lights for a 180

[chilwil84]

wat everybody think about putting 3 250watt sunpods along with 4 or 6 six foot t5s on a standard 6' 180. i know the sunpods are not supposed to be mounted in hoods but the hood will be vented and the 250s have a seperate electronic ballast so i dont think heat will be an issue. i am thinking only 250s cause i want them to help keep the color of the coral that little crisper that mh seem to do, and also keep the heat down with the t5s making up for not being 400watts

 

[tacoma38]

i have 3-250 and 4t-5 -54watt.its in my basement and it stays cool.down here and i have about 4 degree temp change thru the day

 

[chilwil84]

thats not bad my 6 bulb retro on my 40 breeder raises my frag tank 3-3.5 degrees throughout the day

 

[chilwil84]

bump anyone else

 

[teresaq]

why not just do three 250 retros and a couple of cooling fans. ?

 

[chilwil84]

the sunpods are double end bulbs making them take up a lot less space allowing me to put in more t5s to make up for not putting in 400 watt bulbs and running a little cooler and adjust my tanks color somewhat. my other choice is using the icecap double end fixtures and then putting some leds in on top of it bringing the cost up a few hundred bucks. i am more than willing to spend the money if my idea is gonna cause some major problems or not gonna work. just dont know if anyone has tried to combine the powers of t5s and mh instead of one ore the other as the dominent light

 

[travis89]

If you're going mh I would just put 3 250w 14k bulbs in and thats it, no need for the t5 IMO. The 250's are plenty of light for a 180.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by Travis89
http:///forum/post/2452037
If you're going mh I would just put 3 250w 14k bulbs in and thats it, no need for the t5 IMO. The 250's are plenty of light for a 180.
+1
I am using (3) 250W 15K XMs in my 180g reef and it's lit up like the sun. It's awesome...

 

[chilwil84]

scsi what ya keepin in the 180. have u tried any of the crazy colored acro under it. i have a few acros that seem to do good under my t5s but they lost that pop that the 400 mh gave them. i am tryin to match that power without needing a chiller or so many fany that i evaporate 20 gallons of water a day (not realy but my point should be understood). i have searched a few threads but havent heard anything bad about the sunpods other than the 10K bulbs suck but the ones i am ordering some with 14K. u hear anything ?

 

[hefner413]

what does a good deal on 3x 250w MH's run? I will be upgrading my lighting on the 180 and not sure what it's going to run me.

 

[chilwil84]

about $300 bucks a piece and up for fixture, bulb and ballast

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by chilwil84
http:///forum/post/2452104
scsi what ya keepin in the 180. have u tried any of the crazy colored acro under it. i have a few acros that seem to do good under my t5s but they lost that pop that the 400 mh gave them. i am tryin to match that power without needing a chiller or so many fany that i evaporate 20 gallons of water a day (not realy but my point should be understood). i have searched a few threads but havent heard anything bad about the sunpods other than the 10K bulbs suck but the ones i am ordering some with 14K. u hear anything ?
I haven't placed any acros under it... yet. I'm probably going to put them near the top when I do put them in.

 

[hefner413]

Originally Posted by chilwil84
http:///forum/post/2452505
about $300 bucks a piece and up for fixture, bulb and ballast
why do SW hallide bulb and ballasts cost so much when they sell hallide bulbs and ballasts at hardware stores for dirt cheap in comparison. I know I've heard that you can't use the hallide bulbs and ballasts, but what's the big difference?

 

[chilwil84]

one grows coral and one grows algae. i dont know if the materials to make halides are more expensive than halogen bulbs but it may just have to do with demand and the costs to tool a factories line to make the different bulbs

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by Hefner413
http:///forum/post/2452745
why do SW hallide bulb and ballasts cost so much when they sell hallide bulbs and ballasts at hardware stores for dirt cheap in comparison. I know I've heard that you can't use the hallide bulbs and ballasts, but what's the big difference?
Simple. Manufacturing tolerances.
Color variation among conventional halide lamps is no big deal, so they are easy to manufacture. Of course aquarium lights are a different story.
As far as ballasts... they really aren't any more expensive - in theory. Aquarium ballasts are just normal metal halide ballasts. If you buy a conventional component ballast of matching ANSI type to your lamp, you can use the exact same stuff. However, if you want them in a pretty enclosure complete with fuse, fans, connectors, then they come with a nice fat markup... why? Probably because people pay it.