Metal Halide Q&A

If you guys don't want to spend the $$ on lumenbright, lumenmax, and other pricier pendants, you can get the ones I got from an ebay store. They are made in China, just like the coralvue and others, but you get them direct from China.

My reflectors were like 64 dollars each (plus shipping)for brand new nice ones. I don't have PAR values yet, but I can say that I know they are comparable to lumenbrights, and much better than the reef optix2's, or similar spider reflectors.

 

whos got the best deals on metal halide lighting on the net? im going to put two 150w metal halide on the 75gal mixed reef (21" tank depth will mount lights 6" above) and will probably need two 54W T5HO actnic for supplement to get the desired color

 

the best place I have ever come across is Light Bulbs, Aquarium Lamps, CFL Light Bulbs, Black Lights, Dental Light Bulbs, - Home for halides... I dont know of the best for t5 however. :-/ I hear tbaquatics (our sponsor) is pretty decent

 

Really!? ive never seen them... do you have a link so i can go check them out!!!

 

What's the definition of;
SE-?
HQI-?
EDIT: I got the SE-Single Ended right?

 

Yepp se is single ended...
Hqi stands for Hydrargyrum quartz iodide which means it has a lot of quartz in it and that is what burns when it creates the arc between the two electrodes. They are usually double ended (de) but their are a few se bulbs made with hqi

 

can you provide anymore detail on this before i pull the trigger on paying $150/ea for my lumenmax elites.....

ive been searching for pendants on the ebay store and yielding nothing that is comparable to the lumenmax setup.

 

What about using a 14k and then supplementing with a power compact actinic. would this give me growth of the 14k and color of the 20k for corals or would the color really just be for aesthetics of the tank overall. and I have seen different actinic pc I think I recall one with a blue side and the other purplish colored. would this cover different spectrums to make different colors pop more?

for reference I have a 92g corner with a cheapo ebay plusrite 20k 250w mh and the actinics I currently have are 2 20w t8's and a 65w 50/50 pc.

I will be getting a 14k in the near future as I want more growth but also want color.
So You tell me.

 

FWIW. Dingo likes the 14k Ushios that I went with. I have a Glo 2x54w T-5 Retro supplementing the 14k Halides. I have a Fiji Purple in one, and a Blue in the other. The answer is Yes. The supplement actinics make the colors pop. Even with 14k, when you turn off the actinics, they look alot more yellow. Hope this helps. I am sure Dingo will comment. BTW the growth is really good so-far on my softies, and the few hard corals I have.

 

did you notice different color popping with the purple rather then all blue? what is the reason for this?