used lighting

[killingseed]

just woundering if anyone local had any used 175W or 250W MH used equipment sitting around they wanted or needed to get rid of.

[Salty Sam]

I think I have 4 slightly used 250w HQI bulbs...not sure of the kelvin.....$30.00 each.

[mitchellmoto]

Okay I have a 175w MH retro I'll sell. I was planning on puting it on a marine planted tank but I'll use my 250w setup . So it is a 175w advance ballast with cap, reflector, bulb base and bulb. I'll give you the reflector but you'll more than likely want to purchase a new one this one is beat up . I belive a new reflector from hellolights is 25 buck. Or you could go with the Lumenarc's like I have over my tank!!!!The bulb is a 10k so very white and it is used but should get you by for a while. You could put this over the middle and your compacts on the side, so you can have your high light demanding corals in the center or go on Ebay or hellolights and buy another 175w to match. You can find ballast for 40 bucks on ebay plus shipping plus bulb plus ballast. It does add up but it still will be cheap compared to other options. Anyways how does $60 bucks sound. I just had sold the other setup last meeting. Actually I think you saw the setup I had there last meeting. This is the same exact thing. Let me know.
Well I'm off to work so Later.

[killingseed]

is it Electronic, Magnetic? i beleave by what i saw it was magnetic,btu asking just in case.

[mitchellmoto]

It is magnetic. Have you looked on the seller forum yet?

[killingseed]

i have chat with a coupe people, i have a dual 250w PFO someone said they would hold for me till payday. like new.

2x 175w i think is my min. goal. 2x 250 is my max. + and current light i that i have now. i like the colors of my corals and fish from my fluorescents then my pc's which with 175w would be around 510 watts, but change then our for some t5's.

[killingseed]

dual 250w PFO is just a balist.

wouldnt mind going 2x 250w 14k + 2x or 4x t5's

thought about just one 400w but i dont think the pasti center brance will take it over time.

[killingseed]

problem is once i start doing it and buying equipment i and kind of commented to that. if i do 175 i go all the way but will i be happy, i dont see way not, but i would hate to get the 175w and it would have been better to get 250w


sorry for all the posts but just have to get these thoughts out.

[killingseed]

one more part. this is a zoa dominated tank, may get more clams. and i want a couple fav. maze brains. but in the end most zoa's no sps.

p.s. one mangrove down while back but one is left and buding

[killingseed]

i want! ,but i dont need or want the reflector. may get new 20.oo spiders or even get something above {Lumenarc} :>. it may take me a couple months to get all the parts i need but this is a start.

i dont plan on adding or using till i have all the parts.

[mitchellmoto]

Hey I sent you a PM. Look I truly belive 2 175w MH would be enough for your 90. You could use mybe 2 PC for atinics or down the road go with 14k or 20 k bulbs. With adding MH you will have to be more aware of the heat and I think if you add two MH to your current setup you will have huge heat problems. I wish someone else would chime in here and give you some more opinions. And yes 400w over the center would melt your brace, it isn't even worth the risk. Also with MH any PC lights you install should be atinics, if you add any daylight bulbs I belive wouldn't be doing anything but adding more heat. I think there are pro's and cons to all lighting wheter it be t-5, MH, PC, ect.. It boils down to personal preference. I use MH because of the shimmering effect and the ability of the light to penetrate all the way to the bottom. the shimmering on the bottom adds a real natural effect to the tank. My tank is deeper than yours and I use 250wMHs and it is plenty. So you could easily get away with 175w or 250Watters. But the bigger the bulb the more heat and more electricity.

[killingseed]

i moved the tank next to a place where my garage and i can vent right out the wall thought about that. :>

[killingseed]

i order some part from hellolights. other balist,socket and a xm15k 175w.

[Salty Sam]

Mitchell is right, the higher the wattage the hotter the temp...HQI bulbs run cooler than Mogul so try to run HQI's if poss.

Also, if you need supplemental actinics, T5 will run much cooler than PC's and provide more output.

[Salty Sam]

Just saw you have a XM 15K coming, nice bulb, and you may not need supp. actinics unless you want to add more blue.

[mitchellmoto]

Yes the HQI's are brighter and cooler. But doing lighting on a budget is hard and the single ended setups are cheaper. When doing the HQI retro's you also have to factor in the UV glass. I tried to use it with out the glass once and it seemed within two days my corals where looking terrible. I use the same kelvin bulb on my two 250's and it is quite blue. I don't use any supplement but if you want that flourencet look Sam is right I'd eventually go t-5. I also have a 20k for the middle 400w. I realy think the 15k looks better. But it is a personal preference. The 20k looks more deep water, looks much bluer.

[killingseed]

Well I am looking for better lighting as well as coral colors. Right now I wouldn’t mind finishing with just the MH. With that 10 and 15k bulb over each half of the tank I will see how things look and decide on if I need to replace the 10 for another 15.

I will try the spare lights I have now the 40w and the pc 65w over all if used those will be for color only. Don’t think I will be able to get t5 to go with it right now. If at most the additional light will be for be dust / dawn effect.

Was getting late for me last night and I ordered a 250w by mistake and got hellolight to change out for the 175w.

All I can see is a bit of work ahead of me to get this all working, should be fun.

[killingseed]

Well I had a couple things come up and some thoughts. I decided that I would not start a new thread sense it still some what related to my goal.

