MH Lights & Heat

[jarrod]

I've seen many people on here who have metal halide lights. My question is do you have problems with your tank getting too hot, and are you running chillers?
We need to upgrade our lights(currently have 55 gal with two 65 watt smartlite)and have heard mh are the best, but the tank will get hot, so the next best thing is vho's. Then we hear with vho's you can't keep many corals.
Please somebody set me straight!

 

[azonic]

MH is by far the best....most sps and clam species require MH...some people say ALL sps and clam species require MH.
I went from 80 watts of normal flourescents to 800 watts of MH and I saw a 1.5 - 2 degree rise in temperature....this is without having my fans installed in the canopy. They will be installed next week hopefully...the water doesn't go above 81 degrees.
I dont use a chiller and I never will, cost of buying is too much and cost of running it per month is way too much.

 

[finland]

IMO mh's are the best also. If you supply plenty of ventilation with cooling fans, you shouldn't have a problem, unless you live in a warm climate. I don't run a chiller, and on the warm summer days, I fired up the window A/C and had fans blowing on the tank. With air blowing across the water, the tank doesn't get too warm.

 

[jjboods]

I have a fixture called the AquaStarLight Future with 2 150w MH's and a regular bulb behind a blue film for nighttime "moonlight". It is awesome!!! Hangs from the ceiling and is very "streamlined". Not big and bulky. I like not having a hood and being able to look down into the tank. Not many places sell them...email me and I can refer you to where I bought mine. jldamico@yahoo.com

 

[salth2o]

Hi! here is my two cents:
First, I have both. I have MH on my 150 and VHO on my 55. I have 2 4" fans built into my canopy blowing across the 3 250 watt MH. My tank hovers around the 78-82 mark. The icecap VHO's WITHOUT fans hover around 82-84 on my 55 gallon tank. Tempature can be controlled without chillers here in WI.
Second, I have found that all the corals I like to keep survive great under VHO. These even thrive and grow very well. I haven't found anything doesn't like VHO at this point.
Third, MH displays all of your animals in their most brilliant colors. It even gives off an under water schimmer. MH is great, but the bulbs are incredibly expensive, last about 9-12 months before I change them *and* I haven't found a decent place to buy them with feeling totally *scerwd*. If you do buy them make sure to go with electronic balasts.
Good Luck!

 

[jarrod]

Thanks for the info!