MH shopping please help me choose a good setup

[thing2do]

Im looking into upgrading my reef tank lighting from PC to MH.

My problem is i know nothing about the equiptment of MH.

From reading threads in the forum i see people like the: IceCap 250W MH / HQI Electronic Ballast , LINK:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7739629182&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

Also im looking to buy a housing reflector and bulb and dont know what is best.

Which is better SE or DE bulbs.?

Then the bulb color (K) comes to mind. Since i want a type of bulb that does everything without adding actinics what brand and K is best.?

What is more versatile the DE or SE fixture as far as availability in bulbs...The e-ballast or the Magnetic ballast.?

Please help me in choosing..Cause 64 page threds confuse me.

Thankyou

[ycnibrc]

what are you keeping?lps,sps,mix reef. If you think you will keep sps then 14k or below. lps,soft mix then 20k is fine . The higher the K the more blue the bulb will be. 20k have less light out put which is fine for lps or soft corals.14k or 10k have stronger out put for sps or mix reef.Electronic ballast will run most bulb.SE or DE are up to you. SE is cheaper to buy and more choice of bulb. DE have higher out put but need glass shield for uv protect.
For which bulb I have xm brand they are around mid price. If you have room to fit then go with the luminarc reflector<best of the best>

Anthony

[Jacsubi]

ycnibrc, do you think keeping a 14k bulb is a disadvantage to the 10k? I wanted to get a 12-14k bulb for my next light.

[Jacsubi]

I also plan on getting sps in the future, and wanted the best lighting for them.

[jpitch]

don't get confused with using 14k over a 10k as a disadvantage. look at what name you're planning on using, then go to an informative sight about it's par, such as sanjay's reef lighting. 14k's are perfectly fine to use. however, GENERALLY speaking, 10k's will promote a little more growth. my friend uses 20k 400watt bulbs that are SE and he gets crazy growth. i like DE over SE because the DE's that are overdriven with electronic ballasts produce more par, once again in general, than a similar wattage SE bulb. HTH

[daytriper]

If you are buying new mh go with electronic ballast they run cooler and and can fire just about any bulb.I leard the hard way, I run 3 ARO balast for my mh with 4 t5 bulbs retrofit all are electronic balast and I am happy with my lighting set up.

[thing2do]

Thanks ycnibrc,

Is this the ballast you have? http://cgi.ebay.com/ARO-ELECTRONIC-METAL-HALIDE-BALLAST-250W-NEW-N-R_W0QQitemZ260057389831QQihZ016QQcategoryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260057 389831

The luminarc reflector is to big for my setup its box shaped 20"x9".


Im most likly gonna keep a mix of stuff i got lots os softies, no sps or lps as of now because my lighting is not sufficient.

Heres a link to the reflector pendant im considering. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130043282673&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003

let me know what you think.

[Wrench]

Sorry to hijack your post but I have a couple questions.

What is the general wattage reccomendation when choosing MH? I'm thinking of adding a MH retro kit to my existing PC setup. Should I go with a single 400 or two 250's? Also, are all ballasts created equal? Meaning if I get a kit from eBay or the like, should I shy away from certain brand ballasts?

[thing2do]

Wrench, I dont mean to sound rude, Could you please start your own thread. Cause so far my whole thread has been hijacked. Im serious about my question which has been difficult in getting advice.

[Wrench]

why start another thread asking almost the same questions?

[thing2do]

NO WE ARE NOT ASKING THE SAME QUESTION AT ALL. PLEASE START YOUR OWN THREAD FOR YOURSELF INSTEAD OF HIJACKING EVERYONE ELSES THREADS.

[Wrench]

:rolleyes: