A little help please

[UNCHEELS]

I have a 35 G hexagon tank for about 8 months now... I am looking to upgrade my lights, and found this on ebay( sorry in advance if im not allowed to post a link to their site.... Im not sure of the rules). Could someone tell me if this is a good deal and will give me enough light to make my soft corals grow and maybe start to get some sps and other hard corals?

 

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/24-380W-Metal-Halide-A...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

 

Thank you!

[shawns]

what do you use now for lighting?

[davjbeas]

Never heard of them.

THat a lot of light for that price.

A 250 watt halide bulb is more that enough for SPS.

How deep is your tank?

Ive Never seen a price that low for that type of lighting fixture.

Just a metal halide bulb 250 watt could cost 68$-110$

 

Good luck.

 

David B.

[gmubeach]

Looks like my odyss system!

[gioNVA]

I have the same unit and bought it from the same seller in your link. It's a decent fixture but be warned. The fan is loud. I've read on reefcentral that the halide ballast underdrives the lamp so be prepared to replace the ballast. The lamp doesn't last long and you will need to replace it as well. I already had spare ballasts and lamps so those weren't a big deal. Now I have to deal with heat issues

[steveoutlaw]

That actually looks great for the price.

[UNCHEELS]

Thank you for all of your thoughts.... Im not sure about the exact depth of my tank (its a 35g hexagon). Right now I have low output t5 lights- 1 blue and 1 white. I am keeping soft corals - but I think that is because my tank gets direct sunlight for 6 hours a day. I dont want to buy this if I will have to replace everything in the near future... Im more of a long term cost over short term savings guy. That being said, I dont really want to spend $400 on something nice So I guess I am open to suggestions. I am newish to the hobby, so please feel free to make any recommendations / offers. Thanks

 

Might I be better to get a t5 setup? The lights last longer and at this point. I dont have aspirations to get a clam. Hmmm just thinking outloud

[gastone]

I've got a 42 hex per my sig. Not sure what the size difference is between our tanks, but mine is a PITA the outfit... with anything. I had to build an oversized canopy to accomodate the lighting. If you don't feel like doing something similar, I would recommend a nice pendant. I think a single 250w pendant with a nice 14k(ish) look to it would be nice. The second you start tacking on 24" actinics, things get screwy. You could always drop down to a 150w halide pendant, but your bulb options are much more limited.

 

Garrett.

[jason the filter freak]

ask the seller if its UL listed a fire isnt worth a great price

[YBeNormal]

Might I be better to get a t5 setup? The lights last longer and at this point. I dont have aspirations to get a clam. Hmmm just thinking outloud

 

 

 

Depending on the tank and the type of T5 lighting you choose, it is very possible to keep a clam or just about anything else you want to keep under T5 lighting.

[bk_market]

that look like my old aquatrader light.

 

try their website

[UNCHEELS]

Thank you everyone for the help! I think I will pass on this light and do a bit more research. Thanks

[UNCHEELS]

Ok so i think im going to upgrade with T5 lights..... what about these?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/24-Aquarium-Light-T5-H...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

 

Sorry to keep asking the questions, but I figure I should ask the experts before I buy

 

Thanks