Q'S On MH

Christo

Christo

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Hi Guys!

I Reconsiderd my ligthing idea for my tank! Was planning
on running 18 T5's! But decided to add some MH in there
aswell!

What I would like to Know is What MH'S would be best for
My System, Meaning what WATT And HOW MANNY?

Tank Size! 2500L X 900W X 750H

Any Ideas Welcome!

Cheers!
 
Well mine is 2.2m and I am busy with my lighting.. well sort of, I'll get there. I have gone for 3 x 250W single ended bulbs, IMO calvin rating depends on what you are keeping and what looks best to you.. I will probably have 1 x 10K and 2 x 14k. I will supp the lighting with T5's, both atinic and for the white I am going with the Osram sky white. I will basically cram as many T5's in there as I can, there won't be much space because I am using luminarc reflectors. I will have a phillips bulb for night lights, I forget the name of the bulb now but almost like a UV.

Just from my experience this should be good enough to keep anything in , I resisted the 400W MH as I have an electricity bill to think about.

Good luck and post some pics..
 
Christo, a friend of mine ran a triple Mh unit (arcadia series 3) over a similar sized tank, it looked very good, if you want a mix of corals then 150w will be fine, but if you are going for sps dominated then 250w would be better.
Metal halide lighting is considered the best lighting at the moment, T5's and LEDs are close but not quite there yet ( i have been doing extensive research into LED lately, the technology is just about there but needs polishing a bit)
Mh lights have the power to penetrate the water to enable the photosynthetic corals to survive as they would in the natural environment, T5's are close as are LEDs but that does depend on the depth of the tank and what you can actually purchase locally.
If you don't want an sps dominated tank, then you may want to consider a T5 unit, you can buy 10,000k and 14,000k lamps which would be sufficient for the 750mm depth, not only would you not get the heat issues with the Mh but the running costs would be less too.
 
Thanx for the Reply Muz!

Was also thinking of the 250W! Thinking of running
3 of them down the centre and a load of 4foot
T5's back to back along side the Halides!

How far from the water level should the Halides be?
 
Christo said:
Thanx for the Reply Muz!

Was also thinking of the 250W! Thinking of running
3 of them down the centre and a load of 4foot
T5's back to back along side the Halides!

How far from the water level should the Halides be?
Click to expand...

about 300mm from the water surface. Why would you need the T5s along with the Mh lamps?
 
Thanx Mike!

Well the tank won't be dominated by SPS'S but will have a
couple off them! Actualy a Couple of everything! As its
a big system I have loads of space to work with! I don't
want to strugle with Ligthing Isues! I would really like to
Give the Reef all the ligth it needs!
 
Christo said:
Thanx Mike!

Well the tank won't be dominated by SPS'S but will have a
couple off them! Actualy a Couple of everything! As its
a big system I have loads of space to work with! I don't
want to strugle with Ligthing Isues! I would really like to
Give the Reef all the ligth it needs!
Click to expand...

The 3x250w singles with actinic T5's would be plenty - honest, it will look fantastic too.
Make sure you buy the "pure blue" actinic tube - it is tops.
 
Christo said:
Hi Mike!

Any Sugestions on how many Actinic T5's I should Be running
with the halides!
Click to expand...

One 6ft tube front and back, or if you can get them if you buy a triple halide unit, they should have a T5 eiher side of them - check out the Arcadia website. If not then you can buy single units easy enough.
 
Yeah, Mike has some valid points, I am running 150W MH's on my other tank and i don't have heat issues , growth is OK etc, so I agree you can get away with 150W MH, but on that size you will need 5 or 6, where with the 250W luminarcs you can get away with 3. I have just found the tank a bit dull sometimes with 150W which is why I went up to 250W, I suppose you get used to it after a while.

I am going to run T5's because I don't want the MH on at night while I am trying to watch TV or chase the miss around, but I still want to see the fish and corals so it is more for a dawn, sunset kind of feel, I am going to run as many as I can fit in Christo.. it depends a lot on how your tank is made up, do you have center braces, how much space do you have, how is the hood designed, can you get past the lights to work in the tank etc. Will you be using reflectors, if so how wide etc. I have not calculated yet but I am hoping to get in 8 T5's 4 of each. They will probably not be on during the whole light cycle, just beginning and end as supp lighting and for visual pleasure more than anything.
 
Hi Christo - Muz and Mike has given you some good info. As Muz has said - electricity is really something you should think about.

BUT - I too think that the 250 watt's (MH) would be a good idea. I have an AquaMedic lighting unit with 2 x 150 watt AquaMedic 16000K MH globes in - (unit also has 2 x 1.2 metre 54watt T5's). My tank is 2 metre - this is JUST (barely) enough.

I have seen IMarine's ATI T5 unit - he has 8 (I think) 80 watt T5's in there - and his SPS corals are really flourishing.... (BUT he also has ATI globes - different Kelvin ratings)....

I have also seen someone elses pre-manufactured lighting unit, which has 3 x 150 watt Metal Halides in, and 2 x 80 watt T5 actinics - this really looks awesome - this guy's tank is 2 or 2.2 metres (not 100 sure), but very deep (800 or 900mm deep).... his lighting unit is quite high though - about 400/450mm from the water level.

As it IMarine's....

Good luck on your decision mate!
 
hey man i conected those 6x 54w t5's and they are brighter than my two 150w mh, i cant believe this, the power of t5's is insane
 
Personally I would go for 4 x 250w MH down the center with actinic T5's running on either side of them.

Allot depends on what you wanting to keep and how much you have to spend, when deciding also bare in mind the on going expense of electricity ;)
 
Mike said:
then you may want to consider a T5 unit, you can buy 10,000k and 14,000k lamps which would be sufficient for the 750mm depth, not only would you not get the heat issues with the Mh but the running costs would be less too.
Click to expand...

What colour is 14000K ?
 
jacquesb said:
I have seen IMarine's ATI T5 unit - he has 8 (I think) 80 watt T5's in there - and his SPS corals are really flourishing.... (BUT he also has ATI globes - different Kelvin ratings)....
Click to expand...

Any idea where you can ATI globes in JHB ?
 
Hay! Guys!

Thanx For All Your Replies! Really Apreciate It!
So I'm Thinking of Running 3 25OW MH down
the Centre With 2 rows of 4 foot Pure Blue Actinics
back to back on each side of the Halides!

Will this Lighting be enougth?
 
Christo said:
Hay! Guys!

Thanx For All Your Replies! Really Apreciate It!
So I'm Thinking of Running 3 25OW MH down
the Centre With 2 rows of 4 foot Pure Blue Actinics
back to back on each side of the Halides!

Will this Lighting be enougth?
Click to expand...

I would think so, how are the brace bars on your tank arranged?
 
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