Lighting help

[bksmith]

Hello all, I've been lurking here for some time while planning my reef tank. Ive kept a 125G Brackish for 2 years and set up Reef tank a few months ago.

My tank is a 92G Corner (Oceanic RR) with a 54G sump underneath. Theres approx 100 lbs. base rock and 6in sand in the sump and 100 lbs Live Rock and 4in sand in the display tank.

Anyway, my main question is Lighting - the most frustrating topic ever!!! I have decided i need/want a 250MH Double Ended bulb with VHO actinic but have been unable to find something suitable. I have no canopy, so therefore a 36" pendant containing both of these would seem to be what i neeed, but I can't find. I have thoughts of eventually making a canopy which i could set the light on top of (obviously without a solid top )

My goal with lighting is to not be limited in my eventual livestock selection.
I really appreciate any help, I feel I must be lighting illiterate ....

 

[ChrisRD]

Not sure if anyone makes a DE/VHO combination hanging fixture (the only one I recall seeing was custom). There are some manufacturers making DE/T-5 hanging fixtures though. Sunlight Supply actually has one in the works: http://www.sunlightsupply.com/aquarium/news.shtml

Not sure when these are actually available. Of course another option is to build your own fixture with rhetro components...

 

[J.Howard]

Got my VHO/MH combo from Cooltouch Lighting. http://www.aquariumlight.com They have a big variety though I'm not sure if they make them with DE MH or if they are all mogul style. They did say they do custom canopies complete w/fans when I ordered from them. Great prices too.

 

[bksmith]

Sorry, could someone explain to me what "mogul style" means? Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

bksmith, does that name stand for black smith? Just wondering, since I apprenticed for a short while as one!

Anywho, www.exoticfish.com will custom build you a sweet canopy lighting sytem. I got a quote from them for a wooden canopy, one 175-Watt MH @ 14,000K, two ~30 in. PCs--one actinic and one 10,000K daylight, and a couple of moonlights, all with remote ballasts (cant remember if they were electronic or not...?) for about in the $300 range.
Sweet, huh? I thought so... Plus I think they through in fans, relfectors, and the vents as part of the deal.
By the way, this is over a 29 gallon; way more than enough light for ANYTHING in there! Ba-zing!

Hope that helps; I know the best way to go is custom, so your already on the right track!
Stay cool 8)

 

[bksmith]

I checked out Jeff's Exotic Fish, this is what they had to offer:
1 250Watt HQI Hamilton 10k MH
2 95 Watt 36" Actinics (hamilton i guess)
2 fans, eyehooks, etc.. in a 3 ft. canopy 6.5" high 11.5" wide
$625

Or I could get 2 250 Watt Bulbs for $799

My LFS, prob the best in NJ, thought 1 250 HQI would be plenty, the dimensions are 34" by 34" on the back edges (i believe) and a 3 ft. light fits perfectly across the middle. I just dont want to make a mistake and not get enough light.

Any thoughts? ( A lot of money on the line ) If I tell the wife in 6 months I screwed this up ill be dead.

Oh, and no bksmith doesnt stand for anything other than my name, pretty boring eh?

 

[fredso2003]

Blksmith : "MOGUL STYLE" is a type of screw in ballast.An edison ballast is a standsrd light bulb size,a mogul base is a slightly deeper and sometimes larger diameter than an edison ballast,I hope this helps.Good Luck!!

 

[Anonymous]

I would go with the two 250-watts... That way, no matter where you put stuff, theyll be getting enough light. Clams, SPS, LPS, Anemones; you name it, theyll be sure to have plenty of light wherever you place them (or wherever they end up, as is the case with anemones).
If your feeling pressured by the monetary issues of such an investment, then I would suggest yet another venue, if you would hear it...
If you have any skill whatsoever as a carpenter (even a highschool woodshop class is a great means of learning enough of the trade to do this), or know anyone who does (friends, family, whatever), then you might consider going completely custom. I know it sounds hard, but building the canopy is the hardest part, and thats a relatively simple task; not only that, but you could shave around $100 or so off what Jeff's gave you...
The next thing you would do after arranging a custom and aeshtecially pleasing wooden canopy (you better stain it and finish it if your going to BEFORE you do anything else if you ever want to!) would be to go to http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lig ... sp?CartId= and purchase a retrofit kit. I recomend the 2 250-Watt bulbs, upgraded to 12,000K Sunbursts, with the VHOs. Youll be out the door (free shipping, BTW) for around $680 with the bulb upgrades and maybe the $90 ballast upgrade. Without the ballast upgrade, youd get out the door for $589.
I like the custom idea because you control the aesthetics and appeal of the canopy, plus you assemble it, so you bloody-well know how to take it apart if something goes wrong! Plus, you control all the little factors, like how much attention you pay to exactly where the bulds are mounted, and stuff like that.
I dont know... Jeff's sounds like a good deal to me, if you dont want any work. Its whatever you want to do. I know that sounds like a vague allusion to get me out off comitting to you a solid answer, but that system you would get from Jeff's would be all the light youd ever need with the dual bulbs.
Rock on and stay cool in this freaking heat! 8)

 

[bksmith]

Question, ive read one MH bulb for every 2 ft'. Does this mean that the light has full effect in a 2ft diameter and less after two feet, or is it already diminished at 2 ft from the source? Also, due to the weird shape of corner tanks, are the actinic bulbs only effective when directly over the target area, or how far will they disperse effectively from the end of the bulb?

As for DYI, unless were talking Major savings, I'd rather buy my first setup from someone who knows what they're doing (and will get it to me a heck of a lot faster than the forever it will take me to do it). I'll spend what it takes to get what i need, but doesnt mean im happy about or willing to throw money away.