lighting opions for my new 250w mh setup

[mattie]

today it came my icecap electric ballast a 14k hamilton bulb and spiderlight mogel socket.... yea!!!!
my little 20g is gonna be bright
but here is my mental dilema.. .. note i am thinking to deeply about this.....i had bought the 14k bulb becouse i was thinking just run the mh bulb and no actinc so that is why i went with the hamilton....
any opinions on this cause i also have a 250 de aqualine bulb i could use instead and and it is small enough to fit actinics in my hood whereas the se bulb is much bigger
basically i know it would not be bad to only run the mh bulb but I am seeking others thought's becouse a friend brought to my attention the dawn dusk aspect

[BoomerD]

The single ended bulb shouldn't be so big that you still can't use the actinics, but of more concern is that the DE bulb has no built-in UV shielding, and so you'll have to find a way to get some UV shield glass (not sure if there's any special glass, or just regular glass) in between the bulb and tank. In a regular single ended bulb, the outer "envelope" is for that purpose. DE's are more meant for use in pendants where there is a piece of glass below the bulb.

Edited for spelling...again...

[ReefLady]

becouse a friend brought to my attention the dawn dusk aspect

Dawn --> dusk simulation is to please our eyes only. Doesn't impact corals or fish either way. Not sure if that helps your decision or not, just fyi. ;-)

[mps9506]

What k is that aqualine bulb? A 10k AB is really really bright.
A 20k DE AB bulb would be great for that tank. However, I think a 14k or 20k 250SE bulb is ideal for your setup without the need for actinics.
Make sure to acclimate the corals to your lighting, because that is going to be very very bright on the corals you have now, if you don't acclimate them they will bleach.
One reason I would recomend the DE setup is because it will allow you to go with a pendant system that allows to to keep your system cool.
Mike

[mattie]

the aqualine is a 10k but is supposed to burn at 14k
i put the se bulb system together ans i am probably going to sell return the de bulb if i can
the 14k hamilton is very blue when i turned it on for 10 minutes
i just though i need to move or sell my yellow/ green cup coral it will get fried from the new light maybe?

[Dingo]

I run a 14 K XO bulb, which doesn't really address your colors, but I am pleased with the colors in the tank. It's already been said, but the only reason to put in actinics is if you think they look cool. I have none, and the corals could care less.

[Witfull]

the one thing i do like about dawn/dusk is that it tells the fish its time to go to bed,,,when the halide click off, i see my fire fish begin to hover over the rock they call a bedroom. they will flitter over it and one by one they settle in for the night. also i have seen to many fish get injured by getting spooked by the lights suddenly going out and flaying around the tank trying to hide.

this may not be a problem in a well lit room where outside lamps are on, but my tank is in a room where the only light on when the lights shut down is the TV and computer.

also, nowhere in nature does the sun go from high noon to midnight black in .000000002 seconds. i have no scientific evidence to support that fish benefit from gradual lighting changes, but from a purely observational point there must be merit.

[mps9506]

I would probably move the cup coral down to keep it from getting fried. Don't forget to acclimate. You have a lot more punch in those lights now, and stuff will get stressed out over the course of a week if you don't acclimate them to the lights. Espcially with a new bulb that has very high PAR for the first 100 hours or so.
Stick a peice of window screen or mesh between the water surface and light bulb.
Mike

[wooddood]

i'll have to agree with witt here, the ocean does'nt go dark all of the sudden and are'nt we all trying i mimmick mother nature in our quest to run a successfull reef enviornment? i personally like the dawn dusk effect and its eye appeal to my reef and its inhabitants, it has to effect the fish like dave mentioned earlier. and i have to believe it does affect some corals to some degree if a dawn dusk affect is'nt used at all, sorry but i'm not taking the chance to find out in my reef. all i can say you'll have to show me it does'nt matter. jmpo.





dave.

[ReefLady]

From what I've read, the moment that dawn breaks over the Indo-Pacific reef, the lighting is x times more powerful than any halide system on our tanks.

If we were truly trying to simulate a natural habitat, we'd have cloudy days, rain, hurricanes, and natural predators in our tanks.

In any case, there are hundreds (thousands?) of reef tanks out there lit with no dawn/dusk, and with no ill effects.

[wooddood]

ok that may be true to an extent but i know you do and i do, maybe its a trend like a dsb. all i know is i'm not going too nor am i ever going back to a dsb either. but thats this hobby everyone does things different in thier reefkeeping and always will, but thats just this hobby and the way it is. not trying to argue the fact just stating my point . if it works for some people then i'm happy for them. good luck mattie. i really mean that.





dave.

[Witfull]

lets get this thread back to lighting options for this tank...the debate can be continued here Dawn/Dusk Lighting