MH questions...

Hey guys, can someone tell me the difference b/w HQI and HID bulbs? I've got a 125 gallon 6 ft long aquarium that I need to get the lighting arranged on (retrofit). Do you think 3 150 watt HQI's would be sufficient? I plan on having mostly FOWLR with some xenias and hammer corals. Do you think flourescents would be absolutely necessary? Thanks for any input, always appreciated.

 

As for the cost of getting 3 150 watt HQIs I would not even consider that for a 125 gallon aquarium. I would go with a minimum of 175 watt or a 250watt. I use the 250 watt in my 125. I believe if you look around you can get lights with any of these wattage combinations for pretty similar money.

For what corals you say you want right now that lighting would work but why not get one that will work for any coral that you might want in the future. Most people run compact flourescents with metal halides or T5s usually in the actinic spectrum 420nm or 460nm or mixed.

 

Since your doing a retrofit I would stay away from HQI unless you plan on installing uv glass. HQIs give off uv light that can burn your eyes and your corals so I would stay away unless your gonna add the glass. With that big of a thank if you can afford it I would go with 250w or you could look into some nice t5 lighting. If you do go MH I would def. still look into getting some vhos or t5s for your actinic spectrum. If you like t5 you might wanna talk to Tangster he sells them from what I have looked at on this forum.