Purple/blue color using only metal halide ?

[Lobophyton]

It takes time and persistence, every other technique is just another tool in the toolbox. There is no magic solution here. I think i see the coraline, your goal is to keep algea in check, while it spreads. Get stuff to eat the algea, manually remove the long stuff, maintain water chemistry. Takes time though( think months and years, not days and weeks)

Yes, i might have a short vision term, the tank went bad since i tried to reduce phosphate withe lanthanum chloride

The Giesemann Megachrome bulbs have more of a purple tint that some other MH bulbs. Being from Germany, they should be available to ship to France.

I'll check, love purple =)

 

[PeterErc]

Hi, i found a metal halide fixture with Arcadia 14k bulb, inside the bulb there is some black spot, maybe that explain why it looks so yellow on the tank ? thx

Light could look yellow from the water. Using some GAC will clear up the water. The bulb may not be as yellow as perceived.

 

[Lobophyton]

Thx guys, a last question if i might, i have a tank in my office using metal halide, the light is 12" above the tank, and dang that light is bright. What is the best solution to stop the light to blur my eyes ? i can't reduce the height because of the coverage and for easier maintenance thx

Can't change my desk place neither, it's a tank without a lid, i have hard time to see solutions there

 

[jda]

I put a board or a piece of aluminum on the top of the tank that leans up against the light.

 

[Lobophyton]

I put a board or a piece of aluminum on the top of the tank that leans up against the light.

Sorry for my english, you mean a kind of hood ? could you share a pictures of it ? thx so much

 

[jda]

Not so much... just a board cut to height and width that I lean up against the light from the rim of the tank. I don't want a hood since they hold in too much heat. This is just the front to stop light spill.

 

[Lobophyton]

Not so much... just a board cut to height and width that I lean up against the light from the rim of the tank. I don't want a hood since they hold in too much heat. This is just the front to stop light spill.

Oh yeah i see, i'll put some piece to avoid it to fall down, i was thinking too hard lol

 

[jda]

Even cardboard and some tape works in the short term.

I have my big tank in the theatre room and 8x metal halides can make quite a glare on the TV. I got a piece of aluminum cut at 12 inches by 96, or whatever that I just lean on the front. It is not super pretty, but anybody who looks at the tanks sees the acropora and the fish just follow them around anyway... they don't even notice the hardware.

I leave the sides, back and top open to let the heat out - I also blow a fan across the top and that front shield kinda helps keep the air on the tank.

 

[Lobophyton]

Even cardboard and some tape works in the short term.

I have my big tank in the theatre room and 8x metal halides can make quite a glare on the TV. I got a piece of aluminum cut at 12 inches by 96, or whatever that I just lean on the front. It is not super pretty, but anybody who looks at the tanks sees the acropora and the fish just follow them around anyway... they don't even notice the hardware.

I leave the sides, back and top open to let the heat out - I also blow a fan across the top and that front shield kinda helps keep the air on the tank.

Yes, i'll paint a piece of wood in mat white, to reflect light, i can't stand that much light, metal halide is a very unique kind of light, so bright and pure

 

[Reefering1]

For the sake of absorbing light/ reducing glare on the sides, I would probably paint it black

 

[Lobophyton]

For the sake of absorbing light/ reducing glare on the sides, I would probably paint it black

Yes, i'll paint outside white, and inside black, good idea

 

[Lobophyton]

Hi, i received the marine color 14k 150w from china, it's way bluish than the arcadia 14k, but the arcadia bulb was old. I kind of fixed the yellow water. I added my tetratec 1200 plus canister filter with filter floss.

I know that people hate canister filter due to nitrate factory, but in the club, there were lots of tank with them, to be honest the tanks were so healthy, they cleaned them once every 6 months, but i will do it once a month.

The green algae on the rock reduce the effect of the light i guess, less reflection. The first thing i see in a week with halide in that, SPS grow faster, Rhodactis is fully open. Palythoas seems to need time to adapt to halide

the picture is 100% marine color 14k halide, nothing else.


What kind of algae is on the rock, the green one, is that coralline ?

