Originally Posted by
rot_stupid
http:///forum/post/2556831
Yes I meant CurrentUSA, but I'm just an idiot. I was looking at another item as well. It has the original bulbs, I guess they are 14K, there are 2 250w. The lights give off a blue color, but the extreame blue came out due to my flash and a reflective blue background (which I liked when we first got the tank, but not so sure now). I currently don't have anything in the tank as far as corals, I haven't gotten that far yet, but I want to be able to have a clam and would like to have anything I choose to get in the future.
Some of you said you have your ballasts in a cabinet beside the tank, doesn't it get too hot for them, or did you add fans (which again add to electricity and noise).
Can anyone tell me the difference between the 14K and the 10K bulbs, as far as how they effect everytiing or is it just preference?
The ballasts I have are magnetic and are a bit bigger than the electronic ballasts you'll likely have. The heat, though, is typically from the bulbs themselves. In my canopy, the heat gets trapped in, so I have fans along the top and back that all come on (per a timer) for a half hour on the hour for 4 hours in the middle of the MH lighting cycle. This gets the heat out pretty well, the fan timing is over just before I get home from work, and it doesn't use a lot of electricity to do it this way. The fans are pretty loud, though, so I do have a bit of noise to deal with on the weekends. From the pics you have here I would guess that heat might not be a big issue because it's a fixture that sits above the tank and you don't have a canopy, you'll just have to keep an eye on the temp (make sure you have a thermometer of some sort in the tank, somewhat close to the top).
As for the bulbs, the 10k aren't as blue as the 14k, and if you have actinic PC or T-5 supplemental lighting in the fixture, you should probably stick with the 10k. These are better for coral growth. The 14k are better for the look of the lighting but has slower growth. You'd want these more if you don't have that supplemental actinic lighting.
I got a coralife sunpod 60" with 3 250w HQI's. My wife is concerned about how much electricity it will use if we run it constantly, and we are both concerned about the noise of the ballasts so all the time. We heard the MH's only need to be on for about 5 hours a day. Is this true and if so, does it matter if it is for a few hours in the morning and a few hours at night? And what are some ways you guys store your ballasts, I currently have them sitting on a shelf above the tank.
