what do you guys think of this lighting for a 60x18x24 acrylic reef, strictly acro's.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

please let me know if this is a perfect halide/pc hood for my 100 gallon sps tank, halides are dual 250w. dual 96w. pc's also. thanx for your time.http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/chaoticreefer4u/953.jpg

[PITSTOP]

also depends on how much $$$ and who makes it...

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Hamilton Technology makes it, the price is like $660, something dollar's, is it a good lighting setup for my 100g. or no?

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

anybody? please help...

[shelburn61]

PC's are a waste of money IMO for most situations. They are inefficient in terms of light directed into the tank/watt compared to other flourescents, and bulb life sucks b/c they get really hot, especially w/ the halides in there. I would swap the PC's out for T5's. Parabolic reflectors rather than flat would be a lot better for the MH also. If you need a compact fixture though its ok. It's all about what fits your needs.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=491363

[PITSTOP]

Budget has a huge influence on the lights you purchase.

A great suggestion, if I may be so bold, is to buy the metal halides now...maybe 2 mini pendants with HQI's (250 watt double ended bulbs), and then buy your supplemental lighting at a later date when you have more $$$. Buy the highest quality you can afford from the get-go - some of the all-in-one lighting systems have really crapola ballasts....

you can also buy metal halide bulbs that don not really need the supplemental lighting such as T5's, PC's or VHO's....especially since bulbs last about a year, using metal halides alone will save replacement bulb cost....some use 14/14.5/15 K MH's alone without supplemental lighting.

I use 2x250 HQI (10,000K AB's) plus 2x110 VHO Super Actinics...I also had a pretty sizable budget for the initial purchase as well as replacement bulbs (approx $250 for just the bulbs every year!)

You can also get away fine using 150 metal halides or 175 watt halides - less electricity cost.

Again, I would buy high quality MH's first and then you can always add supplemental lighting at a later date....this all depends on how comfortable you are at retrofitting existing canopies, etc.

See, there is no 1 simple straight forward answer; you can look in my gallery to check out the color of my lighting system...

[mokujin22]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6685782#post6685782 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PITSTOP
Budget has a huge influence on the lights you purchase.

A great suggestion, if I may be so bold, is to buy the metal halides now...maybe 2 mini pendants with HQI's (250 watt double ended bulbs), and then buy your supplemental lighting at a later date when you have more $$$. Buy the highest quality you can afford from the get-go - some of the all-in-one lighting systems have really crapola ballasts....

you can also buy metal halide bulbs that don not really need the supplemental lighting such as T5's, PC's or VHO's....especially since bulbs last about a year, using metal halides alone will save replacement bulb cost....some use 14/14.5/15 K MH's alone without supplemental lighting.

I use 2x250 HQI (10,000K AB's) plus 2x110 VHO Super Actinics...I also had a pretty sizable budget for the initial purchase as well as replacement bulbs (approx $250 for just the bulbs every year!)

You can also get away fine using 150 metal halides or 175 watt halides - less electricity cost.

Again, I would buy high quality MH's first and then you can always add supplemental lighting at a later date....this all depends on how comfortable you are at retrofitting existing canopies, etc.

See, there is no 1 simple straight forward answer; you can look in my gallery to check out the color of my lighting system...

yeah, what he said. :D

another thing to consider is if you will eventually want a hood. (MH pendants = lots of light spillage). if so, you may want to get this buil now and save by purchasing MH retro kits to be mounted inside the hood. i personally, am in the process of taking apart my Aquamedic 250W MH pendant so that it will fit in my hood with VHOs. probably could have planned ahead and saved some money. oh well.

also, i would go with 250 W fixtures instead of 150 or 175. IMO, it's worth the extra cash now. on a tank that large, you will probably be disappointed with the smaller bulbs.

tony

[clkwrk]

get 2 250de ROIII pendants and 2 54w T5 atinics, or 2 se 250's with spider reflectors and 2 54w t5 atinics.

IMO for the price range of the above hamilton unit you would make out better with these 2 suggestions.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

thanx everybody who replied, money is no option, i just want to get a metal halide hood to sit on my 100g. snugly. its 60,inches length wise. is there any that i can purchase all in one? with legs perhaps...please post link to website or info where to aquire, thanx.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6686571#post6686571 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clkwrk
get 2 250de ROIII pendants and 2 54w T5 atinics, or 2 se 250's with spider reflectors and 2 54w t5 atinics.

IMO for the price range of the above hamilton unit you would make out better with these 2 suggestions. please post a link to where this can be purchased and what this looks like, thank's in advance.

[clkwrk]

Sorry you are looking for a complete hood . both of my options require a canopy.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

thank you clkwrk...