Moving to MH !

[Yanir34]

Hello !
I have new SPS dominate tank , dimensions are :
140 cm long , 70 cm wide , 55 cm high .
I want to install 2 MH bulbs above that tank .
I have few questions:

1. what is the recommended of MH bulbs for this tank dimensions? 2 bulbs of 400w or 2 bulbs of 250w ?
2. what is the lighting schedule with this type of light ? how many hours of MH should be on ?
3. what supplements leds are the best for this bulbs ?
4. what are the best type of bulbs ? I saw that giesmann megachorme 20,000k is very good for sps ..is it true ?

I've in this hobby forn 15 years and never worked with MH bulbs...any tips will be welcome

 

[RedoubtReef]

I'd say 250 watt bulbs and have you considered supplementing with T5 instead of LED?

 

[Reefer Matt]

Is there a reason why you want mh lights?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hello !
I have new SPS dominate tank , dimensions are :
140 cm long , 70 cm wide , 55 cm high .
I want to install 2 MH bulbs above that tank .
I have few questions:

1. what is the recommended of MH bulbs for this tank dimensions? 2 bulbs of 400w or 2 bulbs of 250w ?
2. what is the lighting schedule with this type of light ? how many hours of MH should be on ?
3. what supplements leds are the best for this bulbs ?
4. what are the best type of bulbs ? I saw that giesmann megachorme 20,000k is very good for sps ..is it true ?

I've in this hobby forn 15 years and never worked with MH bulbs...any tips will be welcome

Seems like a backward step to me. Why?

 

[nereefpat]

With 55cm high, I wouldn't go 400 watt. 2x 250 watt is a good plan. I would run them about 8 hours. Dealer's choice on LED for evening viewing, but I likely wouldn't run them while MH is on.

 

[bobnicaragua]

That’s a 21 inch deep tank, you should be good with 250 watt halides. LED bars would be best for fill light, unless you mix in some T5. I like reef brite bars for their spread. Orphek bars will have higher par but a narrower spread. I’ve also heard good things about quanta bars lately.
Most people run 20k halides these days. I’ve used Reef Brite and Hamilton bulbs with good results. I’m sure giesmann will grow sticks. I would work the halides up to 6 or 8 hours a day and run the LEDs for 10 or 11 hours a day.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Hello !
I have new SPS dominate tank , dimensions are :
140 cm long , 70 cm wide , 55 cm high .
I want to install 2 MH bulbs above that tank .
I have few questions:

1. what is the recommended of MH bulbs for this tank dimensions? 2 bulbs of 400w or 2 bulbs of 250w ?
2. what is the lighting schedule with this type of light ? how many hours of MH should be on ?
3. what supplements leds are the best for this bulbs ?
4. what are the best type of bulbs ? I saw that giesmann megachorme 20,000k is very good for sps ..is it true ?

I've in this hobby forn 15 years and never worked with MH bulbs...any tips will be welcome

@jda should be able to provide quite a bit of advice on halides for ya.

But I will add my 2 cents lol.

2x 25Ow should be fine.

I would go for 6-8 hours. It all depends on what you plan to do for a supplement.

If you are set on LED, then light bars are a nice option. You can also set them ramp up and down. You can do this to where they ramp up and give a sunrise effect, then ramp down when the halides come on then ramp up as halides go off and ramp down to end the light schedule. You may also not need to even worry with ramping down or turning off when halides come on, this all depends on par of the lights combined. The other option is T5 bulbs to supplement the halides. Kick one them on in the morning and the halides come on for a peak time, then t5 stays on until lights out. In all reality, ramping is not needed.

For the 20,000k bulb you listed. I have heard good things about it, but never used it, as it is too blue for me. I prefer 10,000-14,000k, 14,000k being the most blue I can stand. That is me though and giesemann makes great bulbs. My last fixture was giesemann and I used the 14,000k bulbs from them.

 

[RichReef]

2 x 250 should be plenty. 14k IMO.

I would lean towards T5 supplement rather than LED to have less shadowing and more coverage. More area of your corals would color.

I loved my MH when I had them up. I can't tell you how many times I've went back and forth in my head to set them back up. Because of the room the DT is in MH just wouldn't work out well for watching TV but if my DT wasn't in the room with our main TV I would drag those suckers out in a heartbeat.

Don't listen to the naysayers. It's all about what YOU want. Not their opinions and if your water parms are on point you will absolutely love it.

 

[Syntax1235]

I also agree, 2 x 250 watt bulbs would be plenty around 12 inches above the water. Check out the Reef Brite MH/XHO pendants. I’m setting up a 5 foot long, 2 foot wide, and 25 inch tall tank using those exact lights.

MH systems are easy, no par meter needed…. Turn it on and enjoy.

 

[RedoubtReef]

My bulb recommendations would be Radium 20K, Hamilton 20K or Phoenix 14K. For a T5 comparison, this video has some good info

 

[Yanir34]

Thank you all ! I will go with 2×250w

 

[MartinM]

I use 2x 250w Spectra fixtures each with 100w of 250 on a 200x80wx60d system with high light demand (maximas, coceas, some SPS, carpet and mag anemones) and they do the job just fine. I actually tried 400w on one side and downgraded, it was too much light for the SPS. The tank gets a lot of indirect NSL also. I use 14k bulbs which are probably more of a 10k after they break in. I’m with @Eagle_Steve, I like my reef tank to look like a reef. I do love the phoenix 14k DE’s, but my fixtures are mogul.

don’t forget that lighting is also heavily dependent on aquascape and reflector. And the attached photo you can see one of the pendants is higher than the other due to the aqua scape and what animals I have placed where. Those clams on the right side high up on the rock getting between 350 and 475 PAR.

