Metal Halide on 90 Gallon?

[madlos123]

Yeah thats what they told me where to go lol;Hilarious

 

[infinite0180]

I run a DE setup. 14k Phoenix is very nice. Its paired with t5 though.

 

[Bao]

Don't get Radium bulbs. Radium bulbs on Electronic Ballast is just too dim.

 

[A. grandis]

Yes, Hamilton 14K has a lot of intensity (PAR)!! Similar to the Ushio 14K in appearance. The one I like the most is the 14K cause it looks very natural. 10ks are also amazing, specially with the ATI Blue Plus bulbs on!!!! The 20Ks aren't that blue, but still have a great spectrum composition showing that white/blue deeper ocean feel! I can use the 250W Hamilton on e-ballast over my reef without much pressure, smoother PAR.
I love all of them.

If you get the small Cayman fixtures make sure to install them parallel to the tank. The Cayman mogul is actually 13,25" X 13.25" X 5" and can run either 175W or 250W. Make sure you count those .25"! If you get the 14K you will probably be ok with the 175W for a 90 gallon. I tried the 250W over my 75gal. system and I can tell it is a PAR monster, specially for a zoanthid dominated system, like mine. Most SPS will love the 250W though, but you can also try the 175W 14Ks with a longer photoperiod. That said, the selectable ballast will allow you to choose the wattage. You can also get selectable e-ballasts from marine depot and Premium Aquatics:

250w Selectable Wattage Electronic Ballast

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Icecap 250watt Selectable Ballast Halide Ballast | Premium Aquatics

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ReefBrite has lots of great reviews too! Tullio is an amazing person and customer service is also great!! Unfortunately I've never tried them before. I hope one day to be able to move to a bigger house and set up a system with ReefBrite to can have that experience! I would probably use ATI Blue Plus for supplementation.
I would recommend to get all ReefBrite (fixture, ballasts and bulbs) if you choose that route. They seem to work better that way for what I've heard.

You will grow healthy robust and well colored/distributed colonies using halides!
Lucky boy!

 

[Bpb]

My tank performed far better under 20,000k bulbs despite not liking the visible spectrum as much. While it’s not as blue as most people run their t5 or led tanks, it was still a little blue for my taste.

I think despite the 14k looking so much better to me...the 500-1000 par everything was receiving was stunting growth. My guess anyway

 

[madlos123]

Reef brite pendant SE is out of stock in premium aquatics. i sent them an email when its going to be back

 

[A. grandis]

My tank performed far better under 20,000k bulbs despite not liking the visible spectrum as much. While it’s not as blue as most people run their t5 or led tanks, it was still a little blue for my taste.

I think despite the 14k looking so much better to me...the 500-1000 par everything was receiving was stunting growth. My guess anyway

It's easier to deal with the 20Ks... less algae growth and a more comfortable PAR for the corals IMO. They will probably grow a bit faster under 14Ks though. The 14K will grow them faster in my tank, and the punch is stronger for the colonies at the bottom of the tank. The protective pigments are a bit more defined under 14Ks. The greens come out really nice!!!!! Yellow pigmentation is very strong under the 14Ks and only great under 20Ks. Reds do better under the 20Ks.
The differences aren't a decision point to me. I like both. Some times it's hard to decide which would I keep them under. LOL!! I also noticed that any results will take a while to fully develop and show, and the adaptation needs to follow it's protocols.

 

[madlos123]

Im thinking about getting the hamilton cayman mogul. Then start with 10k or 14k 175w and see. I already have t5 retrofit 2 bulb. So ill probably supplement and experiment with color.

 

[A. grandis]

Reef brite pendant SE is out of stock in premium aquatics. i sent them an email when its going to be back

Be patient. The main problem right now is that many people are going back to halides and they are out of stock. I called Hamilton this morning and they said the problem is with the COVID situation. Try to call ReefBrite and talk to Tullio. He might have another way to send you the goodies.

 

[madlos123]

I still got lots of time. Im just painting the back of my aquarium. Will be doing plumbing next. I got my stand and canopy all done though and diy sump and overflow drilled.

I still got to do electrical and rockwork and tiling the floor lol.

 

[Bpb]

! I also noticed that any results will take a while to fully develop and show, and the adaptation needs to follow it's protocols.

I like to give something 6 months to a year before forming a full opinion. I may have a working opinion but won’t consider it a conclusion until a year usually. Be it lighting, or any other phase of reef keeping

 

[reefinatl]

2x250w Phoenix in the crappiest 10 year old pendants around.

I don't know what came first bimini sun from Hamilton or these fishneedit.com lights but it's terrible spread and par. Great thing about a 250w Phoenix is its good enough you can run it poorly and still be ahead of most.

 

[A. grandis]

2x250w Phoenix in the crappiest 10 year old pendants around.

I don't know what came first bimini sun from Hamilton or these fishneedit.com lights but it's terrible spread and par. Great thing about a 250w Phoenix is its good enough you can run it poorly and still be ahead of most.

I've seen some "bad" cheap Chinese DE fixtures in the past that you wouldn't like to even touch them so poorly made they looked, but those guys would still work great in any reef anytime, cause the principals of halides are still the essence of what those projected results will be no matter what!

 

[madlos123]

Yeah i have Premium Aquatics dropped shipped ordered 2 Reefbrite SE Pendant 250W 10k with electronic ballast last week.

Yeah when I used to have a planted tank I bought the Odyssey 4 Bulb T5. works to grow plants but after one year ballast went out and reflectors were not the best. i replaced ballast then used them for another year before chucking them out lol.

 

[A. grandis]

That's why best thing is to get good quality gear since the beginning.
Better quality is most likely safer too, specially with halides.
Not to mention warranty and customer service.

 

[madlos123]

Yeah im just waiting for them to arrive. No Shipping Tracking yet thou. I feel like there's more post about going back to metal halide recently ;Joyful ;Joyful

 

[A. grandis]

Yeah im just waiting for them to arrive. No Shipping Tracking yet thou. I feel like there's more post about going back to metal halide recently ;Joyful ;Joyful

Keep us posted!! Yes, lots of people going back to halides, including public aquariums. Quality speaks louder. That is a great sign!

 

[reefinatl]

That's why best thing is to get good quality gear since the beginning.
Better quality is most likely safer too, specially with halides.
Not to mention warranty and customer service.

Agreed on all counts. Mine started life as $90 pendants and that included bulb and ballast back in '07. Then I replaced the ballasts and bulbs with lumatek and phoenix. Quality bulbs and ballasts made an amazing difference. Sooner or later I'll do better pendants on this new setup since I have a canopy, I loved the form factor of the cheapies without a canopy though.

 

[A. grandis]

Agreed on all counts. Mine started life as $90 pendants and that included bulb and ballast back in '07. Then I replaced the ballasts and bulbs with lumatek and phoenix. Quality bulbs and ballasts made an amazing difference. Sooner or later I'll do better pendants on this new setup since I have a canopy, I loved the form factor of the cheapies without a canopy though.

I know... it's good to look at those tiny, but still powerful "little creatures" over the tank. LOL! I can assure to you that when you put some "monster reflectors" you will see the explosion of rays hitting everythig and the live starting to take over the tank even more. The reflectors do make a huge difference. Uniformity and spread work together balancing the power emited as a whole. That's why I like those fixtures with better spread. It's a huge advantage in quality of light. I'm glad you've got those lumatek! Great ballasts.

 

[madlos123]

Got the reefbrite metal halide delived today