[Reefer769]

im really thinking about getting this light fixture.

ive been looking around, and ive feen something similar to this one at my LFS on all of there coral tanks.

its only 150$ +S&H on ebay, and the other fixture i want is 299$ way more then this... so i dont know, do you think this is a good deal?

[Leddy]

i'd say yeah its a good deal. make sure it comes with a ballast and bulb, you may need to buy a new bulb if it comes with a used one. i'm not too familiar with MH, but i think after a while the bulb starts loosing its color and they need to be replaced.

leddy

[Reefer769]

that pendant is a 175w with OEM bulb, either a 10k or 20k, would this be sufficient for SPS corals?

[Poseidon]

The biggest difference between that fixture and the other one you are looking at is the bulb style. The Bell uses a Mogul based bulb, the PFO has a 150 watt Double Ended bulb. There has been research done and it turns out the 150DE bulb puts out more usable light then the 175W Mogul based bulb. Also the reflector that the other fixture has is MUCH better then this one, the reflector makes about 30% MORE light get to the tank then what the White paint inside the bell does. Also the white bell pendant will allow a LOT of light to travel away from your tank, lighting up the room, not the tank. By contrast the reflector on the PFO fixture focuses the light DOWN where the tank is, meaning less light in the room, more light in the tank.

Here are some hypothical figures for you,

150W DE bulb puts out at least 10% more PAR then the 175w mogul= 165DE vs 175M Reflector 30% more efficient= 215DE vs 175W So form those to figures you see the DE bulb puts in substantially more light then the bell, now the best part, because WATTS are a unit of energy the 150 WATT de bulb uses 15% LESS electricity, meaning your parents will pay less per month on the ELECTRIC BILL!!! ( And that does not even take into account WHICH ballast you use, if the PFO is an E-ballast, and the pendant a MAgnetic ballast, you will save EVEN MORE on the monthly bill, maybe an extra 10-15%)

So when put it all together the PFO doesn't look so expensive does it? Remember you ALMOST ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!

[Reefer769]

alright fine... i guess im gunna go with the 150w HQI PFO fixture for 300!!... looks like i need a part time job