epleeds August 21, 2013 August 21, 2013 I am in the process of getting a 3x150 MH fixture with two 80 watt T5 bulbs that i am going to try out over my tank. My current fixture is great, however I can not get the coloration that I have seen from MH tanks. I plan on hanging this fixture over my tank but I have never had MH before. My T5 fixture hangs about 12" over the water line. Should the MH be the same, higher or lower. With going from 8x80 T5 to 3x150MH + 2x80 T5, should I see any increase in heat (since i am actually using less wattage) and when i do the change over, how should i acclimate my corals? Start with 1 hour of MH and increase 30 mins each week? to a total time of 5-6 hours a day? thanks...
sachabballi reef August 21, 2013 August 21, 2013 i do 10" from bulb to water for my mh. If de then its from the glass
epleeds August 21, 2013 Author August 21, 2013 i do 10" from bulb to water for my mh. If de then its from the glass it is DE. going to be running radiums with a blue + and a KZ Purple for T5
Coral Hind August 21, 2013 August 21, 2013 12" should be fine depending on the fixture and light spread. Which fixture are you getting? Are the bulbs new or used in your fixture and the new fixture? MH can give off more radiant heat than T5 but to me not much more and it is worth it for the extra PAR I get from MH. If the bulbs are old I would start with 4 hours and increase from there. If new then maybe start at 3 hours. I never ran my lights at such low time periods, normally on for 8 to 10 hours.
Almon August 21, 2013 August 21, 2013 The closer the bulbs are to the water the brighter they will be because the light will not disperse as much as when they are higher. Mine were 6" from the waterline. Expect a lot of heat.....chiller required. Acclimating the new lights is probably a good idea. Start at 2 or 3 hours and progress up to 8 or 10 hours.
Coral Hind August 21, 2013 August 21, 2013 The closer to the water the fixture is the more radiant heat transfer you will get. You have to balance light penetration and spread with the heat.
epleeds August 21, 2013 Author August 21, 2013 (edited) The fixture is used. All the bulbs will be brand new. It's a Belize Sun unit. Here is the aqua cave link. In the summer months my tank was running 80 degrees with no fans and the winter it runs at 77.5. So a little more heat this winter will be good. I will start it around 9-10 inches off the water line and see how it goes. Hopefully I won't need a chiller. But we shall see. http://www.aquacave.com/BELIZE-SUN-72-HQI-T5-LED-Lighting-System-by-Hamilton-Technology-P2481.aspx Edited August 21, 2013 by epleeds
epleeds August 21, 2013 Author August 21, 2013 The closer the bulbs are to the water the brighter they will be because the light will not disperse as much as when they are higher. Mine were 6" from the waterline. Expect a lot of heat.....chiller required. Acclimating the new lights is probably a good idea. Start at 2 or 3 hours and progress up to 8 or 10 hours. Almon. You were running 250's right. Shouldn't 150's be cooler?
Almon August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 Almon. You were running 250's right. Shouldn't 150's be cooler? Yes. That's a reasonable conclusion.
NateCamReef August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 I run 3 x 250 and 2 x 150 over my 180. I use and 5 dollar fan and no heaters or chillers. Tank stays between 78-81. Try the fan method first!
zygote2k August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 Are ballasts remote? Hang it a foot off the water or however high allows you to work on the tank. nearly the same wattage- probably no lighting adjustment- at least thats how I would do it.
epleeds August 22, 2013 Author August 22, 2013 Are ballasts remote? Hang it a foot off the water or however high allows you to work on the tank. nearly the same wattage- probably no lighting adjustment- at least thats how I would do it. Yea. The ballasts are remote. It has 5 plugs. 1 for each of the MH, 1 for T5's and 1 for the LED moonlights.
Coral Hind August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 I run 3 x 250 and 2 x 150 over my 180. I use and 5 dollar fan and no heaters or chillers. Tank stays between 78-81. Try the fan method first! I also just used a fan, no chiller needed. I had three 250's and I always keep my tanks at higher temps than most, normally in the Summer at 81-82.5.
sachabballi reef August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 I also just used a fan, no chiller needed. I had three 250's and I always keep my tanks at higher temps than most, normally in the Summer at 81-82.5. i run 3 250s and run my temps in the summer like CH...and never had an issue....i have a chiller I had to run 24/7 365 when I lived in FL (no one has this choice down there!) that I have never plugged in since moving up here.
Almon August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 So, I suppose the need for a chiller depends on your tolerance for higher temperatures. In my view, 81-82 degrees is too high and a chiller is required to bring the temperature down to a comfortable 79.
steveoutlaw August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 Eric - How deep is your tank? Just wondering if 150w will be enough. I have a 27" deep tank and run 250w and can grow SPS on the sandbed.
epleeds August 22, 2013 Author August 22, 2013 my tank is only 22" deep. waterline is 20", so 150's should be more then enough. I plan on between 8-12 inches off the waterline.
trockafella August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 You should go LED YEP...... 2 razors would look awesome over it.. And dont say there to expensive, I know how you roll..
Coral Hind August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 So, I suppose the need for a chiller depends on your tolerance for higher temperatures. In my view, 81-82 degrees is too high and a chiller is required to bring the temperature down to a comfortable 79. I think it really depends on what type of corals you have, where they came from, and your experince with them. I have seen awesome corals around Qatar where the water was close to 90F, not on the surface but down 15 feet on the reef. The waters at Guam and Thailand were both around 84F. This article states the temps on the Great Barrier Reef range from 25C or 77F up to near 30C or 86F and that temps near 86F can be pretty constant down to 30ft before dropping. http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/d_warren_011898.html
epleeds August 22, 2013 Author August 22, 2013 YEP...... 2 razors would look awesome over it.. And dont say there to expensive, I know how you roll.. I would love to get two razors, but no one is interested in buying my Sfigioli fixture. That is what i would like to do, but I can't buy two Razor's and have my fixture just sitting around. I am getting the MH for basically nothing and all i have to do is replace the bulbs. Since its time to replace my T5 bulbs, now is the perfect time to give the MH fixture a shot. I have always wanted to run radiums so for barley any additional money, I have that chance. Then I might be able to sell the T5 fixture since it will be off the tank. Once that happens, maybe next year I will go with LED, but if the Radiums rock the tank like I think they will, I will have some nice pocket change to get some nice SPS pieces.
steveoutlaw August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 Stick with the radiums. LEDs can't touch them yet. Maybe in 5 years they will, but I have yet to see a LED tank that can compare. Now I expect Rob to chime in.
steveoutlaw August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 Oh, and I have 2 250w over my tank in a small room and all I need is a small fan to keep it at 80 degrees.
zygote2k August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 radiums are only worth it if they are cheap. no sense throwing good money into replacing bulbs every 8 months either with MH/PC/VHO/T5. no one wants to listen and they learn the hard way.
surf&turf August 22, 2013 August 22, 2013 I have 150s over my 90, 24", and grow monti's, birdnests on the bottom.
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