Metal halide lighting discussion

neil82

neil82

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#61
#61
kchristensen8064 said:
Yes I have the glass, I took that picture after I started dismantling it. 2 of the 3 ballasts work.
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I was curious what it would take to get the fixture running. Take your time weighing options before sinking money into ballasts and bulbs. If you wanted to retrofit some lights into a canopy, I think you could look at a reflector like this: https://growershouse.com/econo-wing...MI89r3ueSM4AIVgR-tBh3pUgF_EAQYAiABEgJhrPD_BwE
And I do believe the hamilton ballasts have compatible plugs for this brand reflector. Just throwing ideas out there.
 
kchristensen8064

kchristensen8064

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#62
#62
neil82 said:
I was curious what it would take to get the fixture running. Take your time weighing options before sinking money into ballasts and bulbs. If you wanted to retrofit some lights into a canopy, I think you could look at a reflector like this: https://growershouse.com/econo-wing...MI89r3ueSM4AIVgR-tBh3pUgF_EAQYAiABEgJhrPD_BwE
And I do believe the hamilton ballasts have compatible plugs for this brand reflector. Just throwing ideas out there.
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Yeah I've been going back and forth on it... I really want to do quite a bit of sps and I just fear that 150w's won't be enough. And after doing some looking around by the time I get this fixture fixed the difference between fixing it and going new is only a couple hundred dollers so going new might just be the best option since I could go with 250w's or maybe even 400w's. That's why I'm doing all my research now.
 
JuanGutz

JuanGutz

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#63
#63
Go with 250watt. Don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’m running 400watt with the Reef Brite pendant and reefbrite ballast 12” from the water. I’m using a radium 20k and the ballast under drives it a little so the par is right on point and just a little whiter then what it should be but I personally like it. The heat is a little issue on my 50g but picking up a fan to turn on with the light. If you use a ballast like a m80 that puts out the right wattage the radium is very blue. I’m really loving the leds that come on it.
 
kchristensen8064

kchristensen8064

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#64
#64
JuanGutz said:
Go with 250watt. Don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’m running 400watt with the Reef Brite pendant and reefbrite ballast 12” from the water. I’m using a radium 20k and the ballast under drives it a little so the par is right on point and just a little whiter then what it should be but I personally like it. The heat is a little issue on my 50g but picking up a fan to turn on with the light. If you use a ballast like a m80 that puts out the right wattage the radium is very blue. I’m really loving the leds that come on it.
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So do you think 3 400s over a 180gal would be too much then?
 
J

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#65
#65
I would avoid 400w over a 180g... just more wattage and power that is needed. 400w is better used over a larger area (or deeper tank) with a larger reflector.
 
J

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#67
#67
The only reason that people complain about the wattage that MH takes is from bad decisions. 400w when 175w would have worked is the red-herring excuse about their LEDs saving money. We all have known for a few years that there is no efficiency in one lighting type to the next (as well described in Tullio Dell Aquila talk at MACNA San Diego), but if you used 400w when you could have used 150 or 250, then that is just a bad choice, not an equipment issue. The really bad examples are when people used 400 or 250w MH when they could have used 70w... big difference there. It is too bad that 70w are nearly out of the hobby now since they were some of the best nano lights out there.

Choose well and you will have the best possible outcome.
 
neil82

neil82

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#68
#68
JuanGutz said:
Go with 250watt. Don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’m running 400watt with the Reef Brite pendant and reefbrite ballast 12” from the water. I’m using a radium 20k and the ballast under drives it a little so the par is right on point and just a little whiter then what it should be but I personally like it. The heat is a little issue on my 50g but picking up a fan to turn on with the light. If you use a ballast like a m80 that puts out the right wattage the radium is very blue. I’m really loving the leds that come on it.
Click to expand...
Having the reefbrite LEDs with MH must be awesome. Having switched from black box LED panels to MH/t5 combo, I noticed how the LEDs (especially blue and violet channels) really light up the corals and give you that fluorescent effect. The two ATI blue plus t5s I'm using look really nice though, as do the MH with a natural shimmer and warmth that is very appealing.
 
JuanGutz

JuanGutz

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#69
#69
neil82 said:
Having the reefbrite LEDs with MH must be awesome. Having switched from black box LED panels to MH/t5 combo, I noticed how the LEDs (especially blue and violet channels) really light up the corals and give you that fluorescent effect. The two ATI blue plus t5s I'm using look really nice though, as do the MH with a natural shimmer and warmth that is very appealing.
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It has a pop that I feel just can’t be beat. I’ll have the three metal halides w/ leds and two t5 bulbs on my upgrade tank. Probably start a build thread after my wedding.
 
neil82

neil82

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#70
#70
Anyone else out there in MASCland running MH want to share about your setup and experiences? Bulb types you like or didn't care for? Supplemental lighting that works well? Lighting schedule? Maybe you ran MH in the past but decided to change. Tell us why you made the change and how things are going now. @jda123 I don't recall seeing anything about your lighting configuration. I'd personally love to hear about it. @SUS and @Dr.DiSilicate you are both running MH. Care to chime in? No pressure though. :)
 
Dr.DiSilicate

Dr.DiSilicate

Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
MASC Vice-President
#71
#71
My favorite bulbs are the Hamilton 20k. I run them for two years or so and just check for a dip in par. You can get them on sale for about 45 bucks if you watch.


Sent from my iPhone using MASC - Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado
 
J

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#72
#72
I use 14k Phoenix Double Ended on m80 ballasts. I also use 20k Radiums Single Ended on m80 ballasts. I have a 10k Aquamedic on a frag tank. You are always welcome to come by and see anything that I am using. I also have some some that I can loan out for people to test out.

I do not supplement. I do not believe in the paradigm of "best of both worlds," both in reef lighting nor in real life. This did not work for Hannah Montana who neither had a normal kid life, nor a good pop career... needed to focus on one or the other. Hybrid cars are kinda the same... either get going with a full-out Tesla so that you can go fast, or get a 40-50 mpg gas car and save the maintenance and have better longevity. For me, I don't want to waste energy or bulbs on dusk/dawn when I can just add another halide and grow stuff even better. I also do not need, nor care for, the blue "dusk" look. I am all-in on the MH.
 
Legonch

Legonch

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#79
#79
anyone have one of the halide led reef brite combos? Im trying to find information on the coverage these things have.
 
JuanGutz

JuanGutz

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#80
#80
Legonch said:
anyone have one of the halide led reef brite combos? Im trying to find information on the coverage these things have.
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I do but I don’t remember the recommended spread. I’ll try to find the reefbrite thread on R2R everything I learned about them is mostly from there.
 
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