Halide Q & A

[Purple Rocks]

My electronic lumateck 600w have been running on SL for years no hissing noise no noise at all still cool to the touch

Would phone supplier asap and ask, good thing we dont use pcb's anymore!

[mintcond]

Originally Posted by moremsgplease

I have heard that the depth of water will cause a bulb to loose its strength. Will a 150 watt 10000ºK HQI double ended metal halide bulb be efficient enough to keep a mixed reef in a tank that is 24" deep?

[mintcond]

If you have temperature issues try using some fans before purchasing a chiller. You will be amazed on how good it works.

[sirreal63]

Originally Posted by mintcond

If you have temperature issues try using some fans before purchasing a chiller. You will be amazed on how good it works.

You replied to a post from 10/2008? Do you think maybe, just maybe the poster has already figured his lighting? I am curious if you ever tried 150's and failed or if your experience is just anecdotal?

[dram537]

Hi, I have a 36x30x24 mixed reef that has been running for some time with leds. Groth is there but it hasn't really been crazy, so I thought I could try halides and see if it made a difference, since they produce a broader spectrum. My initial thoughtwas to use either 2x150w or 1x250w, but after seeing some seetups here I don't know if that would be enough, or if I'm willing to to increase my currrent power that much, since I'm only using 150w of led for the entire tank. So my question is, what would be the best halide set up for my tank? Thanks

[yongpanda]

So... I may just be looking into halides even with all the LED hype out there.

But I have one thing to ask - I know that if I want to use radium 20 bulbs, I'll need a m80 ballast for optimal lifespan but whiter colour. But what the heck is a m80 ballast? Could someone just give me a list of m80 ballasts that I can use with the radiums? Sorry, I read through threads on this topic but couldn't understand half of what was going on haha.

[sirreal63]

The most popular and best designed one is the Aqua Medic Reeflex Cube. Google it and you will find it for sale all over the place.

[Jbrodys]

Hi I have a 75 gal 48x24x18. Currently 2x150 mh I received a 2x400 my in a package deal probably cost 500. But now I'm told this will bleach my sps and the lights are to strong for my tank. I do have a chance to trade for ecoxotic panorama led. What do u think would be best

[boboo]

I have the 220 gallon aquarium (72.5x24.5x29) with the Coralite Metal Halide fixture (w/3 x 175W). The system was set up recently. Do think the fixture is strong enough for purpuple coraline alagae grow on the rocks? For two weeks, I put those Cal & Alk mix on a daily basis.

[deepstar]

Perhaps this is a better place to post this.

I have an 72" aquaspacelight with 3 x 250w 10000K metal halides. There are 6 transformers internally. It appears 2 are connected to each halide.

I believe the six transformers step up the voltage from 110v to 220v. There is also one capacitor or condenser (220v) for each light and 1 ignitor (220v) for each light. (see photos)

What's the best way to retrofit these halides? I'd like to use electronic ballasts which will help reduce the weight of the unit. I'd also like to keep the ballasts in the housing.

Can I do the following...

Convert to 110v?

Eliminate 6 transformers? They are heavy.

Eliminate condensers?

Eliminate magnetic ballasts? They, too, are heavy.

Will I need ignitors with electronic ballasts?

Can anyone recommend an electronic ballast with a small footprint?

Will I need to replace the bulbs to work with the new wattage?

All recommendations are greatly appreciated!!!

MH Ballast


Ignitor



Condenser or capacitor... not sure which. sorry for the crummy photo.

[stevehuynh]

I just set up a new frag tank . Most of it is sps. the tank is 72x24x10. How far the 250w ML has to be from the water ? please !

[sirreal63]

Originally Posted by deepstar

Perhaps this is a better place to post this.

I have an 72" aquaspacelight with 3 x 250w 10000K metal halides. There are 6 transformers internally. It appears 2 are connected to each halide.

I believe the six transformers step up the voltage from 110v to 220v. There is also one capacitor or condenser (220v) for each light and 1 ignitor (220v) for each light. (see photos)

What's the best way to retrofit these halides? I'd like to use electronic ballasts which will help reduce the weight of the unit. I'd also like to keep the ballasts in the housing.

Can I do the following...

Convert to 110v?

Eliminate 6 transformers? They are heavy.

Eliminate condensers?

Eliminate magnetic ballasts? They, too, are heavy.

Will I need ignitors with electronic ballasts?

Can anyone recommend an electronic ballast with a small footprint?

Will I need to replace the bulbs to work with the new wattage?

