Cant Take In Anymore

grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
i have a couple threads out on different forums. and to sum it all up i am wondering what lights are need.
lets start with what i want:
1. a BTA or a LTA.
2. mushrooms
3. zoos
now what i have:
440W VHO bulbs.
many are telling me go MH and others are saying a little more wattage like 660 VHO and i should be straight.
my main things is if i need the MH can they be hung from the inside of the canopy. and what wattage. price if known.
can my current lights be combined with something to help out. and where would everything go. please help killing my self been researching for 7 hours now its currently 4:04 am on 11/15/06. i have to get up for work soon and i still will be knockin the brain. info please.
 
symon

symon

Member
Mushrooms and zoas don't require MH, But the lta and or Bta will require a much higher lighting!
I would think you could pick up a 250watt 20k MH retro fairly cheap, I found it was cheaper to pick up a set of them My 400 watt 20k cost me 350.00 delivered! And as a retro kit you may have ro rearrange things in your hood a little to make it fit!
 
mandarin w

mandarin w

Member
I would say the MH are needed with what you want to keep. and most hobbist I know keep both in their canopies.
You didn't state what size tank you have or the depth. But if your tank is say a 75gal, you could go with 2 - 250 watt MH bulbs, I would go with the 12 - 14 K bulbs, it depends on who bulb you choose to use. and use the 440 VHO's for your actinic bulbs. That will give the tank a very nice balanced look.
You will also be able to set the lights on timers so you can get the dawn to dusk effect. You can also add moon lights in your canopy for the night effect.
The only thing is to make holes on the sides of the canopy for fans. You can pick up 3 or 4 inch computer fans at Radio Shack and just put a plug on the end of it. (Yes it is very safe, just tell the people at Radio Shack that you need the one to plug into the wall.) They will get you the right one. Most use two on each side, two to blow in and two to suck out.
Then you would be all set.
The wattage of MH really depends on the depth of your tank though. Shallow tanks use lower watts like 150 or 175, med depth tanks use little stronger, 175 or 250, and your really deep tanks (30 inches) use 400 watts. And the area that a MH will cover is a two foot square area, so a 2ft or 3ft tank you would use one light, 4 ft tank 2, 6ft tank 3.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
if the most light-hungry thing you want is a BTA, VHO is fine. i have kept one under less than optimal VHO wattage for a year and it is fine.
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Agreed. VHOs are sufficient for keeping BTAs. Thomas712 kept them under VHOs for a long time with great success.
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
I agree you can keep those and much more if the tank is not over 18'' deep, if so then scrap the LTA, just keep the lamps new....Sure, dont hurt to upgrade though....
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
You could retro in some T5's if you have room in your canopy. They are small bulbs and would give you lots more lighting in a small area.
 
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