PDA

View Full Version : reducing wattage of lights.


achillesheel
09/27/2007, 08:57 PM
i'm currently running a pair of 400w se halides on mag ballasts on my 24"t tank and am getting killed by pg&e.

was wondering if i could switch to 250w radiums on electronic ballasts with out shocking my corals or losing color. any other bulb ideas would be great also.

i running both lights on lumenarc minis

any thoughts would be great

shad

achillesheel
09/27/2007, 11:17 PM
after a little reading, how bout this.

if i go with a pfo hqi ballast and go with xm 10k 250w, i can almost double my par if im reading sanjay's chart correctly. and save almost 300w a day.

im i understanding this correctly?

wentreefgirl
09/28/2007, 04:52 AM
To me, and im no expert, you dont need the 400w. You can do the 250 with good reflectors and still have nice growth and color.

Wazzel
09/28/2007, 07:21 AM
I run 250w XM 10k on a 26" deep tank and can grow things near the bottom. I'm sure I'm not as blue as your tank, but it is still nice. If you are having power consumption issues also check your pumps. They run 24/7 and may be a better place to look at up grading/replacing.

achillesheel
09/28/2007, 12:02 PM
already looking into that. but thats easy. im just not always sure how par and intensity translate for my corals

kipher
09/28/2007, 01:14 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10859663#post10859663 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by achillesheel
after a little reading, how bout this.

if i go with a pfo hqi ballast and go with xm 10k 250w, i can almost double my par if im reading sanjay's chart correctly. and save almost 300w a day.

im i understanding this correctly?

It seems like you are reading things correctly. This is close to the same as my set up. Except I have IceCap ballasts. The PAR out of XM 10K is very good. It looks pretty white however, so I supplement with VHO Actinics. (But color preferences are all personal opinion)