I need your help

[charlie]

Ok folks, as the newbie Moderator on the block, I'd like to know who has what, as far as lighting goes. That will help me figure out how to help you, and other people as I get more familiar with things here. If you could add a short description of your tank and what's in it, that would help me too.

TIA,
Charlie

[Reefland]

I'll start out, I think this also great topic for hobbyist to help understand others thoughts and reasoning behind their lighting.

Tank Size - 75 gallon
Tank is all SPS and Clams
Lighting - 2-250w Metal halides:

• Sunlight Supply Reef Optix III Pendents
• 1 Icecap 250w Ballast
• 1 SLS Bluewave Ballast
• 2 250w Double-Ended AB 20k's

Originally went with ushio 10k's but since we weren't using any supplemental lighting, we went with the 20k's for a better aesthetic value.

At this point, I think the 20k's are great for coloration but not growth. An optimal lighting configuration would be 4-250w halides, 2-10k's and 2-20k's sat 1 in front of the other. ;)

[scubadude]

My current situation is no tanks setup right now

My 75g is in final stages

75g has 2 - 10k 175w XM bulbs and 2 - 110 w VHO 03 bulbs

Ballast for VHO is IC660
Ballast for the 2 MH m57 ballast (transformer+capacitor)

Im thinking of putting 2 more VHO bulbs in my tank if I can squeeze them in there. Also thinking of making my canopy more air vented.

[charlie]

My current situation is no tanks setup right now

My 75g is in final stages

75g has 2 - 10k 175w XM bulbs and 2 - 110 w VHO 03 bulbs

Ballast for VHO is IC660
Ballast for the 2 MH m57 ballast (transformer+capacitor)

Im thinking of putting 2 more VHO bulbs in my tank if I can squeeze them in there. Also thinking of making my canopy more air vented.

Rocky,
Whew, that's gonna be a tough squeeze, but the venting idea would sure help out with heat issues!

[Papa Doug]

Being the OFR I am, I have run most bulb combo,s one can dream up. My best coral growth was still from 250w Iwasaki bulbs. My last tank, a 6ft. 225, used three 400w Radiums, driven by Bluewave pulse start ballasts. I never did have good luck with them but my friend is on his 180.

When I set up my current 5ft. by 27w by 24d , 170, I wanted to try something different. Running a pair of Bluewave pendants, with 175w 10K Ushio bulbs, driven by Icecaps. I also run a pair of 40w normal actinics.

The colour and amount of light look fine to me. More light than my pulse start 400w Radiums. Of course thats to my eyes.

Corals are doing fine but seeing slower growth from certain sps corals, even fast growers like digita.

[charlie]

How long have you had the 10K on there. Did you have better growth with the 20K lites. I have heard that if you drive the radiums with a HQI ballast, things work out better.

[charlie]

I'd better throw mine into the mix here as well.

300 gallon sps and clams
6 400W 20k radiums
1 pfo hqi ballast
2 pfo pulse start ballasts
6 vho actinics w/ pfo ballasts

80 gallon softie tank
2 250w ushio 10k
1 pfo pulse start ballast
2 4' vho actinics

[Papa Doug]

How long have you had the 10K on there.

About 8 months now

Did you have better growth with the 20K lites.

No, the growth was slow also

I have heard that if you drive the radiums with a HQI ballast, things work out better.

Yes, I have several friends that overdrive their Radiums. They get a much whiter colour and better growth but shorter bulb life


My friend only runs two of them on his 180, with a center 400w Iwasaki. I tried that also but never liked the colour. Of course my tank was 30in. deep also.

I think mine would be fine, with a slight assist from some vho bulbs. Perhaps a pair of 50/50,s and a pair of actinics. I would say I have enough for most soft corals the way it is though. To be fair, I also had other issues when running the Radiums, like a flatworm plague and other dandy things.

[Samper]

20 gallon sps dominant

1 Aqua Medic Oceanlight hung to about 10" above the surface
20k XDE lamp
Remote magnetic ballast


Refugium - CPR
Lit by a 28w 50/50 Coralife fixture.

[scubadude]

Being the OFR I am, I have run most bulb combo,s one can dream up. My best coral growth was still from 250w Iwasaki bulbs.

