MH opinions needed

[JMsAquarium]

What do you think of the following kit?

 

http://www.hellolights.com/25methalretk.html

 

It's for a 120 48x24x24, the bulb option I am thinking about is the 10K USHIO. Opinions on bulb are welcome as well

[Guest JFish]

If you can wire it all up correctly it's a really good deal... I would also get the Ushios...I recently switched to a 400watt ushio from my 20000k radium and like it a lot better.  You may need to look into Actinic suplementation as well.

 

Also...the reflector that comes with it may not be the best you can get....from the light talk meeting with Sanjay his data showed that you may want to invest in a diamond lumen arc III, I believe it was called.

[Guest phillipw]

How many are you planning for the tank? You might want to consider 400 W lights depending on your total lighting configuration.

[Guest Scott324]

I am pretty sure you can beat that price if you go to your local electrical supply store.  You will also save on shipping.  Or you can try this online store - www.hiddirect.com

 

The ballast should be no more than 40 at any electrical supply store.  If they say more, tell them some other place will give it to you for 40.  Graybar, Branch, Lighthouse are some of the local electrical suppliers.  You can look them up in the phone book to get there numbers.

 

HTH

 

Scott

[JMsAquarium]

Thanks all for your replies. As far as how many total watts I am planning for, the honest answer is I have not clue. I am a newbie at SW and need to digest a lot of info. So far I figured that 250W MH seemed the way to go given the depht of the tank. Also supplementing with actinics seems to be a good call. What should it be, NO, PC or VHO?

Here's what I have in mind for this tank in the long run. I'd like to have a few fishes, corals, anemones. All of this will be done in stages and whenever the tank will be established enough to go to the next step.

So I figured that as I am in the set up stage, why not invest in the right stuff since day one instead of upgrading when required. It might be a little more expensive at the beggining, but in the long run I guess that I will be saving some more.

 

All suggestions are welcome.

[Guest JFish]

Wow, didn't know you could get ballasts that cheap.

 

For the actinics you should definately go VHO...nothing beats VHO's actinics.  How many of them is up to you though, depends on how blue you want the tank.

[JMsAquarium]

Forgot to tell. Originally I was planning on getting 2 of these 250W MH kits. Then adding 2 VHO actinics.

So, 400W would still be better than 250?

[Guest JFish]

I have a single 400watt bulb on my 58 gallon tank...I wouldn't go less now that I have this...400 watt lights are very nice to have   Like you said, might be more expensive in beginning but better in the long run.

[JMsAquarium]

Hehe, that's the spirit. Besides, based on Hellolights for example, their 400W retrofits kits are around $20.00 more only. Next question is probe VS. pulse start ballasts, any suggestions?

 

So what would you say about 2 x 400W MH + 2 VHOs ? And which VHO tubes, there's so many to choose from?

[Guest phillipw]

I currently have a 75G tank with a 400W 20 K MH + 2 110 W VHO W/ 1 50/50 and 1 Actinic. This is good for my size tank to keep most any soft, LPS or SPS coral or anemone. I am upgrading to a 150 (60x24x24) which is slightly larger than your tank. I plan to go with 2 400W and 2 110 W VHO as a minimum. If I were you with a 120 I would go with the same setup. This would allow you to keep most any coral you would like. You could go with it in stages, say start with the 400W MH then add the 2 110W VHO and lastly add the other 400 W MH. I would also go with electronic ballast’s for the MH as they run cooler, use less electricity and make no noise.  Although what I would suggest would be a duel 400W electronic Ballast and a Duel 110W VHO Ballast with bulbs of whatever spectrum you like. I like the 400W Radium MH with the 2 VHO’s to balance the color as you prefer. This gives a blueish light which I prefer but if you don’t like a bluish tank you can go with 10K MH.

[pez]

Having been down this route before, I'd recommend going with the 400 watt lamps.  That's what I have over my 120 and they work well (aside from the heat).  Also, spend the extra money and get a PFO ballast with the enclosure.  I DIY'ed my first setup and although it worked fine, the nice shiny enclosure was nice to have.

 

Also, I recently switched from the Ushio 10KK lamps to the AB 10KK lamps.  The AB lamps put out a much nicer color than the Ushios, and it seems like more light too.  At least one of my AB lamps was sensitive to the nipple direction (not to start that conversation again....).

 

-T

[JMsAquarium]

Sorry to come back with pesky and certainly stupid questions, but what is a PFO VS magnetic? And do they require special lamps?

[Guest Scott324]

PFO is a complany that distributes ballasts.  They take Magnetik ballasts and put them in a nice box that acts as a heatsink.  They are nice, but not sure worth the extra cash.  If you look up CBO, he built a real nice enclosure for his ballasts.

 

 

There are two primary types of ballasts out there.  A magnetic ballast is heavy and much like the transformers you see hanging on utility poles.  They have a core with coils wrapped around to step up the voltage.  They run hot and  waste a little more electricity than electronic.  The only upside is a cost less, sometimes a substantial amount.  

 

I don't believe anyone makes a 400W electronic ballast yet, but if you are interested in them, you can check um out on that same site or Icecaps'.

[JMsAquarium]

Thanks for the info. That's much clear now. Here's a link for 400W electronic ballasts.

 

http://www.reeffanatic.com/cgi-bin/mas/category.cgi?item=MHBL_RF400E

 

What do you think?

[Gatortailale]

I think you are better off getting an electronic ballast.  They fire almost all the bulbs with no need to tune them.  They run cooler and use less electric.  Sure they cost more up front, but worth it in my opinion because you save more in heat and electric.  Also, do you really want to %$#* around with electric ballasts right next to 120 gallons of water?  We all spill a few drops here and there next the ballasts or inside stands.  It will happen at some point.  Enclosed ones will help prevent you from shock or worse.

 

As for 250 vs 400, depends on what you want to keep in your tank.  Also, would depend on whether you have central ac in your home or just a little window unit.  Central ac,  you can run 400's as long as you crank the temp in house down.  If you don't have central ac, you will see a big temp diff in my opinion b/w the 250's and the 400's.

 

my .002.

[JMsAquarium]

I have central AC at home.

Now the general concensus is electronic ballasts. There's 2 brands that I could find that have 400W electronicss:

 

http://www.reeffanatic.com/cgi-bin/mas/category.cgi?item=MHBL_RF400E at $149.90

and

http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/

Then select lighing ect...

IceCap™ 400-MH Electronic Ballast for all Metal Halide Bulbs $169.00

 

There is not a big difference in price. Although I read somewhere that IceCaps need to be tuned to certain types of bulbs. Does it applies also to their electronic ballasts?

 

Which one would you guys recommend?

[Guest tgallo]

hey jm, try www.championlighting.com  for blueline electronic ballasts, they work great and run cool.

[JMsAquarium]

Thanks Tony.