MH lighting

Yarr · 01-26-2006, 10:26 AM

Im sure there has been 101 million threads asking these exact same questions.. but.. here goes..

My 100 gal and my 180 gal will both need a changeover to MH lighting. Cost wisei am probably only able to afford a 150w system. I am not sure if this will be enough lighting for all the gooies i want to keep. Bearing in mind i need to buy 2 sets of lights for 2 x 72 in tanks ( 100 gal and 180 gal ) and that i am in australia and the most basic of lighting setups will cost me abotu 1400 bucks.. i am after some reccmendations...

I have some time to plan it as i will be buying a chiller first as i live in the tropics and my water temp is already at the higher end of the scale.

Barcochris · 01-26-2006, 10:36 AM

how deep are your tanks? can you Diy the light system?

mps9506 · 01-26-2006, 02:06 PM

What type of corals are you planning on keeping in the long run.
150watt HQI's are suffcient for softy tanks that large, however I would probably suggest 250watters.
I would imagine if you can DIY you can put togther a system for at least half that. I did 2x250 with a high quality reflector for pretty cheap.
Think it was around $40 each for the ballasts, ~$70 each for the bulbs, ~$60 for the reflectors, I don't remember what sockets cost. Maybe $20-$30 for the box and wires to put everything in.

cheeks69 · 01-26-2006, 02:27 PM

If you keep anything real light demanding towards the upper half of the tank I don't see a problem with the 150 HQI hood. If you can retrofit like Mike mentioned it'll be alot cheaper, do you have a canopy ?

Yarr · 01-26-2006, 05:00 PM

no canopy as of yet. that needs to be built also.

bulbs here average $120, ballasts a few hundred dollars, reflectors are ther cheap part at about 80 dollars.

the deepest tank i 48 inches

Witfull · 01-26-2006, 08:46 PM

have you thought or priced out VHOs? might be cheaper and give more even lighting.

NUGIO · 01-26-2006, 10:07 PM

Have you tried Ebay?

Yarr · 01-27-2006, 02:53 AM

VHO lights pretty much have to be imported here. had a look on ebay aswell as local forums dry goods sales threads.

DaveK · 01-27-2006, 07:36 AM

I think you are going to find that the cost to purchase a lighting system using 250w MHs or HQIs is not much more the the cost of 175w MHs or 150w HQIs. At least this it true in the USA.

The difference comes in operating them. Obviously, a 250w bulb consumes a lot more power than a 150w bulb, but it will also produce a lot more heat. This means you may need to invest in a chiller or other methods to cool the tank.

Besides the problems you have obtaining VHOs, by the time you are done, you'll end up spending almost as much as the MHs. You'll need to a lot more VHO bulbs to get the same thing you would out of MHs.

One thing you could consider. You could use rectangular or bell shaped pendant MH fixtures, and add them one at a time to your system. Yes, the tank would have some bright areas, and some dim ones, but that is not necessarily bad. You simply place the high light requirement livestock in the bright areas. Some people don't like the tank with the bright and dim areas, but if you can live with it, you should be able to get what you want, without getting a lot of MHs for both tanks.

Yarr · 01-28-2006, 02:18 AM

heat wont be too much of an issues as i intend to overkill the chiller purchase BEFORE i buy the lghits. i guess i will just have to bite the bullet.

gussy · 01-28-2006, 06:32 PM

MH didn't work out for me due to space issues. I went for T5 HO instead...much, much brighter than I've been expecting.

01-26-2006, 10:26 AM	#1 (permalink)
Yarr Neon dottyback Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Afghanistan Posts: 605 View Gallery Karma Komment	MH lighting Im sure there has been 101 million threads asking these exact same questions.. but.. here goes.. My 100 gal and my 180 gal will both need a changeover to MH lighting. Cost wisei am probably only able to afford a 150w system. I am not sure if this will be enough lighting for all the gooies i want to keep. Bearing in mind i need to buy 2 sets of lights for 2 x 72 in tanks ( 100 gal and 180 gal ) and that i am in australia and the most basic of lighting setups will cost me abotu 1400 bucks.. i am after some reccmendations... I have some time to plan it as i will be buying a chiller first as i live in the tropics and my water temp is already at the higher end of the scale. __________________ updating

01-26-2006, 10:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
Barcochris Cabbage Leather Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Arizona Posts: 367 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting how deep are your tanks? can you Diy the light system?

01-26-2006, 02:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
mps9506 Totally stoked dude Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 7,518 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting What type of corals are you planning on keeping in the long run. 150watt HQI's are suffcient for softy tanks that large, however I would probably suggest 250watters. I would imagine if you can DIY you can put togther a system for at least half that. I did 2x250 with a high quality reflector for pretty cheap. Think it was around $40 each for the ballasts, ~$70 each for the bulbs, ~$60 for the reflectors, I don't remember what sockets cost. Maybe $20-$30 for the box and wires to put everything in. __________________ Mike "The Bandwith Bandit" Help Build Reefpedia Premium Membership Available! Support Reef Sanctuary Sponsors

01-26-2006, 02:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
cheeks69 Wannabe Guru Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northeast Posts: 7,031 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting If you keep anything real light demanding towards the upper half of the tank I don't see a problem with the 150 HQI hood. If you can retrofit like Mike mentioned it'll be alot cheaper, do you have a canopy ? __________________ Robert My Cube “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” Albert Einstein

01-26-2006, 05:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
Yarr Neon dottyback Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Afghanistan Posts: 605 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting no canopy as of yet. that needs to be built also. bulbs here average $120, ballasts a few hundred dollars, reflectors are ther cheap part at about 80 dollars. the deepest tank i 48 inches __________________ updating

01-26-2006, 10:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
NUGIO Fire Coral Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Moreno Valley,CA Posts: 80 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting Have you tried Ebay? __________________ 135g 1200w 10k MH, 260w PC actinic,40g fuge,15g sump,EV-180,mag 18 RTN,5 stage RO/DI.

01-27-2006, 02:53 AM	#8 (permalink)
Yarr Neon dottyback Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Afghanistan Posts: 605 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting VHO lights pretty much have to be imported here. had a look on ebay aswell as local forums dry goods sales threads. __________________ updating

01-27-2006, 07:36 AM	#9 (permalink)
DaveK Neon dottyback Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Philadelpahia, PA Posts: 664 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting I think you are going to find that the cost to purchase a lighting system using 250w MHs or HQIs is not much more the the cost of 175w MHs or 150w HQIs. At least this it true in the USA. The difference comes in operating them. Obviously, a 250w bulb consumes a lot more power than a 150w bulb, but it will also produce a lot more heat. This means you may need to invest in a chiller or other methods to cool the tank. Besides the problems you have obtaining VHOs, by the time you are done, you'll end up spending almost as much as the MHs. You'll need to a lot more VHO bulbs to get the same thing you would out of MHs. One thing you could consider. You could use rectangular or bell shaped pendant MH fixtures, and add them one at a time to your system. Yes, the tank would have some bright areas, and some dim ones, but that is not necessarily bad. You simply place the high light requirement livestock in the bright areas. Some people don't like the tank with the bright and dim areas, but if you can live with it, you should be able to get what you want, without getting a lot of MHs for both tanks.

01-28-2006, 02:18 AM	#10 (permalink)
Yarr Neon dottyback Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Afghanistan Posts: 605 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting heat wont be too much of an issues as i intend to overkill the chiller purchase BEFORE i buy the lghits. i guess i will just have to bite the bullet. __________________ updating

01-28-2006, 06:32 PM	#11 (permalink)
gussy Torch coral Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 579 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: MH lighting MH didn't work out for me due to space issues. I went for T5 HO instead...much, much brighter than I've been expecting.

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