Nice ballasts, I own several.
HQI is a high output ballast that allows you to run 20000K MH bulbs

magnetic, electronic & standard are types of ballasts.

magnetic & electronic, less heat, some say more output and less electricity used.
standard = cheaper, more heat

your last question needs more information... tank size, depth, future plans...

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brian
atlantisaquatic.com

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry about that. I have a standard 55 48x12.5x20. I just have a FO tank now(Yellow Tang,Tomatoe Clown,Half-Black Angel) but after I get good lights Im gonna get LS and about 60# of Fiji LR. I would just like to keep shrooms and some softies. This will be my first reef tank. Thanks for your replies.

Ryan

 

[Anonymous]

Your 400 will produce a lot of light, but only over part of the tank. On a 48" tank, the recommendation is always for 2 MH lights. I wouldn't think you'd need 2 400's though for a 20" deep tank. 2 250's ought to be plenty, and cheaper to run. As for the actinics supplement, that's an aesthetic issue in most people's opinion. There's have been several threads talking about 6500s versus 10000s versus 20000s, coloring, etc. Seems like most people with the 6500s like to add some blue because it looks better. That isn't necessarily true of the 10,000K or higher bulbs. Many people like those as they are.


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No really, hon, this is the last thing I need for the tank!