[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Rig

The metal halide would melt through the acryllic splash cover though im guessing? And would i need to use a different reflector?

Yes and yes. Metal halides (especially double-ended lamps) require tempered glass shields -- the glass acts as a UV-absorbing filter.

[Rig]

I dont even have water in the tank


I do however have 163$ on this lighting thing.. oh well.

[Rig]

My dilemma continues to be how to get a pendant over the tank without putting holes in the ceiling. i've thought about mounting some sort of brace to the back of the tank, but get awfully nervous about having the thing drop into the water. I want to leave the tank open, because a chillre is out of the question, and it can get hot around here.

[Rig]

http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro...aqualight.html


I need something like that, less the actinics and thats not 15" wide. I saw this one aqua spacelight i think it was called with a wall mount thing, but the tanks infront of a sliding glass door so that wont work either.

[Reefland]

What about doing a little DIY canopy like I did?


It was fairly simple to do. The canopy sits on the ends of the tank with the pendents hidden inside of it, yet still provides an "open top" tank.

[Rig]

Hmm I like that.. .. Although admittedly, I'm not too handy. Is that just 5 peices of wood? Are there any special considerations with type of wood, paint, etc. What did you use? So you just mounted 2 pendants inside? I like the color yours puts out, but 20k would be innapropriate for an anenome, correct? Sorry for all the questions, but this intimidates me to some extent.

[Reefland]

Yup, it's just 5 cut pieces of 1x pine painted with several coats and black enamel; it was very simple. All we use are the 2 halides but we could fit 2 VHO if we wanted.

The 20k would not be inappropriate for the Anemone; admittedly they look a bit less intense but would work out nicely. In your case since you have some actinic to offset a 10k bulb, I would go with the 10k.

[Rig]

What does 1x pine mean? I have some actinics, but they are in my complete orbit hood system, that I'm probably not qualified to dismantle, and I'd probably like to keep that as it is so I could sell it. Thanks.

[Rig]

Oh, and is the enclosure of the pendants in there too, or did you just take out the reflector, socket, and balast?

[Reefland]

Well I used a couple of different sizes of pine. I used 1x6 for the face and back and 1x12 for the sides and top. I mounted the entire pendent inside the enclosure; there were 2 eye bolts screwed into the top of the pendent to use if I wanted to hang them. I found screws with teh same threads as the eye bolts and bolted the entire pendent through the top of the hood. This way, I didn't have to find a way to get the glass UV shield in between the DE bulbs and the water.

[Rig]

Hmm this is a little frusterating.. Looks like premium aquatics is selling a new product.. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch..._Code=Finnex-hWhat do you think about that?

[zhenya]

Todd,

I truly believe that 20K bulbs that Reefland has over his tank would work just fine for the anemone.

Now, I am not sure about that fixture that you posted last but it looks darn good for the money and is virtually plug and play set up. If money is no subject I would go for it, providing that you don't like to mess with building a canopy yourself.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Todd,

I truly believe that 20K bulbs that Reefland has over his tank would work just fine for the anemone.

And those are... TA DA: 250w DE lamps.

I believe we were talking originally in this thread about the various 150w DE lamp choices. There is a tremendous difference between 250w 20,000K HQI DE lamps and the 150w 20,000K HQI DE lamps. And when it comes to the various 150w HQI DE lamps, the 10,000K's are more than double the PAR of the 20,000K's. In fact, in both the 150w and 250w sizes, the 20,000K lamps are mainly used for their beautiful blue color, unlike the much more powerful 400w 20,000K mogul base lamps.

I still think that if he wants to go with a 150w HQI DE lamp, the 10,000K would be better than the 20,000K as an all around choice.




P.S. -- The link you provided to Premium Aquatics seems very interesting: http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch..._Code=Finnex-h

I'm not familiar with that brand but that looks like an excellent combination: One 150w 10,000K HQI DE lamp with two T5 actinics!

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by Ninong

I still think that if he wants to go with a 150w HQI DE lamp, the 10,000K would be better than the 20,000K as an all around choice.

You won't hear an argument from me,George. I agree 100% that it would be better choice in terms of PAR, especially if you can supplement it with the actinics. I was just merely stating that anemones wouldn't care of the color as long as enough intensity is provided,abviously 10K bulbs have more of it.

[Samper]

Now dangit.........I was convinced I made the best choice with my 250w DE 20k.
GRRRRR

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Samper

Now dangit.........I was convinced I made the best choice with my 250w DE 20k.
GRRRRR

There is really no such thing as the "best" choice. Not only do you have to take into consideration what might be "best" for your animals, you also have to take into consideration a ton of other factors, not the least of which is your own subjective opinion of what looks "nice." Life is a whole series of compromises and this is just a little one.

I would like to add some 20,000K to my two 10,000K halides to give it a little more blue but I can't because the tank is in my bedroom and it feels like a sauna already.

[tcobos]

I went from 4 x 96 watt pc's to (2 x 150 MH & 2 VHO atinic 10,000k) my rose is doing great-so is everything in the tank-plus the benefit of better looking light really makes the tank look great...

[Rig]

ok heres the problem, I have 7.25" inches, tops, of width to work with, bc its a bow front, and theres stuff hanging on the back. The only thing I could fit in a diy hood this wide is one of these i think, http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...gory_Code=PFOp

would I be wasting my time upgrading to mh if i used the 20k? I'd be missing out on the dawn/dusk with the actinics and moonlight leds.

it also doesnt look theres a fan in there, would I be needing to install one of those? Doesnt seem like it'd do much good though inside a hood housing another hood.

thanks.

[Poseidon]

That looks like it would be an ideal choice. No I don't think you would be wasting the value of MH if you choose 20K. A 10K will appear brighter, and have more PAR, but either bulb would be head and shoulders above PC.

Here is an excellent link to specific bulb comparisons... (Thanks Zhenya)

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/select2lamp.php

[Ninong]

As you can see from the link that Poseidon just posted, the BLV 150w 10,000K HQI DE lamp has 2.4 times as much PAR as the BLV 20,000K HQI DE lamp -- both being run on the same PFO HQI ballast (M81). A quick glance at the spectral distribution chart will tell you that the 10,000K has much better coverage of a wide range of wavelengths utilized by the various pigments while the 20,000K is virtually monochromatic. Don't get me wrong, I love 150w 20,000K HQI DE lamps, but only to add extra blue to 10,000K lamps. They don't cut it as a stand alone option. You may as well run a tank with nothing but actinic fluorescents.

In answer to the question about whether the PFO mini fixture has a cooling fan: No.