wattage on PCs vs. metal halide?!?!

blindmelon

blindmelon

Member
Alright I did the math on my tank and I figures that if I were to upgrade to metal halide fixtures that I have researched, they would be ending up with less wattages than what I already have. Not much would be lost....only 10 or 15 watts but should I stick with what I have now or upgrade to MH's?
As of now I have 4x96watt PC's....two actinic and two 10,000K
I wouldn't even ask this question if I only wanted to have soft corals....but I REALLY wanna step the game up a little bit and start getting frags and diff pieces of acropora, not to mention clams and other hardies.

If you guys have any reccomendations, suggestions, anything at ALL Id greatly appreciate it:help:
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
Definitely worth upgrading to the metal halides. Watt for watt, the halides are more powerful than PCs.
 
blindmelon

blindmelon

Member
how many wattages would everyone suggest per gallon so that my 46 gallon could support sps, lps corals and clams without skimping by with just enough??? Like....THE optimum amount of lighting ya know???
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
Watts per gallon rule is not a great way to judge lighting. There's many more factors that will affect the light intensity.
I'd recommend 2x150 watt double ended MH bulbs + 1 or 2x65 watt PC actinics.
 
55galgill

55galgill

Member
blindmelon
even tho the wattages are differnt the penetration you get with mh is ridiculous as compared side by side with power compacts
in the same tank.sadly i wait till i can huck my cruddy coralife fixture and get a nice 400watt pfo setup with supplementry pc's:D when that day comes im gonna be the happiest man on the block.and so wont my corals!
 
ohiorn67

ohiorn67

Member
55galgill, tell me about the thing with mh vs. pc's..looking to upgrade also....deciding on outer orbit 2x150 mh or 520 w/ 4x130 pc's.....
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
PFO =
"PFO Lighting, Inc. manufactures and distributes many different types of lighting. From our global presence in the high end aquarium market to the commercial/industrial, horticulture and residential divisions, we are able to provide you with solutions to all your lighting needs. We are fully committed to servicing each and every one of our customers with there individual needs."
"PFO Lighting, Inc. was founded in 1996 and has been rapidly increasing every year. We pride ourselves on teaming up with our customers to provide a seamless ordering process and excellent customer service. PFO Lighting, Inc. employees provide customers with competitive pricing and high quality product enabling our customers to better serve there customers."
I use one of their dual 400 watt standard ballasts...and I've installed a dual 250 MH ballast on a clients system.
 
ohiorn67

ohiorn67

Member
I want to know if 4x98 orbit will be enough.....or would it be better to get the 4x130....more money so want to see what is sufficient.
 
55galgill

55galgill

Member
i would then go with the 4x130 . how much are you willing to spend....if you go to a popular auction site you might get a deal.i almost bought a pfo 2x250watt mh with 2x96 pc supplementsfor 700 bucks.i chickened out tho and i regret it now. 4x130 should be plenty to keep some softies IMO. depending how high you rockwork goes you might be able to get away with putting some sps in there.
 
ohiorn67

ohiorn67

Member
Well I went ahead and did purchase the 4x96....reason??? I have the 4x65 now, all of my things are doing gorgeous but I do realize that I am shy of not reaching bottom as I would like. So then someone offered me lights, the 4x96 for only 355.00 and that was shipped. I think it will be perfect for this tank of mine for now. I want to upgrade to a much larger tank a year from now and then will do the big mh thing when I have that much more experience and then will be able to really be able to add more things then ....now i am going to stick with easy, low light things, and just let them expand and grow in my tank. I think I am going to take off the glass tops to my tank also, heard it makes a big difference.
thanks again for help!!
 
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