I found A light, Should I?

[tigerlover]

My 30gal. reef is now inhabited by beautiful rock, crabs, and 3 mushrooms. It has a 96watt 50/50 on it, by corallife. I want the inverts in my tank to thrive, and not be limited to mushrooms and non photosynthetics. I found a 250 watt metal halide setup for sale, 10k bulbs(no idea what the 10k means, though), but will this be enough? And in your opinion, if this was used, what should it be selling for? It's just the one that looks plain, not like the hanging lights or anything.

 

[tthemadd1]

Should be alot of MH for that tank.. IMO go for it.... You could also build a canopy and use both sets of lights..... There are alot of DIYers here.. So post your thoughts and results...
Themadd1 :happyfish :happyfish

 

[msd2]

10,000k is the temp of the bulb, meaning the color frequency it is tuned to. Diff. temps, different colors, I use the 10,000k bulbs also and its a white light, imo. 20,000k is the other common bulb that is much more blue. In any case, I would say sure that much light over a 30 gal can work, but with some cautions. Your shrooms you will need to put in a cave or under a cliff to avoid that much direct light. You also need to remember to think about heat, mh produce lots of heat and if your tank already runs warm you will need to address this issue. Good luck

 

[tigerlover]

What would the limits be? Could I keep pretty much everything light wise, or is it still not good enough(with my luck, probably the latter) and anyone on that price???

 

[msd2]

Originally Posted by Tigerlover
What would the limits be? Could I keep pretty much everything light wise, or is it still not good enough(with my luck, probably the latter) and anyone on that price???
I would say you are pretty open for the corals you can run. Is this mh a mogul or a double end? Just dont forget to acclimate them to the lighting if there is a big shift between your tank and the lfs. Personally I would replace the light unless your sure the age of the bulb. Not sure what you mean on the price. If I was going to set it up I would get a new xm10,000k bulb and replace your 50/50 bulbs w/actinics. Gives it the nice blue and promotes coral growth.

 

[caz]

Depending on what ballast, pendant, and bulb then I'd say go for it!
I've got 2 250w DE 20k's on my tank set up with ARO ballasts and Reef Optix III pendants.
Looks amazing and I can keep anything... It's a ton of light for a 55 gal
I bought my lights from a guy on a local forum. One setup was wired up and used for a month, the other was still unwired and in the box. I got one for $225 and one for $250. Definitely no regrets. Good luck!

 

[tigerlover]

Here's what it says about it:
This system includes: 1)Refurbished 250 Watt Metal Halide Ballast built into a USED ballast housing which will be either brown or white. 2) New 250 watt metal halide 10k bulb. 3)New 18" chrome batwing reflector. 4) Electrical cables - Wall to ballast 3.5 feet (Standard 3 prong plug) Electrical cable - Ballast to Light 10 feet. The Ballast housing will either be white or brown. The 1 year warranty covers everything but the bulb. Shipping per light is $20. Each additonal light will be only $15 each to ship.
Thanks for the replies, btw, and also, got a ?, if I get this, ofcourse I'm going straight for those corals, but what if I put this on my 55gal., would it still be enough, I would think same light is same light, but still..........

 

[caz]

1 bulb will not be enough. You will need two. As far as the setup goes... I'm not a big fan of refurb electronic anything.