Lighting ?

[speedsport]

I have 440w of VHO's on for 12hr a day and 350w of halides for 4hr a day. I'm wondering how I can save on my electric bill. I'm wondering if I would be better off with just the halides. Or just getting a dual 250 set up. I did notice the corals grow better with just the halides. As when I first got the halides I ran just them and then later put in the VHO's. The only problem is I dont like the color with the 175w 10k bulbs. That is also why I have the poll going "Halide bulbs" to see what K would be better with the 175w and the 250. Also this will be over a 90g. With sps on the top and lps on the bottum of the tank.
Any help would be great as I have been beating my head in trying to figure this out.

Thanks

[REEFSTOCK]

two t-5s for actinics is 110w.
I light my whole tanks with 2 bulbs, at MOST, for the main photoperiod (even the 32"x48"X16" tanks).

Lots like the 400w 20k mh route too...

[speedsport]

I wont go with the 400w mh as I want to use as little electricity as posible.

[oyam123]

Id try the Iwasaki 14K ---175w.
If you like the look then you are set.
then sell off the VHO's

[David Grigor]

What ballast are you running the VHOs on ? An icecap your actually only drawing 285W of electricity so I doubt your even talking $5 a month on your electric bill. Even less if you upgrade your MH to a higher wattage.

If not using an icecap for the vhos ( still a good idea anyway ) is to get a kill-a-watt meter and figure out exactly what your drawing today then see realistically what the electrical savings will be. If you ditched the VHOs altogether and got 250W MH, your probably not going to see any electrical savings or definately not enough to make a difference.

T5 actinics is a very good possibility on a watt meter a 54w actually draws 60w on my setup. So you would be trading 285W for 120W. Not a huge savings and looking at probably $2 a month difference.


So definately should run the numbers first, as you may likely find not a significant enough savings to mess with.

175W 14K Iwasaki is getting pretty good reviews ( I'd love to see in person ) but the consensus is that most still prefer some actinics to go along with it as it is not as blue as other 14ks looks ( They say the Iwasaki is closer to 14k than the others which are really higher ).

Also, if this is more of a community tank 175W may be just fine, but if your really talking about getting serious into SPS/Acropora, your probably not going to get as good or result as you would from a higher wattage bulb and should consider upgrading ( 175W 14 Iwasaki may be the exception ) . I used 175W for many years and thought they were pretty good until I stepped up to higher wattage, some of the acropora/sps corals you would have never recognized under the new lighting.

Your right it's never easy but should really look at it with whats best for the corals vs. electrical savings because honestly, it's not going to be significant enough to really make a difference.

[speedsport]

David thanks. That is why I was thinking about running just the dual 250 mh. I think I will like the look of the corals better in the long run. Also remember the tank is 24" tall. As far as the VHO ballast it is a ARO.

Thanks

[Clownnut]

do what i do.
11KK T5HO
actinic
250X2
actinic
11KK T5HO
actinic 8AM-10PM
11KK 9AM - 1PM
250 1PM-5PM
11K 5PM- 9PM

VHO 12 hours 440W/hour
175W 4 hours 350/hour
6680W/day
u have 14 hours light
T5HO 10 hours at 200W/hour
250W 4 hours at 700W/hour
4800W/day

[Scott 3560]

this is a cool site to check out
http://chrismorris.ca/250wcolour/

[David Grigor]

ARO I have never owned so I can't say for sure if your actually using 440w or less like the Icecap. Kill-a-watt meter is a good tool, and can be used for more than just your lighting to get a more accurate cost of running your whole system, you may find other equipment that contributes to your electrical cost more than your lightin. As far as savings, The main kicker on the ARO is bulb replacement costs. Getting rid of that ballast, your probably not going to see a significant drop in electricity if also updrade to 250w but you will see a savings in bulb replacement costs that's for sure. The ARO ballast looks like a good deal from an initial cost standpoint put what people don't realize is the Icecap pays for itself in bulb replacement costs because the bulb last twice as long.