150w vs 175w vs 250w for 22 inch depth

greenreefer

Active Member
I'm building a new canopy for my 125 and I'm going back to MH and I'm having a hard time making up my mind. I want a mixed reef, but zoas are my main stay so I don't need to be able to grow SPS on the sand :). I'll use 3 MH bulbs, maybe t5s, and I definately like the blue look. Three questions:
1. What wattage for this depth, assuming I'm using a decent balast and bulb not some knock off?
2. Just 3 x 20k bulbs or 3 x 14k-15k bulbs plus t5 actinics? Why?
3. How far above the surface of the water should the bulbs be?
Answers based on experience are best :)
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by GreenReefer
http:///forum/post/2832912
I'm building a new canopy for my 125 and I'm going back to MH and I'm having a hard time making up my mind. I want a mixed reef, but zoas are my main stay so I don't need to be able to grow SPS on the sand :). I'll use 3 MH bulbs, maybe t5s, and I definately like the blue look. Three questions:
1. What wattage for this depth, assuming I'm using a decent balast and bulb not some knock off?
2. Just 3 x 20k bulbs or 3 x 14k-15k bulbs plus t5 actinics? Why?
3. How far above the surface of the water should the bulbs be?
Answers based on experience are best :)
there suppose to be about the same but my experience leads me to believe 175w bulbs work better than 150w lamps (perhaps because of the required glass sheild that significantly drops PAR). I think 175w will easily get the job done BUT they are the least supported wattage as far as...well everything (bulbs and ballast). the price of 250w arent much different than 175w either so I'd probably go that route. the Iwasaki 15k on e-ballast performs like a decent 14k 250w bulb but you will have to support it with actinics if you favor blue tanks. Matter of fact all the good 175w bulbs are more white than blue. thats another reason to go 250w. gives you more of a margin to select based on color without worrying if you have enough PAR.
As for 3x20k or 3x14k plus T5 actinics thats easy. Go with the 14k plus actinics. Better PAR (typically unless you buy a poor performing 14k bulb) and the T5s will allow you to run dusk and dawn so the halides dont have to run as long (which helps with heat and power consumption). For the most part though thats a personal choice.
 

greenreefer

Active Member
thanks
I did quite follow the glass shield part. Were you saying that a DE MH bulb needs a shield but a SE MH doesn't?
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by GreenReefer
http:///forum/post/2833467
thanks
I did quite follow the glass shield part. Were you saying that a DE MH bulb needs a shield but a SE MH doesn't?
exactly. single ended bulbs are UV sheiled by the glass they are made of while double ended bulbs requires a glass sheild to block UV light. most DE fixtures and retro's include the shield. Sanjay testing shows the shielding affects light penetration quite a bit.
 

gatorwpb

Active Member
I agree with what stanlalee said, but 150w may satisfy your needs just fine.
First, you are looking for 3x MHs, so 3x150w is plenty of light vs. 3x 250w. Its a difference of 450w vs 750w total.
I have 2x150w on my 65g which is predominately SPS with Phoenix 14k bulbs which are amazing.
Given that though, I would prefer to have the 2x250w only for the extra par because I am totally addicted to the SPS now. You dont seem to be as interested in sps, so the 150w would be fine.
The age old wisdom is always to get the best possible now so you dont end up buying it again later.
 

greenreefer

Active Member
I think I'm leaning towards 250s with 20k lamps, probably radiums, with ice cap ballasts. I'll probably still use the shielding just to prevent any spaskes from reaching the bulb. I've read that several people have had their bulb explode into their tank from an accidental splash. I'll probably try without actinics first and then add them if needed.
 

stanlalee

Active Member
quality bulbs dont normally break from salt spray from splashing. its definately the exception not the norm (I havent seen many people shield SE bulbs). I had to clean off my SE bulbs weekly from this. never broke one (had them the bare minimum 8" above th water line). the 250w radiums are specifically designed to run on an HQI ballast which burn them brighter, whiter and at higher wattage than electronic ballast (just an FYI. some say the under driving it actually shortens the life span).
 

stdreb27

Active Member
if you're just going to do zoas, I'd go small. I have 2 150s on a 58 gallon 21 inch depth and that is more than enough. 2-250's you could run SPS anywhere in that tank.
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
The thing is, you don't now have the SPS fever, but most likely will eventually. I recommend using a actinic supplement regardless of bulb temperature. The reason is that they will greatly extend your viewing time. I run my MH for 5 hours and the actinics for a total of 15 (7am-10pm). I only run 2 250's, ice cap ballast, SE XM 10.000k. This gives me good growth and the color when running both MH and T5's is a nice crisp white. You could very well get away with just 2, Mine are 18in in from each end, up 6in from the surface. I have a glass support down the middle of my 135. It's a little shady up in the center whenever the support gets covered with diatoms. But a tank that has no center glass wont have this issue. The center area gets light from both MH's. Of course if there are two plastic supports as with many 6 foot tanks then that will shade some, though not really an issue.
 

greenreefer

Active Member
I've got an AGA tank so I've got black plastic cross braces at 2 and 4 feet. I'm pretty sure I need 3.
What do you guys think about the PFO mini pendents? I don't want to run a chiller so how much space do i need to have between the surface and the glass shield of a fixture?
Anybody use AB 20k bulbs? or heard anything good or bad about them?
I notice that quite a few sites are selling retro kits using VHO flourescents instead of t5, at least with their 72 inch kits. Would you guys recommend 2 60 inch t5 or 4 36 inch t5 or 2 72 inch VHO?
 

greenreefer

Active Member
I picked up 2 retro kits (250w MH DE ballast, reflector, wiring, and sockets) and 2 250 DE Giessemann 22k Megachrome bulbs. I'm going to try these on the left and right sections of my tank, see how I like the intensity and color and then decide what to get for the center section. I may end up going with a 150 there since there will be bleed over from the left and right.
still wondering about whether to supplement with VHO or t5.
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by GreenReefer
http:///forum/post/2836775
still wondering about whether to supplement with VHO or t5.
If your concerned about heat four 39w T5. they are half the watts of running 6ft VHOs. If you are actually going to use all true actinic bulbs (420nm) VHO will render the best color. there are alot of T5 bulbs out there now so you can really play around with that with T5s (true actinic front row/fiji purple back row ect)
 
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