Thinking on doing a switch

[Bry17nyc]

I been thinking on replacing my t5 fixture on my tank to MH ....this would be my first time dealing with metal halides. ..so i would like some info on which one should i go with, how many of them, how many ''W''

My tank is 72''w 24''h
I want to do sps mostly in the middle and lsp, softies on the sides......

The electricity is another issue..in my house we dont pay electricity...the owner does, but is his elec. Bill going to noticeably raise?...i dont want him complaining


Any info would be really appreciated
Thanks

 

[winsbxnyc]

I have a 72 in fixture that's perfect for u if u have a canopy

 

[Bry17nyc]

Bump
Anyone has some information in regards to how should i do this

 

[ecchybridLE]

i had two 250 watts with 2 x vho acentic over my 220 custom. it was 72x30x24 and i grew sps like weeds and kept lps with no problems. you can go with retro pendants or go with an all in one fixture. have you considered maybe going with led/t5 ? the new ati fixture looks very promising. be ready to use your chiller with mh. i really love halide though. i would maybe do a 3 x 250 DE fixture on that tank. is your tank 72x24x24 ?

 

[Adamc1303]

MH are tried and true. I would make the switch even if you do pay for the electric bill. Metal Halides used to be the standard I don't know why people are so afraid and hesitant to try them. on a 72" tank you can go with either 2 or 3 bulbs. Some would even go with 4! Go with 250's and some t5's or VHO's. I currently run MH with VHO's but I am finding it harder to find VHO's these days. So just get an all in one fixture. I happen to have 2 awesome aqua-medic MH/T5 fixtures for sale for like a 10'th of their original cost and they are only 6 months old. Not ditching Metal Halides just going to 400 watters now.

 

[Bry17nyc]

Sounds interesting...
So can you put any bulb in any mH fixture...or does it have to be an specific bulb for an specific fixture

 

[Adamc1303]

You can put any bulb in any fixture. Any single ended fixture can accept any single ended bulbs and any Double ended fixture can accept any DE bulb. However with single ended bulbs different ballasts work better with different bulbs. Most people use DE 250W when starting out on electronic ballasts like Ice Cap, lumatek etc.. Most of the ballasts sold will be electronic ballasts.

 

[Bry17nyc]

You can put any bulb in any fixture. Any single ended fixture can accept any single ended bulbs and any Double ended fixture can accept any DE bulb. However with single ended bulbs different ballasts work better with different bulbs. Most people use DE 250W when starting out on electronic ballasts like Ice Cap, lumatek etc.. Most of the ballasts sold will be electronic ballasts.

Thanks a lot for this information....so do i always have to ask if the fixture is for DE or SE bulbs...sorry for all these questions
I just wanna make sure i know what im doing

 

[Adamc1303]

It usually specifies and most fixtures use DE bulbs.

 

[Geraud]

You probably want to check which bulbs you like before choosing a fixture. As most bulbs do not exist in both SE (mogul) and DE versions. Also bulbs are in general designed for either a magnetic or electronic ballast. Although some of the electronic will provide a "boost mode" close to magnetic (see the CoralVue LuXcore with their "super lumen" setting for instance.)

One such example is the very popular Radium 20000K, which exists only in SE, and needs to be run in HQI mode, aka either by a magnetic, or by an electronic with an "overdrive" setting.

I just had a look at 72" fixtures and they seem pretty expensive. If I were you I would go with individual lamps on spider reflectors, run by a multi-wattage electronic ballast (=more bulb choices) and using LED for supplementation. Unless obviously you find a nice second hand fixture for a correct price.

 

[Bry17nyc]

Very good information...thanks alot
And does the bulb color matter or thats just would be my taste?

You probably want to check which bulbs you like before choosing a fixture. As most bulbs do not exist in both SE (mogul) and DE versions. Also bulbs are in general designed for either a magnetic or electronic ballast. Although some of the electronic will provide a "boost mode" close to magnetic (see the CoralVue LuXcore with their "super lumen" setting for instance.)

One such example is the very popular Radium 20000K, which exists only in SE, and needs to be run in HQI mode, aka either by a magnetic, or by an electronic with an "overdrive" setting.

I just had a look at 72" fixtures and they seem pretty expensive. If I were you I would go with individual lamps on spider reflectors, run by a multi-wattage electronic ballast (=more bulb choices) and using LED for supplementation. Unless obviously you find a nice second hand fixture for a correct price.

Sent from my N861 using Reefs

 

[Geraud]

It is a matter of taste, aka do you like a tank in the blue side or in the clearer side.

Sadly it is hard to compare from pictures since peeps will often set the white balance automatically.

The ideal would go to visit a couple of stores who use MH, and check what you like, ask them what the bulb is, and go with that.

Personnally I am a Radium guy. After testing a bunch (10000K from Hamilton, then ABLine then CoralVue Chrome) I tried the Radium and the punch it packs amazed me. Plus despite the fact that it is a 20000K, when properly driven, it is not blue at all, it is a very crisp white with a hint of blue.

Be careful of the numbers by the way, as Sanjay Yoshi was explaining, 20000K nowadays means a blue lamp in a lot of cases. Aka it is actually not a measured 20000L (which in fact would be white, not blue!) So seeing "in real life" is better than pictures.