Basics of Lighting for Reef Systems

Clownfish518

Razorback
PREMIUM
MH comes in 150w, 175w, 250w, 4003, and 1000w.

Typically, one MH bulb will light an area about 24" feet across. So a 24" tank requires one bulb, 48" tank 2 bulbs, etc.

If your tank is 16" deep or so, a 150 will do. 20-24", a 250. Over 24", a 400 would be best.

I must say I am not a big fan of 175s. Other than the excellent Iwasaki bulb, I think you are better off going to 250 or staying at 150. The bulb is bigger than a 150, and blocks more light coming off the reflector, so you do not get a lot more PAR than you would with a 150. This is a common opinion, but still an opinion. I don't know what bulb is a 178w MH. Do you mean 175?
 

stbh1

New Member
Great thread with all that being said what differs in the bulbs ie. I have seen bulbs that cost around 70 $ and the ones being sold on ebay around 9 what gives. Any explanation would be great and I am talking about the mh bulbs thanks.
 

Clownfish518

Razorback
PREMIUM
The $9 bulbs are cheap knockoffs. They do not give the same color, and they do not give the same PAR as the "normal" priced bulbs. And they do not last as long.

I have seen many cases where a $9 bulb started to lose color after 2-3 months. In a pinch they may be needed (and useful).

Depending on the wattage, good bulbs can be had for a $50-70. You don't have to go super expensive, but you can get good results from the bulbs in the middle.

Phoenix is a good bulb. It gives a good color, good PAR, and testing has shown a good lifespan - something like 15 months before it loses 30% of its PAR, which is very good compared to other bulbs.

Ballasts are another issue. Cheap ballasts are more expensive in the long term. They tend to use more electricity to light the bulb, and so cost more to run, and I have seen them shift colors of the lamps over time as their output wavers.
 

Rhodes19

Active Member
Ballasts are another issue. Cheap ballasts are more expensive in the long term. They tend to use more electricity to light the bulb, and so cost more to run, and I have seen them shift colors of the lamps over time as their output wavers.

Clownfish,

Good point about ballasts. Would you go into some detail as to what to look for in a good ballast? Thanks. :)
 

Clownfish518

Razorback
PREMIUM
Clownfish,

Good point about ballasts. Would you go into some detail as to what to look for in a good ballast? Thanks. :)

Quite a bit of nuances on the subject, maybe should try and do something comprehensive. Maybe talk about Fluorescent ballasts, and overdriving, and MH ballasts - pulse, probe, eye, hqi, electronic, magnetic, and overdriving (yes, you can overdrive MH too). What do you think?
 

stbh1

New Member
Thanks for the info I was always wondering why these bulbs seemed to be so economical but as for the long term they just dont add up and I will look into the phoenix bulbs.
 

Jake121

New Member
dude what should i do i have a diy twin T4 rigged on my 55g reef and everything has been fine for months i plan to double my design or should i scrap it it and buy a new one
 

Rhodes19

Active Member
Quite a bit of nuances on the subject, maybe should try and do something comprehensive. Maybe talk about Fluorescent ballasts, and overdriving, and MH ballasts - pulse, probe, eye, hqi, electronic, magnetic, and overdriving (yes, you can overdrive MH too). What do you think?

Uhhh.... :confused: Lets do fluorescent and ballasts. I know there are different type of ballasts that can be used for fluorescents but I've been told we should use electronic start ( like ice caps) "?" with T5s because that's what T5s were developed to use to extend the life of the bulb. When asked if Workhorse ballast can be used ( much cheaper) I was told, no, it will ruin the T5 bulbs, and then I was also told that they would be fine. It doesn't take much to confuse me. :)
 

odellous

New Member
very interesting reading clownfish...considering im in the market for new lighting for my tank as well as my fuge! and i need help choosing. i have a 265 gallon reef with a 72" double-outer orbit fixture. 2 x150 with 4 96 watt 420/460 which provides only 834 watts per/gal. i want to graduate to lps/sps and i fear i will need more intense lighting. what should i do!
 

Clownfish518

Razorback
PREMIUM
Odellous;

What are the dimensions of the tank? If you could, please open a separate thread and post the question. I think you will get more replies.

I am thinking 400w or possibly 250w, but would like the tank dimensions. I keep clowns, so I have more smaller tanks so I can have more pairs. Not as familiar with the bigger tank sizes off the top of my head.
 