Ya know Doug I have run a few different setups b4 but havent used the saki bulbs yet....However I would in a heartbeat cuz of freinds I have seen that have used them and their par output. But I will say some of the best lights that I have ever had growth with besides natural sunlight would be my DE 250w HQI bulbs. Radiums are ok...but the coloration just looks fake IMO...Im more of a clean crisp white person, with just a touch of blue....just a touch

[charlie]

Rocky, what is the life of your DE 250w Hqi bulbs. The 2 radiums that I have on an hqi ballast need to be changed about every 9 months.

[scubadude]

Rocky, what is the life of your DE 250w Hqi bulbs. The 2 radiums that I have on an hqi ballast need to be changed about every 9 months.

Charlie
I had my 220 for a little over a year, and then sold it....Lock stock and barrel...Man I really hated to do that. I think I ran my HQI's for about 8 months then changed them to SE 250w ushios and added some radiums. So the before on my tank was 3 - 250w HQI then the after was 3 - 250w Ushio and 2 - 400w radiums. So naturally I had an upgrade but to tell you the truth I missed the HQI's. Dont get me wrong I love radiums....but If I had it all to do over again and money, personal taste, and electrical consumption all came into play I would probably have stuck with the HQI's I will also comment that I did a DIY hood for the tank and used aluminum flashing. I seem to have lost those pics So when I did the upgrade I really didnt have the option to keep the HQI's cuz the reflector I made.

[scubadude]

Did I answer your question? I did some test w/ a lux Meter and If memory serves me correct there was very little drop in my HQI's lux reading from when I got them brand new to right before I sold them so 8 mos is all I had with them but the decrease in par/kelvin was very minimal...I was using electronic argo ballast on them i believe, and wasnt really trying to overdrive them. I think they have a longer life than the SE bulbs right Charlie?

[charlie]

Did I answer your question? I did some test w/ a lux Meter and If memory serves me correct there was very little drop in my HQI's lux reading from when I got them brand new to right before I sold them so 8 mos is all I had with them but the decrease in par/kelvin was very minimal...I was using electronic argo ballast on them i believe, and wasnt really trying to overdrive them. I think they have a longer life than the SE bulbs right Charlie?

What Question

I am not real familiar with the argo ballast, But I have heard that DE bulbs have a longer life. I have no facts to back that up with tho
Don't worry about the radiums Rocky. Some people like em, some don't. After a while of lookin at them, I couldn't tell the difference, but if you go outside my house at nite, there is a definite blue glow!!

[dougc]

210 gallon tank (72 l x 24 w x 29 h).

Metal Halide:
3 Reef Optix III pendants
IceCap 250 w ballasts
Ushio DE 10K bulbs.

VHO:
4 URI Super Actinic bulbs.
2 IceCap 660 ballasts

Moonlights:
2 5 LED arrays (4 blue, 1 white)
Dimmable (X10 lamp module on AquaController II)
Built by Dave Playfair

Refugium:
2 55 watt power compacts (5500k)
AH Supply ballast and reflectors.

The 250 watt DE 10Ks provide plenty of punch. My rockwork is minimal, so most corals are at least 18" below the surface. I have no problem maintaining coloration of light-hungry SPS.

When bulb-replacement time comes, I may switch to EVC 10k DE bulbs. They put out more PAR, according to Sanjay's recent tests, and are a bit less yellow than the Ushios. Besides, they are a good bit cheaper.

[charlie]

dougc, how faer are your lites off the surface and what kind of coverage do you get with DE bulbs?
Have you seen the new 20K DE bulbs that are supposed to cover a 3' area?

[tatuvaaj]

Here are some PAR measurements I made from my tank (2 x 250W HQI + 2 x 30W) many months ago:



Note how the front glass reflects light to the bottom and increases the intensity.

[charlie]

Here are some PAR measurements I made from my tank (2 x 250W HQI + 2 x 30W) many months ago:



Note how the front glass reflects light to the bottom and increases the intensity.

That is some interesting info!! Thanx
Just for grins, could you explain the numbers!!

[dougc]

My pendants are 8 1/2" from the water surface. The fixtures are 2 feet apart and the coverage overlaps. They are parallel with the length of the tank. I don't really have any dead spots. The Reef Optix III reflectors do a very good job of evenly focusing the light. A good reflector can make a significant difference in PAR.

[charlie]

dougc, you wouldn't happen to have a pic of those would you?