Nate Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I have a 40B that has a e-bay T5 set up on it. I need something better and have around $500 to spend. So far I've found these 2 does anyone have any input on either or know of something better? http://www.marineandreef.com/Marineland_Marine_Series_Pro_Metal_Halide_36_p/rml32981.htm http://www.petsolutions.com/storefront/product-view.ep?pID=AquaticLifeHIDT5Light&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=comparison&utm_term=10901055&utm_campaign=AquaticLifeHIDT5Light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefSafari Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 If I had those two to choose from, I like the Aquaticlife casue it has two 150w lights, BUT it only has one T5 on each side, where the marineland single has 2 T5's on each side. The main issue I see is the single Metal Halide might not be very bright on the edges of the tank, if you suspended it above a ways, it might be better. The refectors are pretty small, like on my sunpod, so having two is better in my opinion. The cool thing about the aquaticlife one is that the metal halides can be rotated, I have never seen one being used, but the reflectors are even smaller, so unless its suspended it might cast a "spotlight" effect. I would go with the Marineland, it says it has a 14k bulb with it, and not a 10k, that with the 2 T5's would be a good setup I think, if you suspended it a bit off the tank, I think it would look really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Not sure how much more the Maristar 36" setup is but if it's not much more I would recommend that instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 The 36" aquaticlife only has 1 150w bulb the picture shown is the 48" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefSafari Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 The 36" aquaticlife only has 1 150w bulb the picture shown is the 48" Oh...then for sure, if I had to pick those two, I would go with the Marineland, Company has been around a long time, it has two T5's instead of just one, and the reflector is bigger and better on it, PLUS, I don't know this for a fact, but it seems easier to find the 150w DE bulbs pretty much anywhere, those other special "G12" bulbs, seem harder to find here, that is another thing to consider, the availablity of the bulbs and what K rating bulbs are available. They might be big in Europe, but not so much here, at least at the moment. I have never seen one in use, so I would be sketched about it being like a spot light effect, where the marineland has a larger reflector and would spread the light out better I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Does your tank have a center support brace? My 46B had one so going with a single MH was out of the question :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefSafari Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Does your tank have a center support brace? My 46B had one so going with a single MH was out of the question :( If its a standard 40b from like Aqueon, then no it wouldn't have a brace, its all open..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 No brace its all open Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 The maristar fixture is about the same price but then I would have to add a ballast and bulbs so it would be around $900 total which just isn't going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Too bad. I love it. The maristar fixture is about the same price but then I would have to add a ballast and bulbs so it would be around $900 total which just isn't going to happen. Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 None of the two lol Ati Sunpower 36 6 bulbs. Around $500 Lumen Max 2 + ballast + bulb (250W). Around $300-$330 depending on bulb/ballast combo. The Max 2 do cover a 40b really well. I have one setup and I like it a lot. You can get crazy par values, like 550 on the bottom. If you go with a good 20k on the halide, you don't need actinics. With both the combinations suggested you can keep everything you want, even in the bottom of the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwenReefin Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I have a single 250 hqi mh bulb in the center of my 40b and it does a pretty [language filter] good job of lighting the entire setup. Also the more MH's you add, even one, is going to raise that tank temp, do you want a chiller? or have one? I run 250 hqi mh with 2 t5 actinics and it pushes my temp. limits pretty hard, but looks really good. Also you might be interested in building a canopy and doing custom retrofits, fun project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I second what Alex suggested, the ATI is the way to go, I ran a MH over my 40b for almost a year, switched over to a 6 bulb TEK light an won't go back to Halides, at least not over a 40b, if we had the money to spend, we'd be all over the ATI, it's the Lamborghini of T5 systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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