actinic VHO vs. NO

dadummy

dadummy

Member
hello folks,
I am still researching the lighting for a 90 gallon reef tank.
I was going to purchase another VHO ballast and actinic 03 bulbs. Since the actinic is for viewing pleasure ,I am thinking VHO is a waste of electricity and extra money for the components.
I can get NO (40W) ballasts for free. I would still have to buy the endcaps and actinic 03 bulbs.
Would 80 watts of actinic be enough to supplement the tank?
I am eventually going to run MH when the funds are available. dual 250w DE 10,000k
now I have a coralife 36" 2x96W pc, 48" VHO 10,000k , 48" VHO 50/50 and the tank looks pink. I would like to keep the VHO and NO actinic with the MH's
I am hoping the NO actinic will be sufficient
any help would be appreciated
thanks for your time
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
you really want an even ratio of the two daylight spectrum to actinic spectrum that way the blue/purple cancels out the yellow that the daylights give off..
if u use NO bulbs for the acitinic i dont think they will be strong enought to give u that nice whitishblue effect...
MH are deffinately a whole nother story
if u plan on running dual 250W DE MH's with a 10K output i would strongly suggest running the two VHO units u have now and make them totally actinic bulbs 10K MH's can be very yellow if not given enough actinic supplementations
dont waste ur time mixing and matching things together lighting is very important in a reef system and it will save u money in the long run if u do it right the first time!
i started with a FO tank with NO bulbs upgraded to some 50/50 PC units until i had 500W over my 100 reef it worked good but then i wanted to get into sps and clams so i ditched those and now have 2 250W 20K DE along with another 180W of 10K PC
to me this color combo looks great the 20K bulbs put off a nice blue tint and the 10K PC's i have give some white back to the tank
u can also try some 14K MH's they should be more of a crisp white look
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
Save your funds till you can get the MH. MH only costs a little more than VHO. Throw the money you were about to waste on more VHO in a box under the bed. Add to it till you can get the MH. Then you can run MH with 2 VHO actinic bulbs off the ballast you already have.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
I agree with wax. Wait until you have saved up for the metal halide. Then you can get 14k or 15k bulbs and not even need actinic supplementation. Besides that, you will be satisfied knowing that you have the best lighting available for any critter you want to keep.
 
dadummy

dadummy

Member
ok, so MH why would I use a 14k or 20k bulb?. my understanding (Ut Oh!) is that I want as much PAR as I can get from a bulb. When you go further up the spectrum, it is like "loosing" watts per se.
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
ok supposedly 10K's have a stronger par than the other spectrums 20K's are strong too ive heard dome debate over the 14K's
ok lets look at it like this i have 2-250W 20K DE over my 100g and i can keep anything no prob i run Helios bulbs which are supposed to give a really good PAR reading...
a friend i know has a 265 gallon sps tank which he runs 3 - 250W 20K SE bulbs with luminarek reflectors and he keeps anything he wants too which is less than 3 watts per gallon
if u put 2 250 20K's or others over your tank im sure ull be fine...
u might lose some growth but u will gain some amazing colors instead!
 
dadummy

dadummy

Member
thanks for the info. I have been checking options, checking options and did I say checking options. got into SW less than a year ago, new a little about FW, started with a 36 gallon flatback and turned it into a 90 gal. 2 months ago. I have enough light to keep what little I have alive and well, was just hoping it wouldn't be a total waste of money running HO actinics until I got enough sidework to pay for the MH's.
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
if u want to try it and dont mind spending a few bucks then go ahead i just know if ur into this hobby ur guna want MH's adventually....
thats how i started out with 40W of NO bulbs on my FO tank slowly added some PC lighting and such and then finally jumped to MH's i figured i wasted about $350 extra instead of doing it right the first time!
 
kingspade

kingspade

Member
i am looking into MH's for my 125, my goal is to be able to keep anything i want, what would you reccommend for a fixture, i want to stay away from retros as i do not have a canopy. should i go with 3x 150 w/96 watt pc's or do you think i NEED 250w?
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
hmmm so ur looking to keep sps and clams right?
i would think u could get away with the 150's what Kelvin rating are u guna get? and it comes with what like 4x96W PC lights too??
are u planning on running a chiller too cuz MH will get hot
250's would be nice but ull also have to think about ur elec bill i run 2 250W DE's along with another 180W of PC over my 100 and keep everything easily my elec bill for this last month was $180 and i attribute about $80 to the tank
 
kingspade

kingspade

Member
what kalvin rating do you think i should get? just from reading this thread it looks like i might want to go with a 14k? someone said the 10k will look somewhat yellowish, i want a nice crisp white color maybe also a hint of blue, more to the white side though if that makes any sense. i just really do not want to have a yellow tint, especially if im spending a grand on some lights, i want them to look just as i want them. but you think i should be fine with the 150 watt though? here is what i was looking at
 
kingspade

kingspade

Member
oh, and yes i want to be able to keep sps and clams. i want to be able to buy anything i like, i dont like to walk away from something i like because i was told i cant supply its needs. IM GREEDY!!! :hilarious :hilarious :hilarious :hilarious
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
just for your info becareful on posting links if u want email me - murph145@aol.com
i know u didnt mean anything by it but the site here doesnt like people posting links to competition thats all
just go back in and remove it and all will be well!

let me look and ill reply
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
i had a feeling thats what u were lookin at
yeah i think u should be fine with that lighting do they offer any different combos on the bulbs or is ur only choice a 10K??
i can only go off of my set up which i really like!
but ive put a 10K DE bulb in my pendant once and it was a disgusting yellow color to me
if i were u id go 15K with a 50/50 PC bulbs or do 20K's like me and use 10K PC bulbns instead of acitinic ur guna get lots of different people replying but maybe u can look at some LFS's and see the difference for urself on how the rating looks most will run 20K's for coral coloring it really brings out the colors but 10K is supposed to be better for growth
either way its a matter of personal taste i like the bluish crisp white look
btw are u guna be running a chiller??
how ur tank set up on flow thats another huge issue if u want email me if u got any questions about stuff
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
o sorry i dont take any offence i dont care i just know the powers above might care lol!

just tryin to save u the hassle of getting interupted later on by the man lol
 
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