 

[CBonito]

Thx guys, a last question if i might, i have a tank in my office using metal halide, the light is 12" above the tank, and dang that light is bright. What is the best solution to stop the light to blur my eyes ? i can't reduce the height because of the coverage and for easier maintenance thx

Can't change my desk place neither, it's a tank without a lid, i have hard time to see solutions there

Have you ever seen a kessil a360x or a500x? That is the blue you want AND it looks like metal halide to boot.
It's not washed out and flourescent pigments jump pretty hard. You mentioned you have an open top...
Photo and video of when I first set up...

 

[19Mateo83]

I use 14k bulbs on my MH, and the colour is pretty white, but not so white that the corals appear brown, they still fluorescent, they just don't pop if that makes sense.
The picture used in the OP can't be 14k bulbs.

I've never used 20k so I have no idea what the colour is like. I can't remember having seen a 20k de bulb, I've only seen single ended 20k bulbs.

I use 2 Orphek OR3 bars for that fluorescent pop. But the bars only turn on at 5 pm and stay on for the evening, I don't need them to be on during the day.

Back in the day I ran two 250w phoenix 14k along with two 48” ATI blue plus and it popped corals quite nicely

 

[Lobophyton]

Have you ever seen a kessil a360x or a500x? That is the blue you want AND it looks like metal halide to boot.
It's not washed out and flourescent pigments jump pretty hard. You mentioned you have an open top...
Photo and video of when I first set up...

Looks crazy good, i'll need to work a bit more to get that kessil light, 500$ dang, not a lot for the hobby but still a lot for me

I remember at the club they used 10k halide + blue led, the looks was incredible, the most beautiful tank colors i've ever seen, but if the tank looks like on your video, that's what i'm looking for

 

[CBonito]

Looks crazy good, i'll need to work a bit more to get that kessil light lol

I remember at the club they used 10k halide + blue led, the looks was incredible, the most beautiful tank colors i've ever seen, but if the tank looks like on your video, that's what i'm looking for

I have no other light than the 2 kessils. And they also have red, green, white and violet LEDs to tweak the color to your satisfaction. I like them a lot. You can find them used for sale here often and they are very good. A lot of power for a small light and they keep the open top of the tank open because there isnt all this "stuff" in the way.

 

[Lobophyton]

I have no other light than the 2 kessils. And they also have red, green, white and violet LEDs to tweak the color to your satisfaction. I like them a lot. You can find them used for sale here often and they are very good. A lot of power for a small light and they keep the open top of the tank open because there isnt all this "stuff" in the way.

Yeah, i'll stick to halide until summer to see if halide is really the goat, which seems promising. To be honest i knew kessil from freshwater side, i know they make high quality product. If i go back to led i'll take it

 

[CBonito]

Yeah, i'll stick to halide until summer to see if halide is really the goat, which seems promising. To be honest i knew kessil from freshwater side, i know they make high quality product. If i go back to led i'll take it

I have no beef with halide. I was using 20k radiums/XM on my last tank and loved them. It's looking like halide is getting more and more scarce and I didn't want to burn my elbow ever again while working in the tank. One time I touched my elbow to a bulb...man....I lifted the entire hood into the air. The kessils come really close to metal halide since all the LEDs are on one chip and emit from one point. You don't get all that colored disco effect on the sand either from the lack of diffusion. And you also don't get all the heat into your tank which is a big one for me having a smaller tank. If not for all the above, I would never have gone to LED.

I still have an HQI ballast around here somewhere though and if anyone ever makes a cool bulb that interests me and I need more light, I'll use it over the system I am going to build in my garage.

 

[Lobophyton]

I have no beef with halide. I was using 20k radiums/XM on my last tank and loved them. It's looking like halide is getting more and more scarce and I didn't want to burn my elbow ever again while working in the tank. One time I touched my elbow to a bulb...man....I lifted the entire hood into the air. The kessils come really close to metal halide since all the LEDs are on one chip and emit from one point. You don't get all that colored disco effect on the sand either from the lack of diffusion. And you also don't get all the heat into your tank which is a big one for me having a smaller tank. If not for all the above, I would never have gone to LED.

I still have an HQI ballast around here somewhere though and if anyone ever makes a cool bulb that interests me and I need more light, I'll use it over the system I am going to build in my garage.

Halide heat is crazy i agree, the bulb heat a room of my house alone. The light is 12 inches above the water, i use the glass to avoid touching the bulb, pretty sure the glass is crazy hot too. I always do maintenance when halide are off, i use led for maintenance.

Kessil is 900 euros in my country, that's a lot, 750 second hand