What watt metal halide?

[Uroplatus]

I want to put a metal halide over my 45 gallon cube 150 175 or 250?

 

[tbrown]

I had a 150 over my 65 and it got hot. How high above the water are you planning on hanging it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

250 is industry standard. yes there are 150 and 400wt out there

 

[tbrown]

250 is industry standard. yes there are 150 and 400wt out there

You'd go 250 over a 45 gallon tank? That's a ton of heat and super bright for such a small tank don't you think?

 

[pledosophy]

Do you want to keep SPS, LPS, Softies, Mixed reef?

It's hard to give advice without knowing what the light will light.

 

[Uroplatus]

Do you want to keep SPS, LPS, Softies, Mixed reef?

It's hard to give advice without knowing what the light will light.

Mixed reef

 

[Uroplatus]

Actually this is my thread from before

Would a metal halide be overkill?

Okay so I bought a used 45 gallon cube and right now I have two of these I was wondering if a metal halide would be overkill? I don’t have a ton of money to spend on lights

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Uroplatus]

I can spend around $500

 

[vetteguy53081]

You'd go 250 over a 45 gallon tank? That's a ton of heat and super bright for such a small tank don't you think?

no- the lowest at 150

 

[A. grandis]

I want to put a metal halide over my 45 gallon cube 150 175 or 250?

175W or 250W. Things like ballast and type of bulb (SE or DE) also matters. Either way you play with your photoperiod for the best results. I like the 250W.

 

[Uroplatus]

175W or 250W. Things like ballast and type of bulb (SE or DE) also matters. Either way you play with your photoperiod for the best results. I like the 250W.

Are these ballast any good?

250w Selectable Wattage Electronic Ballast

Metal Halide has been a staple in reef keeping for many years. Luckily technology is keeping up with one of the older methods of lighting reef tanks. The IceCap Electronic ballasts give the best of all worlds with remarkable energy efficiency compared to all other ballasts on the market today...

www.marinedepot.com

 

[X-37B]

Get a 250 watt de and run an m80 ballast. Phoenix 14K bulb.
Run ot 14" off the surface.
I run 2 on my 120 and I habe no heat issues.
Check my build thread.
Run it for 8hrs and watch your corals grow.

I ran a 150 over my 36x24x12 frag tank and it was not enough.

 

[Uroplatus]

Get a 250 watt de and run an m80 ballast. Phoenix 14K bulb.
Run ot 14" off the surface.
I run 2 on my 120 and I habe no heat issues.
Check my build thread.
Run it for 8hrs and watch your corals grow.

I ran a 150 over my 36x24x12 frag tank and it was not enough.

So the above ballast won’t work?

 

[X-37B]

Yes they will work for single ended bulbs.
But to drive a double ended bulb to maximum efficeincy you should use a m80 ballast.
You can get them from hamilton.
I run an electronic ballast on my single ended bulb on my frag system.

 

[maroun.c]

Id go with a 150 W. You will need a chiller in summer time.
I saw a snaller tankbwith a 250 w halude in the past, colors and growth were crazy but owner struggled with acclimating new corals .

 

[Uroplatus]

Yes they will work for single ended bulbs.
But to drive a double ended bulb to maximum efficeincy you should use a m80 ballast.
You can get them from hamilton.
I run an electronic ballast on my single ended bulb on my frag system.

What’s the big difference between SE and DE?

 

[Bpb]

What’s the big difference between SE and DE?

Different jacket, different style socket. DE bulbs tend to have a bit more output due to the hqi ballast they’re designed to run with. You need a glass shield with a DE bulb as well since they lack the outer jacket to absorb the UVB that they give off. You’ve gotta decide whether you’re going to throw your lot in with either DE or SE. Your reflector (and ballast) will be chosen based on that. Most blue seeking halide users will either decide on a Phoenix (de) or a radium (se) setup. Both do best on an HQI m80 ballast, a switchable electronic ballast will run either (though some will debate whether the output and spectrum will be as intended).

I’d have no problem running either bulb on the booster 250 watt setting on an electronic ballast. They just run so much cooler and quieter. If you store your ballasts in a basement or garage an m80 is all fine and good, but for me, having a ballast out in the open in a living area, the magnetic balllasts are too large, hot, and loud. Not worth the small boost in output (which isn’t really even needed anyway)

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would suggest at least 175w for 45, the 150w will give you poor light coverage in the bottom sides and corners of your tank. I have 150w in my 32, and I cant grow anything on the bottom sides of the tank, it needs to be directly under the MH.

 

[Uroplatus]

Different jacket, different style socket. DE bulbs tend to have a bit more output due to the hqi ballast they’re designed to run with. You need a glass shield with a DE bulb as well since they lack the outer jacket to absorb the UVB that they give off. You’ve gotta decide whether you’re going to throw your lot in with either DE or SE. Your reflector (and ballast) will be chosen based on that. Most blue seeking halide users will either decide on a Phoenix (de) or a radium (se) setup. Both do best on an HQI m80 ballast, a switchable electronic ballast will run either (though some will debate whether the output and spectrum will be as intended).

I’d have no problem running either bulb on the booster 250 watt setting on an electronic ballast. They just run so much cooler and quieter. If you store your ballasts in a basement or garage an m80 is all fine and good, but for me, having a ballast out in the open in a living area, the magnetic balllasts are too large, hot, and loud. Not worth the small boost in output (which isn’t really even needed anyway)

I guess I’d probably prefer the SE bulb, one less thing to worry about breaking.

Edit:: So would the switchable ballast work and would you do a 175w or 250w

 

[Bpb]

If I had your tank and I wanted a true mixed tank, I’d get a 175 watt bulb, in a quality pendant, with an icecap adjustable 150-175-250-hqi ballast. I’d likely start with a Hamilton 20,000k 175 watt mogul bulb for a mixed tank. For sps dominant id likely switch to a 10,000k bulb with blue led supplements