While I love the Spectra fixtures for a lot of reasons, the reflector is too small. In fact the fixture overall is too small in general. However, aesthetics are a really big deal for me, and they work for my use case. I’m using icecap ballasts.

I run 7-8 hours/day in the summer and 9-10 hours/day in the winter. The T5s run about 16.
I have had marine aquariums since 1993 and halides + T5 can’t be best IMO. I’m not an LED hater (I use them on another system) but if you can use them, I highly recommend them, they’re such a unique type of lighting and give such a unique look and shimmer effect.

Edit: sandbed in the middle gets 175 PAR, which is the lowest except for the very ends, sandbed is 100ish.

 

[A. grandis]

Thank you all ! I will go with 2×250w

I'm a little late here, but...

Metal halides are he very best you can use for any reef tank! There is absolutely no other light quite like it in many ways! Different types of lights will give you different results, but halides are still the king of lights in terms of QUALITY OF LIGHT produced. Rich wide spectrum including UV and IR, safe strong intensity, amazing distribution and delivery of photons!!! Not to mention the amazing shimmer!! With the right equipment you will get the very best we can get over any system. Put some T5s on the side and you will have the ultimate combination!!!!!

*** It feels so good to write all that... has been a while since I didn't come here.. been real busy! I just feel we all have the right to express our feelings here, like others have done previously above, asking you why you want halides. Just ignore them then. Ha! ***

Yup, 2 X 250W will do the trick there! Giesemann produces great halide gear! If you can get your hands on a 48" Spectra and get those 250W 20K bulbs you will be very happy! Add 2 X 54watt ATI Blue Plus on each side and you're done!

Enjoy your system!!!!! Grow some Acros there for me!

 

[A. grandis]

I use 2x 250w Spectra fixtures each with 100w of 250 on a 200x80wx60d system with high light demand (maximas, coceas, some SPS, carpet and mag anemones) and they do the job just fine. I actually tried 400w on one side and downgraded, it was too much light for the SPS. The tank gets a lot of indirect NSL also. I use 14k bulbs which are probably more of a 10k after they break in. I’m with @Eagle_Steve, I like my reef tank to look like a reef. I do love the phoenix 14k DE’s, but my fixtures are mogul.

don’t forget that lighting is also heavily dependent on aquascape and reflector. And the attached photo you can see one of the pendants is higher than the other due to the aqua scape and what animals I have placed where. Those clams on the right side high up on the rock getting between 350 and 475 PAR.

While I love the Spectra fixtures for a lot of reasons, the reflector is too small. In fact the fixture overall is too small in general. However, aesthetics are a really big deal for me, and they work for my use case. I’m using icecap ballasts.

I run 7-8 hours/day in the summer and 9-10 hours/day in the winter. The T5s run about 16.
I have had marine aquariums since 1993 and halides + T5 can’t be best IMO. I’m not an LED hater (I use them on another system) but if you can use them, I highly recommend them, they’re such a unique type of lighting and give such a unique look and shimmer effect.

Edit: sandbed in the middle gets 175 PAR, which is the lowest except for the very ends, sandbed is 100ish.

You would do better with 3 of those fixtures over that system.
Giesemann Spectra has 4 T5s and that helps filling out the gaps between those little fixtures... They do have a great distribution for their size though.
You're going a great job with only 2, but you will feel the need as they grow.
Try to find one more fixture for your tank. You won't regret!!!
Nice tank by the way!!!

 

[MartinM]

Thanks. I have four just in case. I actually have at least one Of pretty much every single fixture available on the German, US, or Japanese market That emits a color spectrum other than blue! (So no Radeon haha) to test to see what I like for different purposes or to use in combination.

There aren’t many SPS in the system and there never will be very many (I’m not really a fan of ‘sticks’), so two works for now without the chiller having to run too much during the summer!

 

[A. grandis]

Thanks. I have four just in case. I actually have at least one Of pretty much every single fixture available on the German, US, or Japanese market That emits a color spectrum other than blue! (So no Radeon haha) to test to see what I like for different purposes or to use in combination.

There aren’t many SPS in the system and there never will be very many (I’m not really a fan of ‘sticks’), so two works for now without the chiller having to run too much during the summer!

Are you referring to metal halide fixtures from Germany, US and Japan? If so, would be very interesting to list some of them here with pictures. Specially from Japan.

 

[Yanir34]

Is there a reason why you want mh lights?

Yes ,it is the best lighting source for SPS

 

[Reefer Matt]

Yes ,it is the best lighting source for SPS

Ok. Everyone has their favorites. Here's my sps tank. Happy Reefing!

 

[Katrina71]

Why not do all 3? You can do MH, LED, and T5! They all offer different benefits and drawbacks. I think it's a personal choice. You can tinker with the placement and duration of each.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Yes ,it is the best lighting source for SPS

If you add 25 years ago to that sentence, I'd agree with you.

There is nothing MH can do that beats LED. Been there and done that.
MH just wastes heat and light, which the world cannot afford right now.

It looks better if you like stoned out coral