54 gallon corner lighting

visayan · 03-09-2006, 06:35 PM

I have a 54 gallon corner tank that I am about to set up. It is 22 inches tall. I want to be able to house a mix of softies (specifically button and star polyps), lps, and sps corals.

Since it is an odd shape, I am limited to only 24 inch fixtures. I have found a fixture that is only 8.5 inches wide, 24 inches long and contains my choice of either 1x175watt or 1x250 watt mh bulb and 2x24 watt t5 bulbs. What do you guys think? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I have the option to upgrade to an IceCap E Ballast. Are these ballasts worth the extra money and will they be compatible with all the different MH bulbs currently available? I've heard of balllasts not being able to fire up a bulb.

Thanks

Woodstock · 03-09-2006, 08:20 PM

Welcome to RS!!

I think the 175 watt with actinic lighting would work great. Get the Icecap E ballast if you have the option... they initially cost more, but they are cheaper to run and do not produce the heat like the magnetic ballast do. I believe the electronic ballast will fire any bulb with exception to HQI (double ended bulbs)... someone please correct me if I am wrong.

cheeks69 · 03-09-2006, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Also, I have the option to upgrade to an IceCap E Ballast

Go for it !!!

Quote:

probe start will run american bulbs with ignitors built into the bulbs like coralife and venture bulbs. some german and euro bulbs will run fine on these, but without an ignitor, the bulb struggles to light and bulb life may be decreased. also reliabilty goes down.

pulse start will run the german/euro bulbs (ushio, AB, radium, etc.) these bulbs don't have built in ignitors, so the ballast has the ignitor wired into the circuit. the ignitor provides the high voltages needed to fire the bulb. you can run probe start bulbs on these ballasts, but the two ignitors may try to fight each other and possibly cause a fire.

HQI ballasts are similar to pulse starts in their wiring and ability to run bulbs. the output is a little higher which is meant to run the double-ended bulbs (commonly called HQI bulbs). people run mogul bulbs on these and they run a little hotter and brighter because they are being overdriven. this in turn shortens the life of the bulbs.

EYE ballasts are mercury vapor ballasts. they are similar to a probe start ballast, but the only bulb you can run on these are Iwasaki 6500K bulbs (because these are actually MV bulbs, not MH bulbs like most think). the ballast will damage MH bulbs if you try to run one on it.

Electronic. ahhh, the great electronics. these will run any bulb at the rated wattage: probe start, pulse start, iwasakis, DE (double ended-HQI). if you think you might change your mind in the future, get an electronic. you can change bulbs to whatever you want and not have to worry about the ballast being the wrong type. electronics run cooler (a magnetic MH ballast will burn your hand if you touch the coil after it's been running for awhile). they also use less energy.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=201570

visayan · 03-10-2006, 07:38 PM

thanks for the info guys. Although I was leaning more towards the 250W setup, I was also thinking that the 175W bulb would be OK. I just wanted to be sure I had enough lighting even if I decided to go full blown SPS in the future. Do you think the 175W bulb can provide sufficient light for this? I mean, it is a relatively small tank and I do plan on having maybe a 1-3 inch sand bed, so really the depth of the tank will be around 19-20 inches.

I have been bitten by the reef bug

. I used to keep african cichlids until I saw a beautiful setup at my LFS and it was over. I had to have my own setup. Bye-bye money!!

cheeks69 · 03-10-2006, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by visayan

Bye-bye money!!

You got that right !

The 175 will definitely be enough but if you are planning to upgrade in the future then go with the 250.

billyr98 · 03-11-2006, 10:32 AM

my buddy had this same tank... he only had LPS and Softies in it. The light, which i have now, was a 150w pendant MH by coralife. It did an awesome job, he changed the bulb from 10k to 20k and it was nicer color. But for SPS, i am thinking go for the 250w pendant by icecap thats a nice light!

03-09-2006, 06:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
visayan Tunicate Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 3 View Gallery Karma Komment	54 gallon corner lighting I have a 54 gallon corner tank that I am about to set up. It is 22 inches tall. I want to be able to house a mix of softies (specifically button and star polyps), lps, and sps corals. Since it is an odd shape, I am limited to only 24 inch fixtures. I have found a fixture that is only 8.5 inches wide, 24 inches long and contains my choice of either 1x175watt or 1x250 watt mh bulb and 2x24 watt t5 bulbs. What do you guys think? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, I have the option to upgrade to an IceCap E Ballast. Are these ballasts worth the extra money and will they be compatible with all the different MH bulbs currently available? I've heard of balllasts not being able to fire up a bulb. Thanks

03-09-2006, 08:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Woodstock The Wand Geek was here. ;) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 23,199 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 54 gallon corner lighting Welcome to RS!! I think the 175 watt with actinic lighting would work great. Get the Icecap E ballast if you have the option... they initially cost more, but they are cheaper to run and do not produce the heat like the magnetic ballast do. I believe the electronic ballast will fire any bulb with exception to HQI (double ended bulbs)... someone please correct me if I am wrong. __________________ ~Doni Marie~ *GOT ICH???* *My QT/Hospital Tank* ~120 Reef Chronicle ~ *~Breeding Picasso Clownfish~* "Energy and persistence conquer all things." Benjamin Franklin __________________________________________________ ______________________________________________ 120 mixed reef, dual Reeflux 10k 250 MHs, dual Geiseman Actinic T5s,Neptune AC III, ASM g3, 2x Korallia #3, Mag 9.5 return

03-10-2006, 07:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
visayan Tunicate Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 3 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: 54 gallon corner lighting thanks for the info guys. Although I was leaning more towards the 250W setup, I was also thinking that the 175W bulb would be OK. I just wanted to be sure I had enough lighting even if I decided to go full blown SPS in the future. Do you think the 175W bulb can provide sufficient light for this? I mean, it is a relatively small tank and I do plan on having maybe a 1-3 inch sand bed, so really the depth of the tank will be around 19-20 inches. I have been bitten by the reef bug . I used to keep african cichlids until I saw a beautiful setup at my LFS and it was over. I had to have my own setup. Bye-bye money!!

03-11-2006, 10:32 AM	#6 (permalink)
billyr98 Reefing Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cherry Hill, NJ Posts: 5,400 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 54 gallon corner lighting my buddy had this same tank... he only had LPS and Softies in it. The light, which i have now, was a 150w pendant MH by coralife. It did an awesome job, he changed the bulb from 10k to 20k and it was nicer color. But for SPS, i am thinking go for the 250w pendant by icecap thats a nice light!

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