MH Lighting

[SnowManSnow]

Hi,

I'm thinking of upgrading to MH lighting around the beginning of Dec. of this year.. the 130CP lights just dont do it for me... I wanna keep fun stuff! My question is this... in your experiace, what has been the most cost effective way to do MH? Can I do it for under $300.. I would THINK SO.. I would be lighting a 37 G reef.. 30 x 12.. 24 inches deep. What about pendants? Ne decently priced fixtures you can think of? Do i need to plan on including some sort of actinic lighting? or will the MH bulb do the work?

Thanks for any suggestions....
B. Snow

 

[Ben1]

10ks usually get actinics to blue it up a bit. Everyones opinion is different on this issue. 20k users usually dont need to use actinics but lose par by using bluer MH bulbs. You could use a single MH on a 30" tqank and could do it cheaply.

An electronic ballast will save on electric on the long run but a PFO type core and coil ballast will be cheaper up front. If you are handy build an open ended, slated top hood and get a spider light reflector retro kit with your choice of bulb.

This should be pretty cheap and I would go 250-400 watts on the halide. The 250s would run cooler and cause less heat problems. A fan should be added to the hood either way. A computer fan hooked to a ac adapter works fine for this. Get a big 3-4" fan tho and as quiet as possible.

 

[SnowManSnow]

stupid question.. but is a "spider" light reflector kit.. is that a brand? If so where can i find what yor're talking about......

Also, would 250w be adequate to keep most anything I'd like?.. or will I just find myself upgrading again?

Thanks,
B.

 

[SnowManSnow]

OH.. and I forgot... I'm building an OPEN BACK .. hood.. the top being solid wood.. are we talking enough heat to set somthing on FIRE? .. or just melt plastic?.. also .. wouldnt the open back be enough ventilation? The fixture will set almost 7 inches above the water face.

 

[Ben1]

I personally like the open back and the slated wood top to provide extra ventalation.

250 should be good but 24" deep is pretty deep and 400;s wouldnt hurt. That being said I run 250s on my 150 and have a maxima at the bottom almost doing great.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... _Code=PFOr

This includes a reef-flector which is just like a spiderlight reflector.

 

[Unarce]

SnowMan,

You could also consider a double-end pendant. The 250W double-ends can have almost as much output as the 400W moguls, but are more efficient and run a bit cooler.

I keep a 20K 250W XDE about 9" over my 40, and there's no limit to what kind of photosynthetic invert I'd like to keep.

 

[SnowManSnow]

reefnutz.. can you pop in a link for an example of what you're talking about?

Thanks,
B.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I've been running a 250 watt 15K bulb over my 30 cube for about 9 months now. It's a nice mix of white/blue. It's in a canopy that my husband built, hanging about 8" off the water surface. the top and the back of the canopy are open to provide plenty of ventilation and heat release.

bulb color comparisons: http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ltg_bulb_color.htm

 

[blastermqn]

Double ended HQI was my idea as well. Should have no problem lighting that tank.

I can't help you with hood options because I don't like them. I'd rather have a suspended pendant because there's fewer heat problems, and I find hoods to be totally annoying when it comes to getting in the tank.

FWIW, I'm selling one of my 175watt pendants because I don't need it after converting my last 55 to a 30.

 

[SnowManSnow]

OK another question.....

would the fan .. on an open back canopy at 7 inches from water.... be for protecting the water temp? or keeping the bulb cool?

B

BTW.. leanin g toward a 250w 60K bulb MH retrokit.. PFO balast...Just preliminary.. but leaning that way.. seems great for around $200.

 

[SnowManSnow]

OK consider this.. can I just MAKE a pendant from a retro kit? Isnt it just a box with the stuf stuffed inside? Do most include a fan? or just have vents?

Just an idea

 

[Sprattoo]

I bought a retro fit kit from

http://www.hellolights.com

After some wrangling and head scratching and asking for some help from someone with more electrical experience I got it all up and going inside a rigged hood. I have 2 175W MH (screw in type) with 2 65W actinic PCs.

The Ushio 10Ks on their own are slightly yellow looking the actinics IMHO perked up my soft guys and added just the right blue to make my 75
G tank sparkle (Jebo PC blue lights DONT WORK totally wrong color blue).

I had 2 20Ks but they were WAY too blue, like MH actinics! the same with the blueline bulbs. This year Im getting maybe a 10K and a 15K to blue it up slightly.

It might be worth your while to ask around, my sister got a nice complete hood 175W MH and 2X 65WPC remote ballasts, with bulbs used for 2 hours from the local reef shop for $300 ((grumble.... lucky... grumble))

My "hood" is more a pendant. It all hangs from the ceiling 8+" over the open tank. I have found a lot of fish are jumpers and need a "retaining wall" when using this setup.

