Reef Lighting? MH?

fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
Ok when the reef bug finally bites hard enough (or whenever my parents allow) I want to be clear on Metal Halide lighting. My tank could be 30 gallons, 46 gallons, or 55 gallons, depending on my budget or what kind of deals I can talk my lfs into, or find in the classifieds. My filters will be LR, LS, & bakpak protien skimmer. So questions...
#1 What wattage will I need for each of those tanks? (I want to keep corals, anemonies the works eventually, although I will start with fish, LR, LS, and cleaning inverts.)
#2 Will one MH work or do I need to pair it with some actinics or others? Can I keep anything I want under one high wattage MH? (I hope I can)
#3 How do you set up a hood w/ a MH???
Thanx 4 your time,
-Jean
 
fishgirl

fishgirl

Member
PLEAZ?!?!?! I know I've asked this stuff a hundred thousand million billion times, but I'm just not wanting to go at a fast pace with this. I want to have a clear understanding of each aspect of reefkeeping b4 I attempt and get failure and a big waste of money. I hope someone who uses MH lighting will answer my questions like they were 2+2 and 1+1.
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
WEll,you asked for it. I use MH,but I'm sure evryone will say it's not enough. I've got ONE 175 watt in the center of my 125. Also two NO 36in flo's. The flo's are end to end across the front of the hood,the MH to the rear,on center. The flo's are for morning and evening, the MH is on during midday. I am satisfied,I think my tank is too. I would suggest a simmilar setup for any one of your possible tanks. Remember,MH=heat. One should be fine.(i think) Thats my two cents worth. STEVE
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
I've got the ballast for both the MH and the FLO's mounted to the back of the cabnet. The wires to the bulbs have plugs on them so you can remove the hood. The MH and the FLO bulb sockets are mounted to the inside of the hood with stainless steel reflectors. If you buy the RETRO KITS you can do it any way you want. RETRO's come unassembled,with all the wires and endcaps you need.You just figure out where you want them. Hope this helps. STEVE
 
reptilicus

reptilicus

Member
Hi,
I wrote a long reply a couple days ago but the computer ate it, and then I went away on field work for a few days so I couldn't write it out again. Basically, the deal is such:
1) You will need 1 MH for every 2 feet of tank.
2) You do not need any actinic supplement on your lighting if you use the right bulbs ie 12000K, 14000K or 20000K bulbs. However, these bulbs are condsiderably more expensive the higher colour temperature bulbs, and have less PAR, so many aquarists choose to run 6500K or 10000K bulbs w/VHO supplement. The 6500K Iwasaki have the highest PAR and therefore are best for your corals however I prefer the look of higher colour temp bulbs. However, your corals will grow just fine under any colour temp as long as there is intense enough.
3) Wattage depends on what you want to keep. Basically, the higher the wattage the better. I use 400-watt MH's on my 700-litre tank. While these are great and seem to hold the colours of the corals best (especially purple/blue Acropora) they are not neccessary on a tank your size. If you want to keep SPS, clams, etc, 400-watt or 250-watters are a good idea. If you just want LPS. soft corals, and a few SPS clams, 175-watt would be fine although you'd have to keep the real light-lovers up the very top.
4)As far as PC goes, I've never used or seen a tank lit by them so I can't really comment. However, I do know that PC's are not true actinics so your corals will not fluoresce like they will under VHO 03 actinics.
For mounting, I've got an open-top hood with a beam across the middle from which I suspend my MH's.
Bear in mind that you will also need something to cool the tank. A chiller won't be neccessary, but a few cooling fans may be a very good idea.
HTH,
Tom
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Anybody know of a good place to get a good place to get a custom-made hood with built-in lighting sufficent for FO, LR and LS? I have a 72gal "bowed" front aquarium, so its not the standard rectanglar shape. I want florescent not MH.
I wish I could find someone who'd make this up for me. And don't say, "make it yourself"....I'm not a DoItYourself-er...LOL
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
Hey Beth, try making a few calls to local CABINET shops. Or check the yellow pages for WOOD WORKING. These guys would build one cheap. There used to building much more complex projects than a hood. Bet you could get a deal. They will probably wire it up too. STEVE
 
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