metel halides question

[baddboyzz]

I need some help with my lighting and at this time i have a 120 h fish only tank with 4 48" (NO, T12) 50/50 Actinic/White, 40W -URI.
I am getting rdy to set up another 120-H tanks this weekend and turn it into a reef tank, I know this lighting will not grow everthing I want to add to my reef tank.
In this hobby you got to take short cuts anytime you can solong as its not a degrade lol. Here is my question, i have looked at many sites on the net for lighting and i have come to find out thats the lighting can be the biggest hit on your wallet besides the LR.
I have a friend of my that is a Electrician and i talked to him tonight and i asked him if he knew anything about Metal Halide Lighting.
He said yes we install them all the time in parking lots,sides of building,and in gyms of schools.
NOW i asked him how much he could get me some for and he told me to come over and get what i wanted that he had all kinds of them with the lights and ballast. he has them starting at 70 watt's 175 watt's 250's 400's 1000's and 1500's watts and he told me to take what i wanted and as many as i wanted.
But what i need to know is what kind of wattage i need and how many i need to supply a 120-H tank,most of the lights he has are the Pendant kind that looks like a dome so i will need to hang them over the tank from the ceiling if this short cut will work for a reef tank.
Sorry for all the bla bla bla but had to let ya know what i was going to do hehehe,any help on this would be very thank full.
Thanks Todd

 

[jjboods]

There's a very good chance that the lights your friend gets will be the wrong temperature or Kelvin. Most commercial MH bulbs are 4300K. You want at least 6500K and with that you'd need to supplement with actinics. A minimum of 10000K if you don't have actinics. Be careful with shortcuts...they end up costing more in the long run.

 

[finland]

What jjboods said, but if you can get the ballasts and mogul sockets, then bye the correct bulbs(if they are compatible with the ballasts), then you could make a hood and save yourself some $$. Most likely the bulbs your friend has will not be good for a reef.

 

[baddboyzz]

so just do like ya said and try to change the bulbs and if that does work your right it will save some $$$$. not to worried about the money part tho but if i can save that always make's me feel better lol.
thanks

 

[slick]

How long is the 120? The general rule is 1 bulb per 2ft of tank. And as far as wattage goes it depends on what you want to keep. Don't go under 175w and don't go over 400w JMO

 

[baddboyzz]

Well i went to get the tank and everything tonight and they was sold out of the 120 and told me it would be tuesday untill they could get another one in.To me that was to long of a wait lol i want to do all the set up over the weekend so i got a 75e gallon and it is 48x18x20.
I went and picked up a couple of these lights to see if i can fine any info out on the light its self and the only numbers on the bulb is mh175/u.So needless to say with me being new to this hobby im at a complete lost

 

[marinemarty]

Hi I have a 75 gallon, I went with dual MH 175 10000K and dual 95 VHO actinics and 2 fans. Cost me a pretty penny but love it so far. Just too much algea right now
Martin

 

[jjboods]

Fo anything under 24" high, 175 will let you keep anything you want. As for going less than that...it is possible...the Aqualine hanging lights have either 150's, 250's or 400's. They are all double ended bulbs and according to a lux meter reading, the 150's put out more light than mogul 175's.