All recommendations are greatly

You can rip all of that out and re-wire different ballasts, as far as size goes, the ARO electronic ballasts are pretty small but you will have to verify the size to ensure it will fit. Is there a problem with the stock equipment?

[soldier.1102]

I have a phoenix 14000K 150 watt bulb for my 55gal and my coral love it however its not doing to good for my anemone...But like i said zooanthids, mushrooms, kenya tree, and some polyps are looking real good!

[sirreal63]

Originally Posted by soldier.1102

I have a phoenix 14000K 150 watt bulb for my 55gal and my coral love it however its not doing to good for my anemone...But like i said zooanthids, mushrooms, kenya tree, and some polyps are looking real good!

More information would be helpful. I would not assume lights are the problem but water quality can be. The corals listed will do just fine in less than pristine water but the anemone prefers excellent water quality. Pics would also help.

[vtam1020]

OK i have a coralife MH fixture with actinics and led 2, 175 watt double end 14k bulbs over my 90 gal tank 27 inches above the substrate is this good to grow or do i need more powerful bulbs?

[vtam1020]

Do i keep actinics on with the MH bulbs?

[vtam1020]

Any help would be appreaciated...

[jerpa]

The fixture is 150w double ended. You can keep pleny of corals with quality bulbs. With the 24" depth and lackluster reflectors in that fixture you may need to keep higher light creatures in the top half of the tank.

Whether or not you run actinic is up to you. Many do and many don't.

[coralsnaked]

Depends on the MH bulbs and what K they are. One one side of the spectrum say 20000K bulbs w/ lots of blue show very good color on corals, so no need for antinics. But these bulbs grow coral very slowly. Ususally used at LFS who move thru corals rather quickly but want them to show well. On the other side of the spectrum are 6500K bulbs. Very yellow and grow corals like mad, but everything appears brown under them. Used a lot on frag tanks where growth not viewing is the important thing. Yes antinics would be needed to enjoy the view w/ these. Most people pick something in between for display tanks to get a combo of good healthy growth for the long haul and some better viewing and still antinics are used quite frequently. Most people utilize 10000k - 14000K. Look at some of the MH lighting hoods online and their descriptions and they will give you an idea on where the balance falls. But for review, Low K means faster growth and less viewing enjoyment. Higher K means less growth and more viewing enjoyment.

Merry Skerry

[galoot]

I've never been truly happy with my led fixtures, so I picked up two 250w MH lumenmax fixtures with de Pho 14k bulbs and ice cap electric ballasts for next to nothing....

My tank is 48lx24wx20h It's a mixed reef of mostly softies, nems, lps. It has been lit by maxspect g2-110 fixtures three inches or so off the water.

How high should I mount these MH lights? I was thinking 10-12 inches.

[ehaleyjr18]

I have been running t5's on my 46g bow front for about 10 months and haven't had much luck with many corals. Decided to upgrade to a metal halide system but not sure on the wattage. What wattage would be good for my tank. Also would a system with two halide bulbs be better than one high intensity bulb?

Thanks in advance

[moondoggy4]

Almost burned down the house tonight, I was changing the water on my sons 33 gallon tank, and I put my 150 watt infinity light faced down while it was on 5 minutes later or 30 seconds after I left the room I noticed that the light was off and I cold smell wires burning so I pulled the plug found some melted clothes stuck on the glass and the wires are melted two wires for the t-5 where off but the wires melted to the point that the wires are exposed. Lucky that is all that happened but now how to fix the light.
Should I put in three new electrical cords or cut and splice the wires, there is plenty of extra wire. Bummer for now, glad I had a GFI.

[KafudaFish]

I asked this before Christmas but I did not get an answer in my own thread so I figured I would ask here.

Does anyone run/recommend a 70 watt set up?

I have a 5.5 nano and I maybe replacing the LED light on it and my three options are:

a new led par bulb though I need coverage for the entire tank
DIY LED build that would fix the spread issue
a 70 watt MH

Thanks.

[sirreal63]

The only real issue with the 70 watt is bulb selection. AquaMedic does have 70 watt AB bulbs but they are pricey. I would probably go with DIY LED on a 5.5, but the 70 watt does have some appeal.

Bulbs...
http://www.aqua-medic.com/products/metal-halide-bulbs/

[KafudaFish]

Thank you Jack for the suggestion. Now that you mention it, the last time I looked into a 70 it was bulb choice that was the issue.

I suppose with LEDs being the go to light now for a small nano or pico sized tank, the possibilities won't increase.