Lighting boxes

crispin

crispin

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Hi,
perhaps you could clear a small qquestion I have. I am looking to set up a reef and lighting is naturally important. If i get a pendant rated for 150W MH can i put in 250W MH at a later stage if i want to.

Or does the pendant you have restrict your lighting from the begining?
 
crispin said:
Hi,
perhaps you could clear a small qquestion I have. I am looking to set up a reef and lighting is naturally important. If i get a pendant rated for 150W MH can i put in 250W MH at a later stage if i want to.

Or does the pendant you have restrict your lighting from the begining?
Click to expand...

Not so much the housing but he ballast will restrict later changes
 
Just look at the size difference between the two lamps.150 w can not be upgraded.It is the 250w which can be upgraded to 400w if you move the lampholder back and change the running gear.
 
crispin said:
darn, istnt anything simple here:p Kanga i am not sure what u mean about the balast can u explain?
Click to expand...

A metal halide, like a fluorescent has a ballast to start the lamp, pretty pricey part of the whole story, and as zookeeper says its also another size.

Best would be to get what you will need straight away, even get one 250MH and another later.

What size is your tank and what do you intend keeping?
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_halide said:
Ballasts

Metal halide lamps require electrical ballasts to regulate the arc current flow and deliver the proper voltage to the arc. Probe start metal halide bulbs contain a special 'starting' electrode within the lamp to initiate the arc when the lamp is first lit (which generates a slight flicker when the lamp is first turned on). Pulse start metal halide lamps do not require a starting electrode, and instead use a special starting circuit referred to as an ignitor to generate a high-voltage pulse to the operating electrodes. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) lamp-ballast system standards establish parameters for all metal halide components (with the exception of some newer products).
A few electronic ballasts are now available for metal halide lamps. The benefit of these ballasts is more precise management of the lamp's wattage, which provides more consistent color and longer lamp life. In some cases, electronic ballasts are reported to increase efficiency (i.e. reduce electrical usage). However with few exceptions, high-frequency operation does not increase lamp efficiency as in the case of high-output (HO) or very high-output (VHO) fluorescent bulbs. High frequency electronic operation does however allow for specially designed dimming metal halide ballast systems.
Click to expand...

hope this helps
 
ok well then for the tank i am looking at and the community i would like (eventually) to gte, ie some fish and soft corals i need decent lighting. I hear that I can aquascape to a degree up in the water levels with some of the corals, but i really need to have enough light for a 650 depth, less whatever a DSB takes. The pendant I was looking at is a good make ( i am told) and has good wattage, but a little pricey, so i thought of going lower on wattage and upgrading later, but the advice of getteing what u want to start makes sence as you explained above. I am just in danger of blowing all my cash on harware without ever putting and live stock in at the mo:(
 
for soft corals @650mm deep 150w will be fine IMO

Even for LPS and SPS at higher levels in the tank

What lighting unit are you looking at
 
Gieseman Infinity 2x250W, 4x54W T5 light pendant for R8000 from likes fish....i saw the unit today and its beaut but might blow my budget

or the 1.8 Meter x 0.3 Meter x 0.1 Meter
3 x 150 Watt MH
2 x 54 Watt T5
4 x LED Moonlights
All aluminium construction
Comes with all new BLV UV Block 20000K Bulbs and Pure actinic T5 Bulbs
at R2900 or so, cant quite remeber.

The first option sounds the best to me, but i was thinking i might get away with a cheaper pendant??

any suggestions
 
crispin said:
Gieseman Infinity 2x250W, 4x54W T5 light pendant for R8000 from likes fish....i saw the unit today and its beaut but might blow my budget

or the 1.8 Meter x 0.3 Meter x 0.1 Meter
3 x 150 Watt MH
2 x 54 Watt T5
4 x LED Moonlights
All aluminium construction
Comes with all new BLV UV Block 20000K Bulbs and Pure actinic T5 Bulbs
at R2900 or so, cant quite remeber.

The first option sounds the best to me, but i was thinking i might get away with a cheaper pendant??

any suggestions
Click to expand...

I would suggest the 2nd option, plenty light to grow coral
 
Agreed the second option will give you plenty of options
 
thanks guys that helps me lots:) i was thinking that if i really wanted at a later stage i could get an individual 400w or seperate pair of them and suspend them over specific areas to highlight and create conditions for light loving things? and does the height that the lights are suspended above the tank have a large effect on depth penertration ( i hear that MH are better for depth than T5's), so should I try to mount the box into the lid (space permitting) or cut the shape out and susppend it above the tank outside the lid?

Do lights heat the water much if they are inside the lid? Is that a problem?
 
You will not be able to mount MH's inside that canopy - too close to the top glass. There is a rule of thumb that a MH should not be closer than 30cm to the surface of the water...
 
likesfish, thanks:) once again you know what I am looking for perfectly. its just a really nice tank and stand i would rather not take a saw to it, some poor fella made the tank really well, it even has hearts on it:)
 
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