Need your opinions...MH Lighting

[ballvice]

OK...I am looking at doing a retro of 2 MH's over a 150-180 Gal Tank. Figure 24" deep.

I don't have any experience with this large of a setup OR Metal Halides. I want to be able to keep ANYTHING my heart desires. I will have 2 36" 55W PCs and 2 96W Power Quad PCs installed already in the canopy. I want to add 1-2 Metal Halides...To concerns...best quality-Best price.

What do you recommend? (total solution)

Where is the best place to get it?

All feedback welcomed..BTW..I know VERY little about the different types/styles/wattages of MHs. The TLA's (Three/Two Letter Acronyms) DE HQI, etc mean nothing to me...Just keep that in mind if you start trying to educate me (GRIN).

THANK YOU!

Frank

[tdwyatt]

Without delving into "why," I'd recommend Icecap ballasts at 250 watts running XM 250 watt 10kK bulbs with mogul bases and 4 VHO fluorescent 6' bulbs running on two of the Icecaps 660 ballasts so you can light the tank at times with less intensity. Best of both worlds, and the Icecaps will run ANY of the MH bulbs on the market.

For your tutorial, do a Google search for articles written by Sanjay Yoshi, Dana Riddle, and Richard Harker with aquarium lighting, metal halides, biotope lighting, etc.

Personally, buying this kind of lighting is a bit wasteful, as you'll be establishing a compromise tank from the beginning. By deciding what you think is the most important specimen you want in the tank, then building both the biotope and the specimens to cohabitate the system, you will maximize your chances for a successful outcome for all the creatures you acquire for your tank. In this manner, the conditions that match the primary acquisition will match those of the other inhabitants for your system as well, going from lighting to current intensity to substrate and feeding requirements. This is not to say that you can't build a system that is a bit of this and a bit of that, but you will have to make compromises in conditions for some if not all of the specimens in your system, and you may end up with specimens that respond in a mediocre manner to your closed system's conditions.

Just my opinion, there will be many others.

[rwdandald]

The tanks you mention are somewhat different. Although there are many configurations out there most 150's are a deep 120 , 30" deep. 180's are in one of two standard configuratons generally - either an 8' tank - just a long 120 really or 24' wide 24' deep 6 ft. - in any case - it will be difficult to light a 6 foot tank with 2 mh lamps and impossible to light an 8' tank with 2 lamps.

My lighting on a 30" deep 6 ft 150 gal is 3 400 watt metal halide lamps supplemented by 4 54 watt T5's. The metal halides I use XM 10,000k lamps. , for the T5's I use 2 tubes of 10,000k daylight and 2 tubes of true actinic. I have high enough light intensity to keep any high light crearure imaginable , maxima clams and anemones thrive, SPS show excellent growth, etc. But it was too much light for an alveopora, most mushrooms, and leathers survive but don't thrive. Most LPS I have tried in there I ended up moving to a smaller tank with standard PC lighting.
My point is - I do not believe there is a light combination that you could have to have anything your heart desires - you can have lights for high light needs creatures or lower needs creatures , but probably not for both.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by rwdandald

The tanks you mention are somewhat different. Although there are many configurations out there most 150's are a deep 120 , 30" deep. 180's are in one of two standard configuratons generally - either an 8' tank - just a long 120 really or 24' wide 24' deep 6 ft. - in any case - it will be difficult to light a 6 foot tank with 2 mh lamps and impossible to light an 8' tank with 2 lamps.

My lighting on a 30" deep 6 ft 150 gal is 3 400 watt metal halide lamps supplemented by 4 54 watt T5's. The metal halides I use XM 10,000k lamps. , for the T5's I use 2 tubes of 10,000k daylight and 2 tubes of true actinic. I have high enough light intensity to keep any high light crearure imaginable , maxima clams and anemones thrive, SPS show excellent growth, etc. But it was too much light for an alveopora, most mushrooms, and leathers survive but don't thrive. Most LPS I have tried in there I ended up moving to a smaller tank with standard PC lighting.
My point is - I do not believe there is a light combination that you could have to have anything your heart desires - you can have lights for high light needs creatures or lower needs creatures , but probably not for both.

The other option is to center the 2 MH and have the PC provide lighting for the ends where the lower light animals can be happy. I would go with Icecap VHO ballast because the selection of bulbs is better for a longer tank, PC is limited to 3' so you wind up using more and the bulbs cost more, but hey, you dance with the date you brung , eh

[ballvice]

YEah...that was kinda my thoughts too....I have 2 96W Power Quads and 2x 55 PCs...

I figured it would allow me to keep things happy across the "chasim" of the tank. I am just VERY VERY VERY Confused on what to do from a MH setup...SO MANY choices....HQI regular socket setups...etc...

I have actually considered PUNTING on the current tank (150) and ordering something new from scratch (84x24x18deep) with a quasi lagoon style top and not doing any type of canopy. This would mean I would use pendant lighting above the tank and this changes the WHOLE question I previously posed.

I am SOOOOOO confused on what to do!

Frank

[Doug1]

FWIW , in my opinion pendant lighting without a canopy are less efficient due to light scatter, and spillover

[ballvice]

yeah..but the look down capability you have on the tank is priceless....I am SO on the fence on what to do...if I do the open top..Im going to do a Mirror setup over the back of the tank (tilted)....I will send you a pic of where I got the design if the LFS will let me.

Frank