I need help! I am setting up a 90 gallon!

[malawiMD]

I am setting up a 90 gallon reef tank. I want to set it up right in the beginning. (good luck!). I have built a top for my tank and now I am getting ready to put in the lights. I built it thinking I would put in two 250 watt MH bulbs and two normal florescent (actinic). Is this too much light or not enough? I also thought I might install VHO lights instead of the normal florescent.

Let me know what you think. I would really appreciate the help.

[patsfan1130]

I am setting up a 90 gallon reef tank. I want to set it up right in the beginning. (good luck!). I have built a top for my tank and now I am getting ready to put in the lights. I built it thinking I would put in two 250 watt MH bulbs and two normal florescent (actinic). Is this too much light or not enough? I also thought I might install VHO lights instead of the normal florescent.

Let me know what you think. I would really appreciate the help.

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!!

Is this a standard 24'' 90? If so..2 250w MH will be fine. Personally..I would go with VHO actinic as they give a much better look IMO

Mark

[malawiMD]

It is the standard 24" tall tank. I have enough room to run 3 flouresents VHOs. Is this overkill? Also, I am planning on using remote coil ballasts from the electrical supply house. Do you foresee any problems with this?

Thanks for the welcome. I am sure I will like it here!

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!!

Is this a standard 24'' 90? If so..2 250w MH will be fine. Personally..I would go with VHO actinic as they give a much better look IMO

Mark

[patsfan1130]

It is the standard 24" tall tank. I have enough room to run 3 flouresents VHOs. Is this overkill? Also, I am planning on using remote coil ballasts from the electrical supply house. Do you foresee any problems with this?

Thanks for the welcome. I am sure I will like it here!

It is the standard 24" tall tank. I have enough room to run 3 flouresents VHOs. Is this overkill?

What temp MH bulbs are you planning on using? 10k..14k..20k. The amount of actinic supplemetation you use will be a matter of what is most pleasing to the eye really.

I am planning on using remote coil ballasts from the electrical supply house. Do you foresee any problems with this?

Not sure what you mean by electrical supply house. As long as the ballasts are designed to run the bulbs you are running. ie: some bulbs require certain ballasts in order to fire properly

I have stolen this from another site.......

probe start will run american bulbs with ignitors built into the bulbs like coralife and venture bulbs. some german and euro bulbs will run fine on these, but without an ignitor, the bulb struggles to light and bulb life may be decreased. also reliabilty goes down.

pulse start will run the german/euro bulbs (ushio, AB, radium, etc.) these bulbs don't have built in ignitors, so the ballast has the ignitor wired into the circuit. the ignitor provides the high voltages needed to fire the bulb. you can run probe start bulbs on these ballasts, but the two ignitors may try to fight each other and possibly cause a fire.

HQI ballasts are similar to pulse starts in their wiring and ability to run bulbs. the output is a little higher which is meant to run the double-ended bulbs (commonly called HQI bulbs). people run mogul bulbs on these and they run a little hotter and brighter because they are being overdriven. this in turn shortens the life of the bulbs.

EYE ballasts are mercury vapor ballasts. they are similar to a probe start ballast, but the only bulb you can run on these are Iwasaki 6500K bulbs (because these are actually MV bulbs, not MH bulbs like most think). the ballast will damage MH bulbs if you try to run one on it.

Electronic. these will run any bulb at the rated wattage: probe start, pulse start, iwasakis, DE (double ended-HQI). if you think you might change your mind in the future, get an electronic. you can change bulbs to whatever you want and not have to worry about the ballast being the wrong type. electronics run cooler (a magnetic MH ballast will burn your hand if you touch the coil after it's been running for awhile). they also use less energy.

[malawiMD]

I was planning on getting a standard 250 MH ballast with a mogul socket from Graybar (electrical supply wholesaler). I imagine it will only run American bulbs. I was thinking of running between 10 and 14 K. But, I want to be able to grow a wide range of corals.

Thanks

[qwiksilver]

I have a 400W 20k MH on my 54. It is a hamilton bulb with a diy fixture and ballast. I use just a standard M59 ballast. It is remote 8 feet away from my tank, so the capacitor inside is good enough to fire a remote bulb (whereas some wouldn't be able to because of the voltage drop). Personally, I didn't find the 'energy savings' that great to buy an electronic ballast, and how often to you grab the ballast and cradle it (although it makes a great pillow warmer) ;p. I could see if you are going to run a number of Halides the advantage. Also, I was using about 7 compact flourescents before, so just be switching to one Halide I was cutting my power draw in half for lighting.
With regards to actinic supplementation, it is all peronal taste. With my 20k 400 I find I don't even use supplemental actinic accept for 3 hours about midday for tank (to simulate more intensity) and at night right when the halide is switching off for dusk. I only use 4 T5 actinics NO at 21W each. But again, I find the 20K 400 to give off a very natural light. It reminds me of when I lived in Australia and would go diving off a little place in UllaDulla called Lighthouse Point. But, then again, I am going for an impact depth of about 20', so I want it more blue white than say if I was going for 1-5ft of depth. Think about the corals you want and the microhabitat you aim to recreate!

[malawiMD]

Thanks for the insight patsfan and quicksilver. I am off to the supply house. I will let you know how it goes!