Help with MH Lighting
- Thread starter smartin
- Start date
"METAL HALIDE LIGHTS HAVE A 20+ YEAR LIFE! HIGH BAY LIGHTS ARE BEST INSTALLED IN HIGHER CEILINGS OF 14' AND UP. THE HIGHER THE CEILING THE BETTER COVERAGE." did you see that. wow. thats a load ha
but i wouldent buy that it dosnt look like it would hold up to saltspray verywell your lfs should sell retrofits and on that site it dosnt even say what type of mh it is. except 400 watts those lights are for parks and gyms. definitly somthing i wouldent stick over my tank.
try www.championlighting.com they have LOTSA lights
but i wouldent buy that it dosnt look like it would hold up to saltspray verywell your lfs should sell retrofits and on that site it dosnt even say what type of mh it is. except 400 watts those lights are for parks and gyms. definitly somthing i wouldent stick over my tank.
try www.championlighting.com they have LOTSA lights
What do you mean by "it dosnt even say what type of mh it is". I was not aware that there were different types. What type do I need for a reeftank? I know there are differnt K rating and I just assumed this one would not be the proper K and that I would need to buy a different bulb to repace it. Also I figured the light would be hanging several feet above the tank . Hopefully water would not be spraying that high unless I were to purchase a whale or dolphin but I am worried a fish like that may bring my nitrates to high :lol: I was thinking i could just get a peice of glass to cover the bulb anyway. Will that not work? I also noticed they had retro kits for around $100 that are made for aquariums but I do not see any type of housing just a batwing reflector. What do people normally use to house these?
TIA
TIA
I have a 37 G reef tank and have a PENDTANT light above it.. works GREAT for me. I paid $250 for an oceanlight with a 250W DE (double ended) 20K (Kelvin rating) bulb. It hangs only 6 or 8 inches above the tank and I would highly recommend the thing.
There are DIFFERENT kinds of MH bulbs and so forth... not only K ratings, (for all intents and purposes "blueness") different wattages, but there are also bulbs that fit differnt sockets, and IMO bulbs that work better with particular types of balasts.
If you are not planning on augmenting the MH with actinic of some sort I would go with a 250w 20K DE bulb. This should provide plenty of light for the size aquarium you have, and provide enough blue to offer decent color rendition.
I hope I've simplified things a bit for you. I KNOW the world of lighting can seem overwhelming at first.. but keep at it... it gets easier
B
You were considering a retro kit... keep in mind you will need a canopy , or fabricate a pendant to hang these in. MOST MH kits also require YOU to do the high voltage stuff. If you're like me... I'd just rather buy a pendant and be done with it.
There are DIFFERENT kinds of MH bulbs and so forth... not only K ratings, (for all intents and purposes "blueness") different wattages, but there are also bulbs that fit differnt sockets, and IMO bulbs that work better with particular types of balasts.
If you are not planning on augmenting the MH with actinic of some sort I would go with a 250w 20K DE bulb. This should provide plenty of light for the size aquarium you have, and provide enough blue to offer decent color rendition.
I hope I've simplified things a bit for you. I KNOW the world of lighting can seem overwhelming at first.. but keep at it... it gets easier
B
You were considering a retro kit... keep in mind you will need a canopy , or fabricate a pendant to hang these in. MOST MH kits also require YOU to do the high voltage stuff. If you're like me... I'd just rather buy a pendant and be done with it.
plus the thing is an old gym MH. the bulb would be wrong deffinitly. and it is used. you can get a new mh system for 75 online (NOT ON EBAY) not the best but it will be better then that. that thing is probobly huge. ( go to a school gym and look up)
plus probobly has no warentee and mostlikely weighs a ton.
go get your self a double ended system. from what i hear there better tehn the screw socket ( dunno why as i dont use MH) but i wouldent buy from taht guy just based on his claims. they last for 20 years he says.
plus probobly has no warentee and mostlikely weighs a ton.
go get your self a double ended system. from what i hear there better tehn the screw socket ( dunno why as i dont use MH) but i wouldent buy from taht guy just based on his claims. they last for 20 years he says.
Yeah that 20+ year thing made me chuckle but I assumed everyone changed there bulbs yearly because they lost there spectrum and he was just refering to the fact that, that bulb would continue to put out light for a long time. I will definetly not get that setup. I was acutally looking to get a T5 or PC setup because I am on a limited budget but while I was searching on ebay I thought I would see what I could get a MH setup for and I was surprised when I saw that setup for $50 and just new it was to good to be true. Thanks for the advice I will be avoiding it.
