Metal Halide Q&A

i believe he meant out as blue line... there is a blue line product

and out of those three most will be the same pop wise... the radium is the big guy for 20k but I would say that SPS is a little nicer

 

I have been researching lights for my new build, the tank is a 220 oceanic 72'' by 24'' by 30'' high. I am thinking about 3 lumen brite mini's,3 selectable wattage 250-400w lumatek ballast and sps 14k moguls. I am thinking that the lb minis will give me more height and hopefully help with any heat issues as i am not planning on a chiller.
Any input or opinions on this combination?

 

You are very good at researching!!! lol
Everything you are planning is very good. My assumption is you are using the minis because it is in a hood and the no chiller part is worrying you?
I would probably run the ballasts at 400w because of the depth...
Also, the SPS 14k is still a good bulb, however it puts out less PAR than the 20k and substantially less than the 10k

 

Thanks for the reply, that is interesting that the 20k puts out more than the 14k.
I think I may go with the 20k at 400w then as I am not planning on any other supplimental lighting other than an led moonlight.

 

One more questtion I am planning on running the ballast 220v, what should I use as a relay to run off off my 110v controller outlets?

 

so you want one of your 110V controller outlets to handle the on/off of your 220V ballast.

off of the top of my head - you'd have to either find something pre-made or design a circuit for this and build it. not hard to do if you're electronically inclined in that way.

you'd need you're 110V source, your 220V source, a few relays, and a couple other minor things. you'd have to build it so when 110V source came on it'd trip the relay on the 220V source to power the ballast.

in theory sounds fine, doing it and making it right without blowing up your ballast or frying out your controllers 110V outlet is another thing.

i dont see why one would want to do that anyways. whats the 220V versus 110V source change on the light output of the ballast? im not even sure. but setting it up with a relay to trigger would mean you'd have both 220v and 110v going at the same time meaning you're drawing more overall power just to have your controller be able to control a 220V source.

 

I was just wondering if it was worthwhile to run 220v ballast through a controller,and if there were relays readily available for that.I see where your coming from with running a 110v relay and 220 but are you sure it would negate the decreased amperage from running the 220 in the first place?
Just a thought if it's not feasible i will just go with a 220 timer setup.

 

Hello all,
First off, I have an Aquactinics dual 175w fixture, it has the hammertone full length reflector, 2 bluewave M137 ballasts, and 2 T5's in the fixture. I am currently running XM 20k's and the fixture is sitting on the water. My tank dimensions are 36x15x24. My SPS sit approx. 16inches directly below the fixture. I can't find any info on the level of intensity this fixture produces and I want to make sure I am getting enough light in the tank. I am debating upgrading to 2 Lumatek 250W ballasts and EVC 20K bulbs. Anyone have any experience with this fixture or have good input on the light intensity I am currently getting out of my setup?

Thanks

 

I would say that with the current set up you are getting an acceptable amount of light. The 250w will have much more penetration and light output than the 175's. Do you have a specific reason for EVC bulbs?

 

Dingo, I am going to replace my 8x54 t-5s with 2 400w halides on 2 reef optix2 reflectors and 2 lumatek 250/400w ballasts. It is a 150g tank 72x18x24. Will 2 do the trick? I can add a third later. Also which bulbs do you like? I will be supplementing with t-5 actinics. I was thinking Ushio or Hamiltom 14k...They have great reviews.