When I bought my kit there wasn't much for wiring instructions and I was DAMN nervous when I first plugged it in. To do it all over again, I would figure out a way to save a little longer and buy a complete hood or pendant. I still have nothing between my bulbs and my water (which makes me nervous) Im forever afraid of corrosion and splashing... and want to resolve it.. but I'm not sure about the right type of plexi etc..

If you are a little proficient with wiring, and good with woodworking I think you could build the thing for much cheaper than buying a complete hood. hello lights may even sell the right plexi covers for the retro kits, sun systems (dont remember the website) makes cheap halide pendants for growing plants... just change out the bulb.

I still ended up shelling out like $400.00 when I was done I think. I am still considering the idea of saving up for a complete hood so I can tinker with, and better customize the retrofit. In retrospect for the extra $200 bucks I could have saved a lot of stress (for me)

 

[SnowManSnow]

My biggest obstacle is that there is a black center brace in the MIDDLE of the tank haha... Should I go with say... 2 150s? one on each side? Shoud I take the gamble and replace the brace with a glass one? I WOULD THINK 300 MH w would be PLENTY.. even with a brace... any ideas?

B.

 

[Sprattoo]

YUP I have that brace too... I wouldn't do anything to it.. that brace is essential to holding the tank together. Don't cut it, lift by it, lean on it, wink at it suggestively....Or replace it unless you are 120% sure of what to do.

My tank is 75G 48" long and 24 X 24 I believe. if yours is 28" Im thinking its 100 G?
I tried setting up with just one bulb at first and it looks like crap. there ends up being either one dark end or 2 (if you light the middle) and a shadow strip in the center.

2 lights really does do the job best . even if you use 2 smaller wattages instead of one Mega sun nugget.

with my 2 MH bulbs I ended up lining the inside (sides) of my hood with mirror tiles and kept the standard reflector on top. This made a huge improvement over the amount of light in the tank.

Also with 2 bulbs you have the benefit of putting your corals anywhere in the tank and not getting limited by the shadows. it also makes the over-all appearance better (imho) to have even lighting from one end to the other.

I know more light is always better.. and Im not exactly a pro... but I think 2 175s would light your water nicely. If you get light needing stony corals put them up higher. My tank is 24" deep and the 2x175s + 2x65W PC actinics are too much for some of my leathers but good for xenia and stars. I could easily keep stonys in there if I wanted to but I chose softies.

 

[SnowManSnow]

haha no Im not dealing witha 100g.. my tank is 37g! The dimensions are 30wide.. 12 deep and 24 tall..

I think 2 150w would suit my needs plenty

 

[Sprattoo]

Oh!!!

150s is plenty plenty for 37G I would think. You could even go down to 2 X 70W Halides = 3.78 Wpg with a 65W actinic = 5.54 Wpg. If you wanted easy going stonies or softies.

with the 2 150s you get to 8.1 Watts per gallon. I have heard of some folks even throwing a 250 over a 29 (seems like overkill to me)

I bet you could get some super colorful stonies going with the 2 150s. I personally like the blue and flourescence that comes with PC actinic supplimental. My actinics are on far more than my halides. (11-12 hrs actinic 6 hours halide)

I would be very interested in seeing how you end up building your hood. When your done could you post or email some pictures?

 

[SnowManSnow]

Sure... I'm sure I'll post a pic here somewhere...
I spoke with a guy from www.HelloLights.com (we were both born on Thanksgiving btw.. weird hugh) and he was a huge help.

Right now I'm going for a double ended AB 20k MH Bulb.. and electronic balast..

I am going to replace the brace in the center of the aquarium with either glass or a high heat plexiglass (if there is such a thing)

As far as the hood goes, he didnt seem to think there would be a big problem with heat (esp with the double ended bulb at 250w). The only thing I'm contiplating now is how to build the FRONT of the hood... The top and the sides are connected...kind of like a small "n" that sits down over the tank.. I may make the front so that it actually comes off.. instead of dealing with hinges.. the back is TOTALLY open. I may also bore 3 or 4 holes in the top to help with heat escape.

B.

 

[hillbilly]

SnowManSnow, did you see the OceanLight pendant by Aqua Medic? You can get it with the AB 20k bulb, most places online sells them for around $260. Check out Ocean Encounter, Champion Lighting & Supply, Hellolights, etc. Some places sell the 10k only, some give you a cheaper XM bulb. I know for sure Ocean Encounter sells it with the AB 20k doubled ended bulb. These are super cool for smaller tanks. By the way, if it were me , I'd get 250w double ended. It would allow you to keep anything you wanted, even high light acros.