metal halides or actinics?

[oneradtek]

So my lighting system has 2 actinic strips and 2 compact metal halides. Im running into a heat issue and im wondering if this could work. Could i use the 2 actinics all day( 10 hours) and only for a few hours a day ( aprox 3 hours) turn on my metal halides?

 

[itom37]

Sure, but if you've got MH i'm guessing you're keeping corals that need the light. If you keep the lights off, they will suffer.

 

[dajoker22]

get a fan if you turn your halides off you corals wont grow

 

[oneradtek]

ok cool well i will be getting them soon but i need to fix my air flow probelm first, there isnt much and my tank temp sores with those metal halides on

 

[itom37]

Yeah, that's why I didn't get halides (and the cost...). I can't afford a chiller.

 

[oneradtek]

yea im still testin them out hoping the temp wont get too high

 

[oneradtek]

my heavy duty timer for my metal halides also keeps clicking off after a ferw hours.....someone know whats up with that?

 

[nietzsche]

get a fan. you can turn the actinics off when the MH is on, but i dont think itll make a difference. im sure a fan would help to cool it down by a couple degrees

 

[oneradtek]

ok yea i have a fan inside the ballast, and its stayin around 80 today so far so good, what kind of fan u talkin about? like one that i can buy at target or seomthing?

 

[nietzsche]

Originally Posted by oneradtek
ok yea i have a fan inside the ballast, and its stayin around 80 today so far so good, what kind of fan u talkin about? like one that i can buy at target or seomthing?
if you have a sump you can put a clipon fan on the sump to help cool down your tank, or maybe even on on the DT could help out, but youll have a lot of evaporation

 

[mbnum2]

I have a $4 little fan right on the back of my tank that blows directly to the top of the water. Keeps it cool, but IT DOES cause a lot of evaporation.

 

[oneradtek]

does anyone also have a probnelm with the transformer(ballast??) getting warm? my power box is reallly hott by the end of the day im afraid its a hazard

 

[michael1972]

where is your "transformer(ballast??" at are they in your hood ?
the power suply "power box" on my pfo gets so hot it will burn your hand that is why it is by it self on some fireretadant thing.
keep the dust off of it and maybe put a fan by the ballast
if it is in your hood and you can move them i would move them.

 

[nigerbang]

I have a 2x250,4x96 unit and the ballast gets waaaay hot..Hot enough that I had to open the stand up during the day so that the temp doesnt rise to 85..Here is what I did....1 fan inside the canopy. Even though the whole units heat is blowing out of the canopy..Long story, 1 fan blowing into the sump and 1 more blowing at the ballast..Has really made a difference, keeps teh water temp around 78 now..Where is was staying around 83

 

[oneradtek]

so im trying a new idea, maybe this will help......2 actinics on at 11am-11pm and the 2 mh on from 3-9:30 and ill see if the temp doesnt fluctuate too much

 

[oneradtek]

so my heat issue is solved becasue i have removed a back part of my canopy and retro'd a fan for thirty bucks and wow is there airflow and so much so that my temp now drops haha, but only by 3 degrees last night so i think ill just use my fan in conjucture with when my halides on blazing