I was looking at Jebo setups for my 10G. I do not have the 29G yet but was offered a dry tank if I wanted it. I do have a 75 FW that I plan to convert in the future but that is on hold until I get married. 1 more year. So for the Jebos I was looking at 3 different lights a 48W T5, a 65W PC or a 130W PC. Does anyone have any info on any of these? and would 130W be to much for a 10G tank? Which would be the better light. I currently only have softies and will probably not put any SPS in there. I do have an LPS but it is a low to medium light LPS so it is ok. Thanks
I was looking at Jebo setups for my 10G. I do not have the 29G yet but was offered a dry tank if I wanted it. I do have a 75 FW that I plan to convert in the future but that is on hold until I get married. 1 more year. So for the Jebos I was looking at 3 different lights a 48W T5, a 65W PC or a 130W PC. Does anyone have any info on any of these? and would 130W be to much for a 10G tank? Which would be the better light. I currently only have softies and will probably not put any SPS in there. I do have an LPS but it is a low to medium light LPS so it is ok. Thanks
Hi smartin,
I have the Jebo 130w on my 10gal that's in the Nano buildoff...I'll be posting pix sometime this week.
The only issue I had with the Jebo was a bad bulb after 2 days (prolly damaged in shipping)
They don't have plugs on the ballast wires to the bulbs, which I like because I can run square pin or straight pin bulbs.
I have mine sitting right on top of the 10gal. No legs and only a glass top between it and the water. Keeps the tank right around 78-80 with no issues. Zoos really open up and got some nice coralline starting.
For the price, I'll probably get more of this brand or the SunPaq.
Just my .02 -- your mileage may vary
I have the Jebo 130w on my 10gal that's in the Nano buildoff...I'll be posting pix sometime this week.
The only issue I had with the Jebo was a bad bulb after 2 days (prolly damaged in shipping)
They don't have plugs on the ballast wires to the bulbs, which I like because I can run square pin or straight pin bulbs.
I have mine sitting right on top of the 10gal. No legs and only a glass top between it and the water. Keeps the tank right around 78-80 with no issues. Zoos really open up and got some nice coralline starting.
For the price, I'll probably get more of this brand or the SunPaq.
Just my .02 -- your mileage may vary
or icecap 660 and wire it for PC ( it is on the web site. they dont say it in the instruction that come with it.)
YES i push icecap. i fell inlove with there customer service. "i" blew the ballast 2 times( actualy it was a very anal dimmer that blew it ended up dimmer was bad)
but ice cap repaired it 2 times no questions asked . got it back a less then a week later ( they shipped it back same day they got it fasdt service)
YES i push icecap. i fell inlove with there customer service. "i" blew the ballast 2 times( actualy it was a very anal dimmer that blew it ended up dimmer was bad)
but ice cap repaired it 2 times no questions asked . got it back a less then a week later ( they shipped it back same day they got it fasdt service)
You can use pretty much anything over a 29 gallon tank as they are shallow (PC, T-5, VHO, MH) but if I was interested in keeping stuff in there that needs strong lighting, personally I would go with a 150 watt DE halide pendent.
The 400 watt high bay fixture listed above is not appropriate for a reef setup IMO and a 400 watter would be way overkill even if it was. On that tank I'd go no more than a 250 watt DE.
If you're thinking of the future (the 75 gallon tank you mentioned), 2 X 150 watt DE is nice on a mixed 75 gallon reef tank (assuming standard dimenions, 48" long). 2 X 250 watt mogul or DE is nice if you're looking to keep SPS, clams, anemones, etc. Something to keep in mind if you're planning to expand to the 75 gallon in the future...
JMO...
The 400 watt high bay fixture listed above is not appropriate for a reef setup IMO and a 400 watter would be way overkill even if it was. On that tank I'd go no more than a 250 watt DE.
If you're thinking of the future (the 75 gallon tank you mentioned), 2 X 150 watt DE is nice on a mixed 75 gallon reef tank (assuming standard dimenions, 48" long). 2 X 250 watt mogul or DE is nice if you're looking to keep SPS, clams, anemones, etc. Something to keep in mind if you're planning to expand to the 75 gallon in the future...
JMO...
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