aguess Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hi all, my tank's horribly underlight right now. 4x24w T5s in a ginormous 2ftx2ft fixture, and a 2x39w nova extreme for actinics. I have a corner tank, so it's a bit of a sin NOT to have MH running on it, as a single spot lighting would look great I mainly have lps and softies, and was thinking that a single 400w or a dual 250w would do the trick. I'm not too up on the Metal Halide movement, so any advice would be soaked up like a sponge. Or if anyone has any rigs that they are interested in selling, I'm looking. We have a baby girl coming in May, so I have about 4 months left to finish upgrading my tank before I have to leave it alone for a while. Included is a crappy iphone picture of it, water's a little cloudy because I had just rearranged some rockwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 hey deez, how tall is your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadams7 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 i have a dual 250w pfo ballast and a single 175w pfo ballast that I need to sell. PM me if interested and i can send you some prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aguess Posted January 21, 2010 Author Share Posted January 21, 2010 24 inches tall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 id go with a 400w to be perfectly honest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Andrew, Here is a link to Sanjay Josi's review and testing of ballast and lamps. Go to the tab that says "Lamps and Ballasts". Enter 400 watts (or other #'s). Don't enter anything else and press search. http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting I would likely go for a 400 watt with a wide spreading reflector. This would allow for some shaded areas for your softies and give you intense light for SPS.Like this: http://www.lumenarclighting.com/p1.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 What type of T5 fixture is it? I would go with a 250DE setup. 400 would be a little overkill for the type of corals that you keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puntific Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Sanjay's site is pretty interesting. Any idea how the new Lumatek ballasts stack up to these listed? puntific Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 What type of T5 fixture is it? I would go with a 250DE setup. 400 would be a little overkill for the type of corals that you keep. I concur! I believe light is overdone a lot. If you are going to stay with softies and lps I would only use a 250. You could even put a lot of sps in the tank with a 250 as long as they were closer to the top, good flow, cal, etc. I used to think a lot of light was the way until I read an article in coral magazine a while back. Between the article and many tanks I have seen recently my outlook has changed completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aguess Posted January 26, 2010 Author Share Posted January 26, 2010 Well, i finally got the ok from the wife last night to go ahead and purchase a rig... now the hunt is on. By a 250 DE, are you referring to a dual-ended single bulb, or a dual-bulb fixture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Double ended bulb. I prefer the single ended / mogul base because you don't need UV glass for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sittingduck Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 250 Watt Hallide Pendent with two CFs I saw your posting about looking for a halide light. I have a 250w pendent with two cf lights. It is the single ended type of halide (mogul base). It comes with the glass shield. I'm willing to sell it for $120. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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