Reef Sanctuary - View Single Post - *~*New DOW -- Reef Lighting*~*

Maxx · 03-24-2004, 11:33 PM

Hopefully some of the real experts will chime in here and contribute *cough...Mojoreef...cough.... JBNY...cough*

I'm a big proponent of MH's. I think they contribute enormously towards reefkeeping. True they are expensive, but when directly compared to alternatives, (VHO/PC....dont think that T-5 is all the way there yet), they're really only marginally more expensive. That is when comparing 500 watts of MH vs 500 watts of VHO's/PC you'r really not going to see much difference purchase cost wise. I'm not an electrical genius so I won't comment on usage costs, (especially since I suspect that MH's are less energy effiecient. But I also suspect thats due to start up energy usage primarily).
The MH's will take up less space in the canopy, and bulbs last longer, (ALOT longer than many people have been led to believe according to initial results of JBNY's testing of 250 watt mogul/Single Ended bulbs). And bulb replacement is something that people need to take into account when factoring in costs associated w/ lighting.
In my opinion, the real benefit to using VHO's/PC instead of MH's is the ability to upgrade your lighting piece by piece as opposed to spending it all up front. So for people who are unable to spend that much right away, VHO/PC is the way to go.
An important thing to realize is that you dont need MH's to keep a reef....you don't need MH's to keep SPS or clams. You can do it using only VHO's/PC if thats what you want. But you will need ALOT of VHO/PC to make up the difference and your light penetration won't be as great. So that might not really be a viable option for people w/ deeper tanks.
I'm currently running a single 175 watt 10K AB over my 20 gallon tank. I've seen pics of a 20 gallon tank w/ a 400 watt radium bulb over it...its all how you wanna do it.
Nick

03-24-2004, 11:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
Maxx Manta Ray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: St Louis Mo Posts: 3,079 View Gallery Karma Komment	Hopefully some of the real experts will chime in here and contribute cough...Mojoreef...cough.... JBNY...cough I'm a big proponent of MH's. I think they contribute enormously towards reefkeeping. True they are expensive, but when directly compared to alternatives, (VHO/PC....dont think that T-5 is all the way there yet), they're really only marginally more expensive. That is when comparing 500 watts of MH vs 500 watts of VHO's/PC you'r really not going to see much difference purchase cost wise. I'm not an electrical genius so I won't comment on usage costs, (especially since I suspect that MH's are less energy effiecient. But I also suspect thats due to start up energy usage primarily). The MH's will take up less space in the canopy, and bulbs last longer, (ALOT longer than many people have been led to believe according to initial results of JBNY's testing of 250 watt mogul/Single Ended bulbs). And bulb replacement is something that people need to take into account when factoring in costs associated w/ lighting. In my opinion, the real benefit to using VHO's/PC instead of MH's is the ability to upgrade your lighting piece by piece as opposed to spending it all up front. So for people who are unable to spend that much right away, VHO/PC is the way to go. An important thing to realize is that you dont need MH's to keep a reef....you don't need MH's to keep SPS or clams. You can do it using only VHO's/PC if thats what you want. But you will need ALOT of VHO/PC to make up the difference and your light penetration won't be as great. So that might not really be a viable option for people w/ deeper tanks. I'm currently running a single 175 watt 10K AB over my 20 gallon tank. I've seen pics of a 20 gallon tank w/ a 400 watt radium bulb over it...its all how you wanna do it. Nick __________________ "Chaos, confusion, despair...my work is done here." ...Some guy named Murphy.... A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!" Reef Sanctuary Knowledgebase (Answers to all your questions and then some!)