Metal Halide Q&A

I'm looking for Metal Halide for my 16 gallon which is going to be upgraded to a 40 Gallon cube. So I need a 24" light that will temporarily light this 16 gallon tank until my new one is built. I'm looking for a Current Fixture or and Aquatraders fixture. Aquatraders is sold out and it seems like everyone has stopped selling Current MH fixtures. What's goin on. BTW I know the benefits of better fixtures, but my friend has spare ballasts and other parts and I'm replacing the stock bulbs, so I'm not needing a pricey fixture. My friend has been using his Aquatrader hood for 3 years with mods and his coral is to die for. Anyways I'm on a budget. I'm gonna hang the fixture and have Air conditioning so I'm not worried bout the heat. Have a chiller too. I'm looking at 150W or 250 Watt halide. My new tank's dimensions are 24"L x 24"w x 16"H. Any suggestions?

 

With the DE bulbs, more UV is put out so you should shield them with a thin piece of glass. The SE bulbs have thick enough glass on them that the shielding is not required.

If you choose to not use them on the DE bulbs then that is your choice, however you will be exposing your corals to UV which will make them grow faster and with more interesting colors... but you run the possibility of creating problems for your fish (blindness, infertility, and possibly cancer)

 

Hmm... I assume you are looking into the 24" 250W halide from aquatraders? it will fit nicely on the tank but you are probably not going to get the best light coverage for your width this way.

Since you said your friend has spare ballasts, I would just use one of them, get a lumenarc reflector like this: Lumenarc III Large Mogul Base Reflector* - AquaCave and a nice bulb. You will have full coverage and the simplicity of an easy hanging fixture (for the same price as the aquatraders)

with a depth of 16" you can go with 150W or 250W, both will work fine

 

Is that all I would need? Would a 20K give me enough pop, or would I need Leds or cf actinics?

 

a 20k would give you a lot of pop... but bulb choice makes a great difference!!!
If you want super blue and lots of color go with radium 20k, SPS 20k, or phoenix 20k
if you want a nice mix of blue and white go with hamilton or phoenix 14k
a nice icy crisp white with a slight hint of blue go with ushio 14k or SPS 10k
if you want white or yellow go with a hamilton 10k or a ushio 10k... or for yellow iwasaki 6500k

 

What do you think about XM bulbs?

 

Get a 20 or 24" current sun pod or5 as Blue line there are plewnty of options in wattages and length's

 

they are good bulbs, they put out a lot of good light so i cant say anything bad about them... but personally, I feel they make the tank look dull and bland compared to some other bulbs. Its just a personal preference of mine so take it what you feel its worth

 

radium 20k, SPS 20k, or phoenix 20k

So out of these three which will give me the best pop and color without any other supplement lighting.

 

Tangster I'm having a hard time finding any Current light fixtures for some reason!

What is this? "or5 as Blue line"