What do you guys think of these lights?

seshapir · 03-04-2006, 08:49 PM

We are totally lost on what kind of lights to get....it's soooo confusing. Do these look ok? Would they suffice on a 180g? Would they be ok if we hung them from the ceiling? Does anyone have them??? Have you ever heard of them catching on fire? Has anyone delt with this seller?

I realize I've asked a lot of question, but I really need the TRT expertise!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/72-Metal-Halide-...QQcmdZViewItem

THANK YOU!!!!

seshapir · 03-04-2006, 08:52 PM

BTW if we get this we'll get diff bulbs for the MH...10k

phiberop840 · 03-04-2006, 08:55 PM

I have been looking into lights that I want to put over my new 200 gallon tank. I am not a light guru but these look very nice.

Mike

Doug1 · 03-04-2006, 08:59 PM

Given that MH bulbs have an effective coverage area or 2x2 feet, you may want to upgrade to 4 MH bulbs, BUT HQI usually have a higher output than the same wattage MH bulbs so DEPENDING on your corals this may be sufficient.
For giggles you might contact a few TRT sponsors that deal in lighting and get there opinion, are you set on plug and play even if you have to hang them or are you willing to build a canopy and deal with retro fit kits?

seshapir · 03-04-2006, 09:05 PM

Doug...the reason my husband wants to stay away from retro kits is because of the heat....he wants to avoid having to get a chiller...I'm still not sure if we're going to have a canopy or not...we have a guy building the stand for us and he can do a canopy as well

Doug1 · 03-04-2006, 09:11 PM

Sara, Lights of a particular wattage are going to produce X amount of heat, the design of the housing has to factor in dealing with the heat produced.
The prefab housing I saw use fans to disperese heat, and if they are suspended over the tank with an air space between them and the water surface , heat transfer will be less, but with hanging lights you get a lot of light spill into the room that isnt lighting the tank , a well designed and ventilated canopy will address all these issues, gnd along with good reflectors give the tank maximum light with minimal heat build up, its all about venting off heat and water evaporation for cooling