Metal Halide Q&A

That recommendation has long been trumped and swept under the rug. Lighting is not measured by watts per gallon anymore but by PAR.

For reference I have 2.7 watts over my sps dominant 93g cube... well below the "recommendation" however I get plenty of light in my tank.

A good rule of thumb to go with is 150w for tanks under 18", 250w for tanks under 30" and 400w for tanks above 30"

 

I visited my LFS today and had him test some water paramaters for me and I was talked in to changing out my halides in my new Odyssea fixture. He only sells Reeflux. Do you have the spectum for the 14K and would their be other bulbs that would be better?

 

I agree with your LFS 100% on changing out the odyssea bulbs! they are horrible...
Reeflux is not really the best bulb out there. it produces some very nice colors because it has some interesting spikes in the UV range, but as for supplying corals with what they need to grow, it really really doesnt do too well!
Heres the plot for the reeflux, as you can see its not that high in many spectrums at all... and its a pretty blue bulb:


If your swapping out your odyssea bulbs, i would say to go with phoenix 14k hexarcs and while your at it, swap out that really underpowered ballast for an icecap. you will be very happy that you did

 

I just wanted to point out that the Phoenix 14k has a very similar spectral output as the Reeflux 12k, depending on the ballast you use. in Sanjay's lighting comparison site, there's a chart with different ballasts you can see.

Manhattan Reefs - Sanjay's Lighting Guide

Click "lamp and ballast" then look for the Phoenix 14k or Reeflux 12k.

 

i specifically brought this exact fact up to Sanjay last April... his response was along the lines of this: reeflux is crap. the bulbs dont last for crap and they burn out after a few months. I would highly recommend against them.

i trust his 20+ years of experience, especially in halides

Guitarman, if you plot the data on a smaller x axis, there are a lot of variances in the small peaks between the bulbs

 

Ok, I knew the scale was different, but couldn't tell what the scale of the pic you posted was.

Did you email Sanjay? Speak with him at an event? I'm just curious.

 

I speak with him many times a month... usually when i visit his house, in the fish room on campus, at our club's meetings, or through cell phone. The above occasion was when we were talking in his office one day last April.

 

THat's a great resource, I forgot he teaches at PS.

 

were can i get the cheepest one i need ether a 75 or a 150. what ever you can get cheeper... just to add on the the lighting i allready have... also it has to clamp on

 

im confused? you want to add onto your existing lighting with a 75w or else a 150w halide... is this right?

also, what is your purpose for this addition? <-- so we can help more