metal halide lighting

[danny]

HI! to Everyone:

I currently have soft corals, my tank is 36inches long & 22 inches deep.
I have a 96 watt pc & 2 95 watt VHO's, the PC has burnt out & I want to add a metal halide fixture. (250 or 400 watt ?)There are a lot of halide type fixtures. I definitely will buy a pendant set-up but what type of bulb German,japan etc.(10,000K)

 

[mountainbiker619]

To give you an idea as to what some look like
http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_mh_bulb ... sp?CartId=

 

[Telochupoto]

German, japanese, and other types just refers to the connectors on the bulb [I believe]. I woul suggest two 175Watt 6,500K to 10,000K. Keep in mind, I think that the Japanese bulbs are cheaper, the German ones are mostly double ended and are HQI. Good brand names to look for are Iwasaki, Hamilton Lighting, Coral Life, etc. Good luck with what you choose.

PS: If you have a canopy, you might as wel go with a retrofit kit of some kind; it will come out easier on your pocket.... try www.hellolights.com

 

[Ralphyhp]

Hi desi04, for a 36" x 22" tank you can use 1 175w or 250w dual M/H PFO ballast with 2 175w or 250w 10000k ushios M/H bulbs on mogul base and PFO reflectors and your 95w VHOs ballast with actinics bulbs. You decide on 175w or 250w setup, for softies you can use 175w but if you want to keep SPS the 250w are better and you can upgrade for a bigger tank too. Try www.marinedepot.com or www.championlighting.com Hope this can help you. Ralphyhp.

 

[clk2609]

keep the VHOs and i would probably use one 250 if corals are more towards center of tank.

If you are going to do SPS, try to put them closer to top near light,

just my opinion