Combining halide bulbs

addict

addict

Well-Known Member
This is an open question to all reef gurus...

Let's start by saying that I've been toying with the idea of removing my power compact actinic lighting, and replacing it with two 250w XM 20K halides.
I currently run Ushio 10K's as my primary lighting, because you can't beat the growth rates and long bulb life... only they're a tinge too yellow for me, so I have them supplemented with six 55w coralife actinic 03 power compact bulbs.

I just love the color I have at the moment (a crisp blue-white), but I've been looking at people's tanks who run 20K bulbs and the coral coloration is just amazing. :drooool:

So, that brings me to my current dilemma... can I combine the two halide temps to get the best of both worlds? Or would the yellowness of the Ushio wipe out most of the benefit of the 20K XM's? (Remember that I'm shooting for 'blue-white', not deep blue). I really want the colors to pop out... mainly I want the brownish stuff to actually look the green color they are... :D

The bonus with running the XM bulbs is that they're also probe start, so I'll be able to swap out bulbs between the 4 ballasts without a problem (as long as they're probe start of course)... it will also take my running wattage up to 1000w over the tank, up from the 830w I'm currently running.

I did a mock-up spectral analysyis, using the data from the bulb analysis done by Advanced Aquarist on 400w bulbs. I'm operating under the assumption that the bulbs contain the same phosphors in the 250w variety, so the primary difference should be in spectral intensity... the overall shape of the wavelength diagram shouldn't deviate too much from what is attached...
The output looks pretty good to me... with that huge spike in the actinic spectrum from the XM's and the typical yellow/green peaks of the Ushio bulbs.

Expense really wouldn't be a problem... as it is now I'll have to replace 6 PC bulbs a year at $25 each, or 2 halides at $65 each... replacement cost will actually be cheaper, though running cost will increase a bit.

Has anybody else tried this that can offer any opinions or advice?

Thanks. :)
 
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addict

addict

Well-Known Member
Howdy Wit,

Here's a diagram of how my canopy is currently laid out (well, mostly... all 3 PC's are bunched up together on each side).
359canopy-top.jpg


Basically I'll just be taking out the PC's and putting in the halides in their place... so there will be an Ushio and XM on each side of the tank... hopefully close enough together so that the colors blend well (probably about 4"-6" apart).
 
addict

addict

Well-Known Member
Oops... I see that I never said that my Ushios are 250w also... though it is in my sig.
Just wanted to clarify. :D
 
Witfull

Witfull

Well-Known Member
i was thinking of how they would blend, im thinking...put the XM 20k's in the front doubled up, and the ushios in the back. this is just an idea, lets see what others think too.
 
addict

addict

Well-Known Member
This is pretty much the idea I had... leave 2 PC bulbs in for dawn/dusk simulation, and have each 10K/20K pair in a somewhat common reflector (each will be in a half-reflector).
Just wanted to show what I had in mind compared to my old lighting.
 
CurvBall

CurvBall

Member
Hey ReefAddict,

I'm doing something very similiar with my new set-up.

I'll be using a combination of 4 x 39w t5's, 1 x 5500K 150w MH, 1 x 20 00K 150w MH. (The MH's are double ended though)

This is how I'll be laying out my lighting:
lighting.gif
 
mps9506

mps9506

Well-Known Member
There is a fellow in NC that runus saki's and radium in the same reflector. Apparently the results are great.
The key is to setup you combination of bulbs so it doesn't appear that you are running two different spectrum bulbs on there. Either stagger from front to back or get them both in the same reflector like he did. I will do some searching as I know there is a webpage with pictures of his reflector/socket setup.
Visually the tank is very pleasing to the eye, very white and bright. Coral coloration is great, and apparently growth is great.
Good luck with that, I'll get to looking for the page when I get back from work.
Mike
 
G

goby1

New Member
I switched to a mixture of 20k XMs and 10k Hamiltons a few months back. Probably some difference between the Ushios and Hamiltons, but I had great results, love the color. The set-up includes 2-400 watt 20k XMs, 1-175 watt 20k XM and 2-400 watt Hamilton 10ks. They are mounted in a single reflector spanning an 8' tank. I'm extremely pleased w/ the coral growth and inflation since switching to the XMs. I was worried I'd end up w/ a "striped tank", but it's not an issue.
 
addict

addict

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I had planned on doing effectively 2 bulbs per reflector... what I mean by 'effectively' is that I currently have half of a parabolic reflector over each of my Ushio bulbs (I split the reflector in half).
What I intend to do is buy another parabolic reflector and do the same thing. The reflector layout will be like the diagram attached.
The inside of my canopy is also lined with brushed aluminum, so any light not striking the reflectors is still reflected to the tank, though diffusely, to even out the lighting and prevent too much banding.

I'll be looking forward to that link as well mike, thanks for looking that up. :)
 
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addict

addict

Well-Known Member
Well, since I have plenty of time on my hands, I figured I'd do one more mock-up... :D

Attached are photos from JB NY's 250w bulb comparison. I basically combined the outputs of both bulbs into one photo to give an idea of what I can expect... looks good to me... :D
 
SOCAL-Rich

SOCAL-Rich

Member
My lighting is all double ended AB bulbs, a single 150W 20K in the middle and two 250W 10Ks.

It is crisp white color overall, and the lighter colored tips of SPS look purple.

I like NOT having big long akward PC bulbs. Especially now that I dont have to whipe them all the time from running them so close to the water to maximize their efficiency.
 
tommyp

tommyp

Member
The t5 blue plus bulbs are an option. it makes my tank look a lot more blue and I am using an 65k halide with a 10k you would be golden uh i mean blue... ....uh all set! yeah thats it
 
addict

addict

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the feedback Rich... the blending of the bulbs is my primary concern. My tank is pretty evenly illuminated at the moment, with the PC actinics on diffuse reflectors (the brushed aluminum skin inside my canopy), and the top half of the halides is reflected back to the tank with polished aluminum reflectors. Everything blends really well, but you can definitely see the diffusion from the PC's, which is what I'm trying to get away from... I find that when I turn off the PC's the tank has much more 'drama', but is way too yellow. It's my hope that by mixing up these bulbs I can achieve my goal.

Thank you for your input Tom, but I'm really trying to get away from fluorescents and go strictly halide... my PC's work fine, but I'm on the quest for something 'better'... :D

Thanks for the words of encouragement Dave. :D
(I like how you had to add 'seriously' at the end of your comment... ;) ).

I'm leaning toward this setup, and was close to ordering lights... then the Visa company calls and says that somebody had stolen our card # because there were some bizarre charges on our account... so now we're waiting for our new card to get here... I wonder if this is a sign... ;)
 
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ScottT1980

ScottT1980

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I will be seeing that tank in person tommorow. I will try to get some more information from Wade if I can...

Take er easy
Scott t.
 
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