One things is, would it be ok to run a 250 and a 175 over the same tank?

I still think 250 is the way to go for my size tank. I have even seen one light chart that goes are far as saying “SPS run 2 x 400w” and one that says “2x 150w or 175w”. So is why you can see there is still confusion there. I have chatted with people that farm zoa’s and most of them use 250 x2 + t5 or pc’s. I’m not looking to farm but still would like the growth and colors they get base on pictures I have seen that were not photoshoped in anyway “so said”.

But still those charts don’t meet eye to eye. The charts are ok and can give a person some basic info to help choose lights or lighting.


For 75 gal

http://www.vividaquariums.com/aquariumLighting.asp


http://www.marineandreef.com/Info/lightingchart_hood.html


Is anyone using Lumenarc? I think you said you were mitchellmoto?
If not what are you using ? messurments are helpful too.
I’m sure your tank is wide enough to have a 22x22 reflector above it.

Takes me to some other questions. I might be getting a Lumenarc on a trade. I need two but one is closer to my goal then none.

The mini, are like 14x14 and the standard ones come 19.5x19.5 I have seen 22x22 I think those are knock-offs. 19.5 is 1.5 inches wider the my tank. So you see where I have thoughts or questions about using the bigger ones.

If I get the one for trade I can at least look it over for size and placement, but can I trim them down? Is it worth it?

I don’t need lighting beyond 17 inches. It would be nice to have a place to add a couple t5’s 2 or 4 for a nice dawn, dust effect and additional lighting as needed or not needed based on looks and growth.

[killingseed]

got my 175w bulb ballast and socket in. i couldnt wait i had to fire up the bulb. i wired the sock and ballast and turned it on. it was sweet! got a little warm and only on for 5 min. took a min or so to completely fire up but it lit my dinning room up. i cant wait to get a reflector and try it out over my tank!

[mitchellmoto]

You will have to wait till the bulb burns in before the true color is shown. And as far as the lumenarcs yes I have 3 above my tank. They are 19.4 square. They are also 9.5 inches tall so you have to worry about hieght aswell. So they might be too big for your tank and I wouldn't try to cut them. The mini's would be perfect for your application. The lumenmax might be smaller but you'd have to check. I think I might have already said this but if you need something cheap check out the hydroponic sights. For example this [url=http://www.texashydroponics.com/shop/Hydrotek-Blue-Star-w-Mylar-Finish-p-1693.html].
You can buy two of these for the price of one lumenarc. But with the lumenarcs you can add for 50 bucks more vent ports and glass so you can make it sealed and use a fan to pull out the heat. But even with a parabolic reflector you will be getting plenty of light into your tank.
Yes you could also go all out and do 400watter above your tank. I had one 400 watt over my 55gal corner and loved it but you have to deal with a lot of heat and the electricity bill goes up as well. In the long run it is much cheaper to go the way you are going maybe not being able to put sps's on the bottom rather than going 400 w and haveing to buy a chiller because you are cooking your tank!

[mitchellmoto]

Holy cow I check edon of those links it recomended 2 x 400w plus 110 watts of PC. That is 910watts of lighting. That would put you at almost 13w per gallon. That is far to much. Certainly too much if you are not running a chiller. That is more lighting than I have on my 180gl. You know another thing to think about is your shrooms most don't like tons of light and if you have to much they surely will not like it.

[killingseed]

I check some of those types of sites but didn’t run in to tom much . the one on that link is nice. I’d have to check the size.

ya that chart 910watts is insane!

I once again couldn’t help myself I had to place the light over the tank and look. Being dark out side really helped on see what the light could do. So I placed in under my cheep 40w reflectors and hold it. Loved it was amazing. Zoa’s started to open and the colors much brighter, shaper, very clear, with an ice blue shimmer.

Then I turned on my 4x40’s I have always like the color they put out I was very happy and pleased. Then my pc’s those things blow and have all was seemed to put out too much yellow. I may have to try different bulbs if I use them as an addition light source.

I did not run all my lights, I might tomorrow play with it again before I box it up.

At this point I am not sure I am as willing to get the lumenarc. I don’t think a reflector can make me any happier then I already am with what I saw.

[mitchellmoto]

I just watched the Anthony Calfo video to make sure what I was saying was right. Well According to him You would never need to go 400w unless you are 30in or more in depth. He also said even t-5 have no where near the ability to penetrate like a Metal Halide. He said most people over do lighting and if you want more light go more towards 65k lighting.. As You go up towards 15 to 20k you have less par. So I truly belive yuou will have plenty of light and if you want more go towards 65k and use t-5 or pc just to bring in the blue color for esthitics. He also said if your lights (flourecents) are more than 3 inches off the water your wasting most of your light. Your 175w should be 6 to 9 inches off the water.
I know it is 2.5 hours long but if you haven't watch that video you should. It has some great info and lets you in on so things most people do wrong.

[killingseed]

oh that blue star look ok but is 27" X 27"X10"

[mitchellmoto]

The inexpensive parabolic reflectors will be fine but if you can spare the extra cash a better reflector is one of the smartest lighting purchases. As long as you take care of them they never have to be replaced. And with a well engineered reflector you will get more useable light into the water. I wis I had taken pics of the cheap reflector and then my lumenarcs. The difference is amazing. You should check to find one of the reflector tests. .