Everyone with MH please list your lighting specs....

[zanemoseley]

Ok I've been doing a good bit of research about lighting in an attempt to color up a couple of my corals a bit better. One thing that I found out is that 10k XM bulbs have a large peak in the 420nm range of light which happens to be the same range as actinic 03 bulbs. Initially I thought about getting more actinic to color up my corals but with this information I would be getting more of the same spectrum and according to some wouldn't help much.
What I'd like you to do is list what MH bulbs you run of of what kind of ballasts and how high they are off the water. Also list any VHO, PC, or T5 supplemental lighting you use with bulb types used and how high off the water they are. Also please state what kind of coloration you receive in both SPS and other corals.

 

[zanemoseley]

I'll start, I'm running a 75 gallon with 2x250w 10k XM's run off a probe start magnetic ballast. The MH are 8" off the water. I supplement with 2x55w of actinic 03 PC's 11" off the surface of the water.

 

[robchuck]

I run 2x175W Coralvue 15,000K. I switched to these bulbs two weeks ago from 1xUshio 10,000K and 1xAB 10,000K. Both MH bulb combos are (were) supplemented by 96W PC actinic 03. All of the lights are 10" above the water (the tank is 24" deep with a 2-3" sandbed).
Since switching to the Coralvue 15,000K bulbs, I have noticed better coloration from my SPS and fluorescence in my LPS, zoanthids, and green star polyps that I never saw with the old light combo.

 

[robchuck]

I failed to mention that my MH bulbs are running off of old-style Ice Cap electronic ballasts and I use Spyder light reflectors.

 

[neowind]

I run 1x175w MH XM 20k bulb on my tank. They are 6 inches off water.
I see that mostly green, blue, and yellow colors seem to do the best within my tank.

 

[footbag]

2 X 175w 20,000K XM's and 2 X 48"NO actinic tubes.
If I could do it all over it would be 2 X 250w HQI and 2 VHO actinics.
OH YEAH...70w HQI 10,000K ushio and 32w PC over my 7g nano. Well not yet, but they will be once the mail gets here.

 

[saltcreep]

I have a 55g running 2x175w XM MH off of Magnetic ( boo-hiss as kip puts it) supplimented with 1 110 blue VHO and 1 110 50/50 VHO.

 

[ross]

1 400w 10k xm bulb run on magnetic ballst about 10 inches off the water. Supplemented w/ 2x75w actinic vhos about 5 inches off the water.

 

[birdy]

1- 250w MH, 10k Ushio electronic ballast, 2- 96w VHO uri super actinic 03, VHO are about 6" off the water, MH is 9".
Getting pretty good color from the few sps I have, good greens, yellows and orange, I don't have any blues or purples yet.

 

[jauringer]

I am running 2x 150 watt DE pendants (reef optix III+) w/ giesemann electronic ballasts. supplemented with 1 96w actinic 03. 5 inches off of the water.

 

[nm reef]

I have been using 2x400 watt 10K Ushios & 2x110 URI super actinics. The lights are 7"-8" off the surface of a 5' display. The actinics alone are a deep blue and with the MH's the effect is a bright white...with a very kewl shimmer. I had numerous corals in a old 55 reef under 4x65 10K PC's & 2x110 VHO's(primarily softies & LPS)...I have seen much better coloration and growth from the old corals under the new lighting. I like to use 10K's along with actinic suppliments for two basic reasons....
One...combined with intense 10K's the actinics appear noon like.
Second...I like to simulate sun set / sun rise. The actinics come on 1.5 hrs before the MH's and go off 1.5 hrs after the MH's shut down. The MH's are on for 7 hrs daily and the VHO's run 10 hrs. The dawn/dusk effect is very kewl in my opinion and everything on together looks bright sun shiny!!

 

[zanemoseley]

I like the way this thread is going, however please include how your corals are doing under your lighting because just stating what bulbs you run without how corals look means jack to the rest of us.

 

[fishtanker]

over my 125gal i have 1 Iwaski 400wt 6500k with 2 96pc (1 10k and one 50/50)
i have it centered over my LR

 

[saltcreep]

Sorry....... forgot that. They are 6 inches off with no tops. Colt, Toadstool, all different zoos and mushrooms, Xenias and gsp are flurishing and growing. Also have a Seabae Anem that has grown 4x in 2 mths. The only thing I did not have luck with is a hammer coral. No sure if was light related.

 

[bencc]

Over my 54 corner I have a 12k 250 watt coralvue and 55 watt 20k pc and a 55 watt actinic pc. I have a colt coral several ric's a umbrella mushroom a couple flower anemones and a few zoo's. Everything looks very good and is growing the the flower anemones are gitting huge. The lighting is about 13 inches above the water I think it might be a little to high I would like to move it down a bit.

 

[shoreliner11]

I don't have it set up yet but I have a 250watt de 20k xm bulb running on a pfo hqi ballast and a pfo pendent. Can't wait to get it over my 20. Can anyone say SPS?:yes:

 

[nas19320]

There's more to getting good colors out of corals then just lighting. I run Dual 250w 10K XM's off Icecap new style electronic ballasts with (2) T5 Blue Plus bulbs for supplementation. My halides are about 8 in off the water and T5's are about 5 in.

 

[kpk]

2x250 se 14k hamilton's on a pfo hqi ballast, 2x48" vho super actinic. Mh are about 7" off the water and the vho's about 9".
I got a few sps frags, one was light colored almost like a cream color and has turned dark tan with flor. blue tips, another cream w/green polyps is turning purplish, a small frag that was tan is turning dark green with a lighter tip, and my pink birdnest has turned dark pink. I really couldn't explain everything that has chaned in the tank because that would take forever. I went from 4x48" vho's to this and it has been drastic. My frogspawn went from brownish/clear to dark green with bright green tips. It just seems like everything is turning darker deeper colors, with alot of florescence (sp.)

 

[krowleey]

2 x 150w 10k Ushio electronic ballast, HQI with 2 65watt actinic 03 and2 36w 50/50 10k and actinic 03 about 6 inches off the top of my 72 bow. getting good color but i think in the future i will upgrade to 250 HQI and use the 150's for my 30.

 

[dburr]

I have 2 175W Coralvue 10K on a m59 ballists and 2 32W NO atinics by zoo-med. Atinics are 5" from the water and MH are 10".
Color is so-so. My monties (all types) are doing great. The acros need a better skimmer. Thats my problem. Some color is OK, some are not.
Growth is pretty good all around. LPS and zoo color are also good.
BTW, I saw your thread and I think JBNY is right. He also did a great thread on bulbs if you didn't see it last year.:yes: