Metal Halides are the bomb

[Bpb]

For selectable ones probably the Icecap ballast. Not sure if there are any other ones made.

Not aquarium grade ones anyway. You have to search for used ones on eBay. Even most horticulture places don’t sell them anymore. Most of them have phased out MH as well beyond ceramics or ultra high wattage 1000+ watt stuff

 

[xtian]

Anybody running a 150w phoenix on a 175w e ballast?

 

[X-37B]

Anybody running a 150w phoenix on a 175w e ballast?

Get an m80 for the 150 from hamilton.
Its what I run on my frag system.
Their are plenty of e ballasts still for sale as many still run them.

 

[Bpb]

Get an m80 for the 150 from hamilton.
Its what I run on my frag system.
Their are plenty of e ballasts still for sale as many still run them.

Wait you run an ANSI code M80 ballast on 150 watt bulbs? That’s a bold strategy, cotton

 

[xtian]

Lol ^. M81 is for 150 watters. But I think running them on 175w e ballast is near the same thing.

 

[X-37B]

Wait you run an ANSI code M80 ballast on 150 watt bulbs? That’s a bold strategy, cotton

Sorry was thinking of my 250's.
The 150 is a m102.
Both 250 and 150 are DE bulbs.
175 watt require an m57.

 

[Backreefing]

A little change of gears but , isn’t it cool that so many people are buying LEDs and literally dumping metal halides for cheap or next to nothing. Lol .
Go ahead peps spend enough money to buy a good used car on some big money LEDs , then sell those perfectly good lights for peanuts. Just to find out in 3-5 years they are spent and buy again.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Leds for sure have their place. I mean if i lived in florida or california i would likely run them to prevent heat build up.

You will find very few people that are actually knowledgable about both that will say that LED grow corals better then MH.

But yeah, it is kind of funny that people spend soooo much time AND money searching for the bomb LED setup, i hang a single MH and call it a day.

 

[TerraFerma]

Anybody running a 150w phoenix on a 175w e ballast?

I run one on an ARO E-Ballast which is rated for 150/175. I believe all the 150 E-Ballasts are dual rated for 150/175. So it isn't running our Phoenix 150w at 175w along the lines of what an M80 ballast does. But I like the color and the corals grow well under it.

 

[Vette67]

I run one on an ARO E-Ballast which is rated for 150/175. I believe all the 150 E-Ballasts are dual rated for 150/175. So it isn't running our Phoenix 150w at 175w along the lines of what an M80 ballast does. But I like the color and the corals grow well under it.

And here I thought I was the only one still using ARO ballasts. Mine have to be 20 years old....

 

[WvAquatics]

I have been researching halides. I have reefbreeders now but I'm planning a 300gupgrade and 3-4 halides are very tempting to try. I just work about the heat. Posting to follow the discussion

 

[Vwluv10338]

Just hung my 250w hqi 14k over my 4’ 120g. It will be flanked by two Reefi Unos for supplement and control. Right now I love looking at my Apex and seeing that as soon as the halide comes on my heater stops cycling. It’s in a fully enclosed hood and my fan isn’t even kicking on. I had my house at closer to 70f running my wood stove and with the halide on my tank temp would just stop rock solid. Today the house is 64 and my heater still had to kick on. It’s nice to watch the halide come on drawing 270w and the 283w heater not kick on. I will probably have to run a chiller in the dead of summer but that’s only two months of the year. People (and me initially) think they are saving a bunch of money running LEDs but then pay for it in heater watts.

 

[Backreefing]

I have been researching halides. I have reefbreeders now but I'm planning a 300gupgrade and 3-4 halides are very tempting to try. I just work about the heat. Posting to follow the discussion

Don’t worry, the heat is way over exaggerated. A simple desktop fan aimed at the water is all that is needed.

 

[WvAquatics]

Yeah I am invisioning 4 halides over a 96" tank. Coming on 30mins to an hour apart and imitating a sun rise. But this is a year away lol working on buying a house for the tank 1st.

 

[Bpb]

I have been researching halides. I have reefbreeders now but I'm planning a 300gupgrade and 3-4 halides are very tempting to try. I just work about the heat. Posting to follow the discussion

Your heat management will be entirely dependent on where you’re at. A basement tank in North Dakota where ambient room temps are in the 50’s and you have to run 20 watts per gallon to even get your tank to 78 degrees is one thing. A living room in south Florida with 80-90% humidity and an AC that has to run 24/7 to get the house down to a 76 degree ambient temperature is another thing entirely.

I easily managed metal halide heat with desk fans here in Texas....but it contributed mightily to the humidity levels inside the house. Sometimes a chiller is preferable to fans. To avoid rusting everything metal inside your house and having your walls and windows constantly sweating because you’re forcing several gallons a day of evaporation

 

[Backreefing]

Yeah I am invisioning 4 halides over a 96" tank. Coming on 30mins to an hour apart and imitating a sun rise. But this is a year away lol working on buying a house for the tank 1st.

Honestly I think 3 lights could cover 96” . Figure about 32” spread for each fixture. But 3 400 watt double end bulbs could light that . Or you could just get 4 + radions . $$$$ humm $4grand for radions or $2grand for halides . Still a 8’ tank is awesome. No matter.

 

[Backreefing]

Your heat management will be entirely dependent on where you’re at. A basement tank in North Dakota where ambient room temps are in the 50’s and you have to run 20 watts per gallon to even get your tank to 78 degrees is one thing. A living room in south Florida with 80-90% humidity and an AC that has to run 24/7 to get the house down to a 76 degree ambient temperature is another thing entirely.

I easily managed metal halide heat with desk fans here in Texas....but it contributed mightily to the humidity levels inside the house. Sometimes a chiller is preferable to fans. To avoid rusting everything metal inside your house and having your walls and windows constantly sweating because you’re forcing several gallons a day of evaporation

I live in the mid Atlantic United States. Balt . I can’t say the heat here can top Texas but you would be surprised of the summer heat here in Baltimore. Wew . Yes my ac is rocking all summer. And it gets cold here to . Let’s just say you better have some ac here because the summer heat kills more people then the cold does . Here anyway . I run fans on the aquarium. Keeps it 80 degrees maximum .

 

[Bpb]

I live in the mid Atlantic United States. Balt . I can’t say the heat here can top Texas but you would be surprised of the summer heat here in Baltimore. Wew . Yes my ac is rocking all summer. And it gets cold here to . Let’s just say you better have some ac here because the summer heat kills more people then the cold does . Here anyway . I run fans on the aquarium. Keeps it 80 degrees maximum .

Oh I believe it. Fans can work easily if you need to knock temps down 3 degrees or so. Cheap and easy to implement. I just know in my area, a chiller would have probably been a better tool than fans. And I feel like such a flip flopper saying it since for years I’ve preached “chillers are unnecessary, fans work just as well” I just started to see the long term effects of humidity levels up in the 70-80% inside the house after a while. I feel like a chiller would have greatly reduced evaporation. But also....hang them high enough, and it becomes less and less of an issue.

 

[Backreefing]

Well finally my aquarium has gotten used to the new Phoenix bulbs . I’m staying with them . I like the color and the corals seam to like them to .

 

[A. grandis]

A little change of gears but , isn’t it cool that so many people are buying LEDs and literally dumping metal halides for cheap or next to nothing. Lol .
Go ahead peps spend enough money to buy a good used car on some big money LEDs , then sell those perfectly good lights for peanuts. Just to find out in 3-5 years they are spent and buy again.

I've been telling people here for so many years about the huge amount of money wasted getting so many of those LEDs to play with. Truth is that they paid big money to actually test them for the manufacturers. When they spend that much money with their systems they get upset when someone tells them it was a waste and they actually could do better with less investments in the long run. But they needed to believe at all costs that their money was wisely invested. After a while they saw the "need for the upgrades" and such, with the smart marketing strategies, and thought about it... I think some of them finally realized what is happening in this hobby. We see people getting their halide systems very often nowadays. I was heavily criticized in the beginning when I said LEDs shouldn't be used as a primary source of light for optimal results, but so many reefers actually thanked me for what I've published in the past. Other old timer halide users here are also responsible for this help! They laughed at me when I told them one day people would get back those halides over their systems. I'm very happy to see how many reefers are seeing the amazing benefits of metal halides lately and growing their corals the way it should! Results don't lie! Yes, "Metal Halide are the bomb!"
Pretty soon you won't be able to find halides for peanuts anymore.