Advice on new lighting....

cmc3502

cmc3502

Member
I have a 40 gallon tall tank that now has 2 x 65W pc lighting and someone locally wants to sell me a aquamedic metal halide light that has 1 ballast and comes with a 10,000k light and is 150W a piece ballast but it only fits one...
the other one he has is one with 1 ballast of 150W and I think i can get a 20K 50/50 for it...
Is this going to be a nice upgrade from where I'm at? What can I keep under these and if anyone can find a pic of what these look like, because I'm inexperienced with Metal Halides... It also doesnt sound like this thing is very long and I have a 30" wide tank...
 
reefforbrains

reefforbrains

Active Member
30" wide is a bit much for a single 150w Hailide to cover without having some spread on the outer edges.
If running one then you can put the light hungry critters in the center of tank and have no worries. Otherwise might run a twin Hailide bulb set up and then keep absolutly anything you like anywhere in the tank you feel like it. CLAMS, SPS, Anything
It will be a noticable jump in lighting. Also MH will give you that shimmer we all love.
MH dont do the 50/50 bulbs, as there no need. The intensity should penetrate and make tank shimmer with just single Kelvin choice. Picking K spectrum is up to you for what you want the tank to look like. 20k tends to look blue and brings out colors, 10k is more yellow but very bright to the eye and generally higher growth.
 
cmc3502

cmc3502

Member
the thing is 21" long 6" wide... He has a deal with two ballast, but the pendant can only fit one... I dont know if I can fit another pendant in there later...so the one 150W will probably be it... can I keep anything I want under that as long is its in the center....?
heres my tank (pretty tall, long way down for the light to travel...
 
reefforbrains

reefforbrains

Active Member
I dont want to hijack your thread but I would seriosly consider having the two.Even If you hadto build your own canopy, its worth it in my opinion.
How deep is your tank? A 40gallon can be that large especially if 30 inch wide.
 
cmc3502

cmc3502

Member
well if this casing is 6" wide and my tank is 12" deep, I dont see two fitting in there even with a custom canopy... if the one is not enough, then maybe passing the deal up would be the best bet and maybe you guys can help me find something that will work better... I'm not in a hurry and want to make sure I get the right thing regardless of how much it cost...
I didnt under stand this question??
"How deep is your tank? A 40gallon can be that large especially if 30 inch wide"
tank is 30" w x 24" tall and 12" deep
 
reefforbrains

reefforbrains

Active Member
I still think a dual 150 would work quite nice.
Whats the price on these lights?
Also what about just tearing out the guts and putting them into a canopy? This would give you the Umph that you will need for a reef.
Going with a single bulb such as a 400 would certainly give you TONS of light,but they are energy pigs and also they are hot as heck.
 
reefpro

reefpro

Member
Originally Posted by cmc3502
I have a 40 gallon tall tank that now has 2 x 65W pc lighting and someone locally wants to sell me a aquamedic metal halide light that has 1 ballast and comes with a 10,000k light and is 150W a piece ballast but it only fits one...
the other one he has is one with 1 ballast of 150W and I think i can get a 20K 50/50 for it...
Is this going to be a nice upgrade from where I'm at? What can I keep under these and if anyone can find a pic of what these look like, because I'm inexperienced with Metal Halides... It also doesnt sound like this thing is very long and I have a 30" wide tank...
If I were you I would put in two double ended HQI Metal Halide's. Some here will argue with me on this but for your situation I think they would be perfect. You could easily get 2 150W or 250W HQI's into your hood with a reflector kit and probably still have room for 1 PC Actinic.
Just my two cents....
 
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