Would a metal halide be overkill?
- Thread starter Uroplatus
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I would stick with what you got for now. MH I think would work, but you often end up running into heat issues and needing chiller, etc. Bulb replacement(which needs to be fairly frequent) also gets expensive so I would not consider it a budget option overall. Use those cheap led you have now and save for a nicer one would be my suggestion.
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X-37B
Fight The Good Fight
I run a MH on my 36x24x12 frag tank. 150 watt de Hamilton with 14k phoenix bulb.
Bulb is replaced once a year.
I ran the same unit on my 18" cubed, 25 gal, frag system.
I also run 2-250 watt MH on my 120.
It is not over kill as many would say.
Its personel preference per individual.
My temp in the tank is unaffected by my Halides.
Start with what you have and do more research as you will get many opinions on the subject.
Check my build thread.
Here is my frag tank.
First pic is an 17.5k giesemann and is very white.
Second is the one I run now to match my 120.
Bulb is replaced once a year.
I ran the same unit on my 18" cubed, 25 gal, frag system.
I also run 2-250 watt MH on my 120.
It is not over kill as many would say.
Its personel preference per individual.
My temp in the tank is unaffected by my Halides.
Start with what you have and do more research as you will get many opinions on the subject.
Check my build thread.
Here is my frag tank.
First pic is an 17.5k giesemann and is very white.
Second is the one I run now to match my 120.
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1
GoReefin
Valuable Member
Used to run a 400w metal halide over a 90g reef was great but like others said it gets costly. energy usage and routine bulb changes are painful on the wallet. LED has made great strides in our hobby for a reason, cheaper and more options to adjust the color spectrum. I'd stick with a nice higher end led like kessel or AI prime personally.
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OP
OP
Uroplatus
Active Member
I guess I wasn’t specific enough, I was interested in halides because I like the idea of setting something up and not being able to mess with it. I also don’t understand leds and why they cost so much, lastly unlike most people I don’t care much about color and I would much rather have rapid growth. I got these leds because they were inexpensive and I bought the tank on a whim.
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rtparty
7500 Club Member
Man, the halide myths are just crazy these days. People think they just stopped evolving and haven't gotten better over the years.
Slap a 150w Phoenix 14k over that tank and watch the tank come to life. Corals will be happier. Tank will be healthier. Heat is not nearly the issue people make it out to be. It has been proven time and time again bulbs only need replacing every 2 years. You can replace at 1 year if you are running a much more demanding tank but not necessary.
Sorry, I have tried most and there isn't an LED on the market that can touch a decent halide setup. You need double the recommended amount of LED fixtures or you run into serious shading issues. This comes from someone who has recently had the A360x, G4 Pro and G5 Pro Radions on my tank. Just switched over to Reef Brite 250w 14k halides and the tank came back to life.
When I find a few hours I am going to get out the PAR meter and test a whole bunch of combinations before I sell the Radions. Initial numbers and results are exactly why I went back to halides. Having said that, PAR is only a part of the story and you can only truly compare PAR if the spectrum is nearly identical. LED marketing makes the spectrum look a lot better than it actually is. I thought they used to smooth out T5 and halide spectral plots. LEDs took it to a whole new level.
Great, I have become the "get off my lawn" old school reefers LOL
Slap a 150w Phoenix 14k over that tank and watch the tank come to life. Corals will be happier. Tank will be healthier. Heat is not nearly the issue people make it out to be. It has been proven time and time again bulbs only need replacing every 2 years. You can replace at 1 year if you are running a much more demanding tank but not necessary.
Sorry, I have tried most and there isn't an LED on the market that can touch a decent halide setup. You need double the recommended amount of LED fixtures or you run into serious shading issues. This comes from someone who has recently had the A360x, G4 Pro and G5 Pro Radions on my tank. Just switched over to Reef Brite 250w 14k halides and the tank came back to life.
When I find a few hours I am going to get out the PAR meter and test a whole bunch of combinations before I sell the Radions. Initial numbers and results are exactly why I went back to halides. Having said that, PAR is only a part of the story and you can only truly compare PAR if the spectrum is nearly identical. LED marketing makes the spectrum look a lot better than it actually is. I thought they used to smooth out T5 and halide spectral plots. LEDs took it to a whole new level.
Great, I have become the "get off my lawn" old school reefers LOL
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GoReefin
Valuable Member
Metal halides are great for this. I'd say go for it. I never had a problem with mine. Worked great for the corals I had in the tank and the color is nice. Whenever switching lights remember to photo acclimate your corals as they can easily bleach due to higher par output of the metal halide lamp.
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OP
OP
Uroplatus
Active Member
Thanks for your response, I started reefing in 2008 when I was 11. I had one of the original oceanic biocubes. I got out about a year later and started it back up in 2014. Upgraded to a normal 30 gallon with 6 bulb t5 over it man that thing was bright, tank shattered went back to the biocube 29. Went to work at a summer camp in another state and everything died. Tore it down August 2017 and then the virus came and I set it up again because I was bored, pc bulbs died found out that nobody sells them anymore, so now I have this. P.S I’m disabled and in a power chair so sorry for the poor grammar and punctuation
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It would not be overkill depending on what you want. I remember Rod Buehler's place the guy from Rods food and he had like a 30 gallon all in one with a 400 watt metal halide over it. Did just fine but might have been a little over kill but it worked.
I used to run a 250 and VHO's over a 40 breeder it it was not overkill at all.
That is how the hobby has become. A few people say something and it is parroted enough it becomes fact. It is social media.
I used to run a 250 and VHO's over a 40 breeder it it was not overkill at all.
That is how the hobby has become. A few people say something and it is parroted enough it becomes fact. It is social media.
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X-37B
Fight The Good Fight
I would run a 250 14K de phoenix in a lumenbright mini at 14" off the surface. Thats actually 10" off the surface from the glass as it 4 more inches to the bulb.
Their are other quality MH's out too. Hamilton and Reef Brite are good.
I run the hamilton 150 on my frag but its only a 12" deep tank.
NOTE: I only run my MH 8hrs a day.
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Here is the poor color I get from my 250 watt 14k's on my 120.
No blue supplement in this pic.
I do run an or3 blue plus 1/2 hr before and after MH for dawn dusk.
Many misconceptions about MH floating around out their.
I am missing where people are hating on the colors of MH. What often gets mentioned is the ability to adjust colors using LED that you dont have as much freedom with MH. In any case I think MH are fantastic. Still use one on a shallow frag tank.
I still would argue it is not the best choice on a "budget" which it sounded like was a concern for the OP, and it certainly can cause heat issues depending on the setup and the ambient temperature in your room.
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