Halide Question

[scubaprashant]

In a house kept at 73-75, would it be likely that I'd need to run a chiller on either of the above setups?

3 x 250 HQI MH

3 x 150 HQI MH + 2 80 Watt T5

My tank is a 6' 180g with a 30g sump & mag 18 return. Skimmer is RO NWB-150.

Thanks in advance!

[scubaprashant]

Not sure if this helps, but I currently run a 5' Tek 8x80 Watt T5 fixture (640 watts) and have no issues with tank temperature going too high.

[sirreal63]

Will you have a canopy or are these fixtures?

[scubaprashant]

I have a canopy but no lid and egg crate covering the tank. These are the Aqua Medic fixtures that I'm referring to.

[sirreal63]

The lack of a top is a good thing as that is where heat accumulates. If the rest of the tank is not adding much heat then it is unlikely you would ever need a chiller. Is the Tek in the canopy? If so and you are not having any problems with heat then I don't think you would with MH.

The AquaMedic's are a decent fixture, the ballast is superb and the reflectors adequate. I would go with the 3x250 but the the 3x150 will also work, it just makes bulb selection more limiting.

[scubaprashant]

The Tek fixture currently rests on a triple stack of 2x4s inside of the canopy. I guess that puts it about 5" above the tank. And yes, it is enclosed by the canopy. The back of the canopy is totally open and no lid of course.

If I went with the 3 x 250, I'd likely go with 20k radiums and call it a day since that particular model doesn't have t5 supplements. If I went with the 3 x 150 + 2 x 80 T5s, I'd go with 10k or 14k for the halides and super actinics for the t5s. Since I prefer a less blue light during the day and would get better growth on the 10k or 14k.

Thoughts?

[sirreal63]

250 watt Radiums are SE only, no DE's and that fixture is DE but the Phoenix 14K is also a great choice for DE. If I went with 150's I would go with Ushio 10K's, I think they are beautiful and with the T5 supplementing them it is a great combination. I ran 10K 150's for years so I may be biased but you can get great par and color from them. The Radium and Phoenix are also great 150 watt bulbs. I switched back and forth between Radium's and 10K's until just recently.

[scubaprashant]

What would be a close 2nd to the 20k Radium in 250 watt HQI DE?

[sirreal63]

Phoenix 14K, isn't as good at color rendition as the Radium, but pretty close. The Phoenix DE starts out a nuclear blue but mellows out in a month or two as it burns in, at least that has been my observation. I like the Phoenix, ran it for several years.

[AcroporAddict]

Another way of dealing with the heat your lights may produce is to mount a small fan to blow over your sump. Hook it to the controller and have it come on at whatever temperature you feel would be too high. I do this with my 465 gallon reef's sump, and while I do have a chiller hooked up, it has not had to come on since I placed the fan in service. I have it come on at 80 degrees, and go off at 79.5.

[scubaprashant]

Am I better off going with 3 individual reflectors w/ SE so I can run the 20k radiums? I liked the idea of a fixture, but it's not a deal breaker I suppose. Also, I've read that people typically throw out the radium bulbs @ 6 months. Is that pretty much the norm? Are there any DE or SE HQI bulbs that have a longer life?

[sirreal63]

The only time you change out Radiums is the 400 waters being overdriven. The 250 will go well beyond a year, some report changing them at 2 years. Yes pendants are a better way to light the tank.

[scubaprashant]

Thanks for correcting that bad info I came across. I will do some hunting for individual reflectors. Any recommendations on lower profile ones? Also, which ballast is going to give me that nice fluorescence of the fluorescent capable corals?

I really want that "pop" that I got when I was running LEDs. Even my wife misses how our corals would "glow" under those LEDs :) This is also why I'm going for the Radium 20ks. The tank shots that I've seen for people using that bulb have such nice fluorescence.