Need Advice on upgrading to MH

[loves saltwater]

I have a 6' long tank that is 24" deep. I have 4X54 watt T5's from my old 4' tank and I would like to upgrade to MH as well as keeping 2 of the T5's if needed. I have built a canopy for the tank so everything will need to be retro

Because of having 2 braces on the top of the tank I am thinking either 3X175 or 3X250 here is my questions

* Is there much heat difference between the 175 and 250 ?
* DE or SE and what make one better than the other ?
* Do they make a ballast that will run 3 fixtures.
* Will spider reflectors do the job ?
* What K rating is the middle of the road for growth color 14K
* What would be the best mixture of K rating with both MH and T5

The tank will be SPS dominate and have a few LPS and Softies for movement.

I am sorry for all the questions but I am trying to get the right setup the first time and not waste a bunch of money swapping out parts and pieces over the next few years LOL

I am also sure I will get different opinions here but I need the input anyway....Thanks in advance Tim

[alpine]

Gonna try and help you out with this a little.

Q: Is there much heat difference between the 175 and 250 ?

A:Not much,but yes there is a difference.

Q: DE or SE and what make one better than the other ?

A: Personally I have never used DE bulbs,but I will be useing some soon.I do believe the DE's give a better focused light then the SE's.The SE's give a better dispersed light spread.Not much help on that one,but someone else will chime in soon.

Q: Do they make a ballast that will run 3 fixtures.

A: You will need 3 ballasts to run to run 3 bulbs,but company's like PFO make dual ballast configurations.Basically they stuff 2 ballasts inside one box.I do believe they have a triple configuration,but dont hold me to it.

Q: Will spider reflectors do the job ?

A: If you are going with SE's then yes,but there are better reflectors on the market now.If you go with DE's then no,as you will need to have them covered.

Q: What K rating is the middle of the road for growth color 14K

A: 14k would be a good start,but K ratings that people use are pretty much up to personal preference to a lot of reefers.Personally I prefer color over growth,so I usually go with 20k bulbs,or a combo of 12k+ and actinic supplementation.I like my tanks to look bluer and bring out the colors of the corals.Other people prefer the whiter look,like from a 10k and the faster growth that they provide.

Q: What would be the best mixture of K rating with both MH and T5

A: Personally, I would go 12k-15k for halides and actinic 03 for the t5's.This config will be on the bluer side though.

On my old setup,a 75 gallon.I had 3 250 PFO ballast's running
3 - 12k starbursts,and 4 X 96watt actinic 03's.Keep in mind this was on a 4 ft tank.You should be able to use the 4 t5's along with the 3 mh's.The SE mh reflectors arent really that wide.I did however build my own reflectors for my old 75 gallon.Click on my red house and you will see the website for my old tank with some pics.I had great success with that tank.

OK HTH

[loves saltwater]

Thank s for your input.Would anyone else like to give me their thoughts ?

[JediReefer]

There was a discussion about the SE vs DE. It seems the only difference is the DE has no UV envelope and requires a pane of glass to filter, while an SE bulb does not. Note that there are a few SE HQI on the market now that still require a UV shield.

[loves saltwater]

does that mean that ALL DE lamps need glass under them for UV protection of corals ?

[JediReefer]

From what I have read, that seems to be the case. Although there could be a few that do not need it, I am not sure.

"Do not mount "double ended" HQI type bulbs without a UV filtering glass shield!! This bulb will put out UV radiation which can damage your eyes and skin, as well as your animals in the tank. The bulb MUST BE burned behind a protective glass sheet."

[loves saltwater]

Well I guess I won't be using DE lamps then because I don't want to mount fixtures in my canopy.

[barjam]

The kit at hellolights comes with reflectors with built in glass shield trays. No better or worse than SE spiders as far as mounting goes, just different.

[loves saltwater]

I was looking on their site but I was looking at spider stuff. I am just trying to find out which is the best bang for the buck.

Like I said at the top of this thread I want to do this once and buy the right stuff the first time. I don't want to be limited to what I can put in my tank.

The truth is like most folks here I caught my wife in the christmas spirit and she said I could buy a new light set up !!!!

I want to get this right LOL !

[cashman95]

Go Lumenarc !!!!!!! Best Bang for your buck!!!!!!

[barjam]

loves saltwater, I was in the same boat as you (blank check for lights) and I ended up doing the 2x250 retro kit from hello lights. I had T5 before so I just used two of those for supplemental. I went with the Phoenix bulbs. Not sure if this was best of the best, but I love the setup so far.

[loves saltwater]

I was planning on keeping a couple of my T5 for supplemental lighting and selling the rest.

Because my tank is 6' long and has 2 braces i think i will have to have 3 fixtures which is ok just want to get it right. I still would like to know if 3X175 is enough or is it marginal ?

[JediReefer]

How deep is the tank?

[loves saltwater]

72 long
24 tall
18 deep

[JediReefer]

Hmm, sps...I would probably go for 250's. I am sure you could get by with 175's 10k, and sps in top half.

[loves saltwater]

Yea that's what I don't want.To be limited to where I can grow SPS.My plan is to have a few softies or LPS around the bottom but I want to be able to grow SPS most everywhere else

[loves saltwater]

DUAL CORALVUE METAL HALIDE 250 WATT is this a good ballast ?

[JediReefer]

How far off the water will the lights be? I have a 400w about 16" above my water line and my tank is also 24" deep.

I think if I had gone with a 250 I would have been dissappointed. Not to say that you will, I am guessing that they will be lower and you also have multiple lights to cover the spread of the tank. I only have a single.

Also note I am using a 20k bulb, not as intense.

[loves saltwater]

Mine will be about 8-10 inches off the water surface

[JediReefer]

I think you will be pleased with the 250w lights. IMO the price difference is minimal and you will have more options as far as coral placement.

[loves saltwater]

Anyone know if DUAL CORALVUE METAL HALIDE 250 WATT is a good ballast or not ?

[JediReefer]

Not sure, I do know that Lumenarc stopped selling CoralVue because they were not honoring warranties though.

I have a galaxy, works great. Heard good things about the dual PFO as well. And as usual, IceCap.

[alpine]

Definately go with electronic ballasts,that way your not limited to certain bulb types.Some bulbs require electronic ballast to operate,like the radiums for example.Also if you ever decide to switch to DE's you wont have to buy new ballasts.

As far as wattage goes,you should ask that question in the sps forum,seeing how you plan to mostly keep sps with few lps & softies.Personally I would go with 400watters and call it a day.As long as you photo acclimate your corals you should be fine.

Keep in mind i'm not an sps freak,as I prefer mixed reefs like in nature.My 75 gallon had 23-250's over it but it was only 18" deep,yours is 24" deep and the 400's would give you a lot better light penetration.

[barjam]

You had 23 250 watters over your 75? Man that is hard core.

[alpine]

Lol,that was so a typo.I meant to put 3-250's not 23.Tried to edit,but I realized it to late.