Chaos2110

Member
I understand what your saying about MH, But rap your mind around this.... I have a 55 gallon few softy's and polyps. One huge green carpet and candy cane. I have two 250 watt MH that sit about 18'' off the top of my aquarium. My aquarium is 4 foot long and 18'' deep. I also have two atinics as well. I am so so at this hobby. I've been doing it for about a year now. I figured if i can keep a carpet i must be doing something right. What would you recommend for my situation? I've lost the most easiest corals to keep. For example. Star polyps. dead. A huge rock of green polyps....Dead. Stupid little things that are easy to keep. My candy cane is almost dead as well. A friend told me it might be my lighting because nothing is growing. Oh montapora i dont even try anymore. I lost about 300 bucks of that.... I dont understand. i test everyday and never have a problem. Oh one other reason why My buddy thinks its my lights. whens the last time you've heard of a tank chucked full of beautiful live rock covered in coraline bleach. Yup.... every peace of coraline bleached white and looks really bad. Not really sure what happened there but its not the heat the MH give off. I have that under control. Well theres my tank in a nut shell i really hope you can give me some advice. Thanks Jason
 

Rhodes19

Active Member
I understand what your saying about MH, But rap your mind around this.... I have a 55 gallon few softy's and polyps. One huge green carpet and candy cane. I have two 250 watt MH that sit about 18'' off the top of my aquarium. My aquarium is 4 foot long and 18'' deep. I also have two atinics as well. I am so so at this hobby. I've been doing it for about a year now. I figured if i can keep a carpet i must be doing something right. What would you recommend for my situation? I've lost the most easiest corals to keep. For example. Star polyps. dead. A huge rock of green polyps....Dead. Stupid little things that are easy to keep. My candy cane is almost dead as well. A friend told me it might be my lighting because nothing is growing. Oh montapora i don't even try anymore. I lost about 300 bucks of that.... I don't understand. i test everyday and never have a problem. Oh one other reason why My buddy thinks its my lights. whens the last time you've heard of a tank chucked full of beautiful live rock covered in coraline bleach. Yup.... every peace of coraline bleached white and looks really bad. Not really sure what happened there but its not the heat the MH give off. I have that under control. Well theres my tank in a nut shell i really hope you can give me some advice. Thanks Jason

Hi Jason,

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. If you acclimated your corals to the light you shouldn't have a problem with the corals or coraline algae. You may be having some chemical warfare going on in there. My recommendation would be to post this question in the beginner's forum or general reef discussion forum where you can get more attention specific to your situation. Make sure you give all your water parameters. What may be ok for you may be a red flag for the more experienced reefers here (I'm not one of them yet :)). Make sure you include ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, Mg, SG, temp, Alk, Ca, and what ever else you test for. Also include all your equipment, ie type of filter, amount of live rock, skimmer, reactors... Good luck. HTH
 

gordie141

New Member
A very big thank you to Clownfish518 for the explanation of the different types of lighting but id like to know about t8s. My tank is already set up with two t8s but im not sure of the differences in comparison to the t5s
 

Johnly

Member
I only say that because MH penetrate the water much deeper that t5, so with a 2 foot tank, t5 is pushing its limits while a MH can keep going down. a 24" tank needs MH if you are doing sps only, and some are on the bottom. I think the t5 works for sps, but only if you can keep them near the surface. I am going to have 2-3 clams on the bottom, and a t5 is like giving my daughters cats the cheep food....they will eat it, but they don't enjoy it, so they seem drap.

I am the person that will say t5 are great for softs and sps at the top in a shallower tank, but I learned the hard way, and bought into t5 lighting being as good as MH.....I can assure you, they are not, but one needs to take into account what they want to grow. My t5 worked well for my softs, and I think MH would have been overkill!

light_spectrum%5B1%5D.jpg

You have the right idea, and your lighting advice is better than what I got from the local FS:) Thank you, just had to chime in sir.
 

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Johnly if you'll read around I'm a HUGE fan of T5's and have pushed them extensively over the last couple of years but I agree whole heartedly about T5's and 24" deep tanks. Even with high quality reflectors T5's start to diminish greatly (in the realm of intensity) in the 18" range and I think they are only good for softies etc in the 24"+ range. I'd like to point out that I also feel that 150W MH have this same short coming in that they are not well received in depths more than 18" and anything over 24" I like to see 400W MH used.
 
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