setting up a lighting system, need some feedback

[mmm55645]

my tank is 55 gallons, and I wanted to know how well a setup containing one MH 175 watt bulb w/ fluorscents(I was thinking t5 but now sure on how many) would work. I am tentativly thinking one 175 MH, and two tank length flourscents one 50/50 and another bright flourscent. I really am not sure what kinds of fluorscents to use.
I was planning on having the fluorscents come on in the morning, then the MH mid day, then the fluorsecnts again until the night. I was also thinking of having one of those blacklight types that I could turn on at night(just for aesthetics)



I am curious if the MH bulb is 8 or 9 inches above the water so that the water will not become heated, will the fluroscents become less effective from being elevated with the MH?

I was hoping that someone could throw me some advice about setting this up. It seems like a good idea to me but I haven't set up a lighting system before.


If anyone has any suggestions of bulb combinations or setup details--or criticisms of the idea I would appreciate it.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Used in a reflector that will fit over a standard 55g tank, a single MH bulb will only cover about 2' of tank effectively - basically what that means is that you'll have very dim patches at either end of the tank. If you're OK with that, your plan should work. Lots of aquarists would probably hate that, but IMHO it could be a unique challenge to work around with some interesting results.

The fluorescents will definitely loose intensity if you raise them well above the tank. Keep in mind that if you are using enough fluorescent to really impact intensity in the tank, you'll loose some of the benefit of MH (glitter lines and other effects only possible with point source light.)

[kgross]

First question I have is what type of corals do you want to keep? If you want high light corals, this setup will not work very well, most of the tank will be pretty dim. A Mh is normally only good for about 2 feet of tank length, so you need 2 of them to light the tank well. On the Flourscents, the closer to the tank the better, they do not penitrate as well as the MH's.
Kim

[mmm55645]

I read that some systems use floursecents along with MH so that the MH can run for 4-6s a day, then the Flourscents run the rest.(i can cite the book if need be)

Is what I read bogus? This book was saying that MH need only run for 4-6 hours a day then flourscents should take over.

One reason I was thinking of only one 175watt MH is b/c I am concerned about heat. I am hoping if the MH bulb(s) is above the water and is cooled with the fan that I won't need a chiller. If I have to buy a chiller then I won't be able to use MH.

So now I am thinking of two 175 watt MHs(I guess the individual bulbs could be higher wattage) along with the tank-length flourscents located below the MH inside the canopy. Does this sound like a better idea?

Also, would it work to use only one higher wattage MH bulb?(if it worked as well and if it worked out where it was cheaper to replace one higher wattage, instead of two lower wattage- I might go with that.I doubt it is but I figure its worth asking.

One more thing- can you create a DIY relector? I haven't looked into those.

thanks for advising me on this lighting setup. After a few more suggestions I will be able to start it up.

[itZme]

I had 2 of these PFO parallel reflectors over each of my 75s with a couple of 250w mh and 2 4' T5's in them.

I ended up never running the MH since everything including clams and SPS were thriving under just the 2 T5 bulbs overdriven by an IceCap660 ballast. I have since sold them off and bought 4 IceCap SLR reflectors for each tank and run 4 overdriven T5's on each 75g.

Here's a shot of my setup before going all T5.

[mmm55645]

you are able to provide wattage and lumens = to MH using t5s?

are those DIY reflectors or if not - how much do those reflectors cost?

[itZme]

Yes I am growing clams and SPS corals with no problem in the sandbed which is 24" away from the lights. I have lots of growth and no problem with coloration. There are lots of threads on RC that talk about T5 lighting if you would like to learn more check out the lighting and filtration section.

The one that shows PAR values for different T5 bulbs is started by a guy named Grimreefer. There are still many people that will tell you that you need MH to grow SPS or to have the "glimmer lines". I can live without the lines to save as much in electricity and heat as I do by avoiding MH lighting.

I bought the reflectors at Salty Critter which is a local store for me. they are available at marine depot for $33 each. reefcentral does not allow linking to marine depot so go to their site and search for "PFO reflector" if you want to research them.

Reflectors are not something you will want to DIY.

[mmm55645]

Thanks for the info. I am going to look into using T5s instead of MH. I hope that the money saved with T5s is not offset by having to buy relfectors though.
Anyhow, I am glad to hear that I may be able to keep SPS without MH lighting.


sorry to be such a Newb, but can you explain "overdriven" to me?I am not familar with what it means.


Thanks again for the info, I am going to look into T5 lighting. Just got two volumes on reefkeeeping by Sprung and Delbeek, hopefully I can find some good info there.

[itZme]

Originally posted by mmm55645
Thanks for the info. I am going to look into using T5s instead of MH. I hope that the money saved with T5s is not offset by having to buy relfectors though.

If you buy a complete light you will be looking at spending close to the same as buying MH lighting initially. If you can build your own canopy and add a retro-fit lighting system into your DIY canopy you will save some money in the beginning. When you use a DIY reflector you will be wasting much of the light that each bulb produces as the commercial ones are computer-designed and built to optimize the specific bulb. Whatever lighting you decide to go with, you should get the best reflectors available because you will get the most growth per KWH that you pay for since the light is directed to your corals and not bounced around inside the hood. There are some really good MH reflectors called LumenArc reflectors (LumenMax, LumenArc mini etc...)

sorry to be such a Newb, but can you explain "overdriven" to me?I am not familar with what it means.

No problem, we all start out as newbies. The 48" T5 bulbs are rated at 54w and they are considered "high-output" (T5HO).
The IceCap660 ballast was originally designed for very-high output bulbs (t12 VHO). If you connect the IceCap ballast to a 4' t5 bulb it will actually operate on about 85w per bulb. This does give you much more output per bulb (over 1 and a half times the normal ouput) but does increase the heat and decrease the life slightly. You can find T5 retro kits at SaltyCritter.com that have the ballasts, endcaps, standoffs and reflectors all put together for a decent price.
Here's a link to the IceCap retro 4 foot 4 bulb kit for $365
Here's a nice little 4 foot 4 bulb complete T5 setup for $245
The OceanLight fixture would be the easier solution but would offer less light than the retro kit. I know a guy that had a 55g with a Nova T5 fixture that kept SPS without trouble. The Nova fixtures do not have a very good reflector system though and I would not recommend it.

Thanks again for the info, I am going to look into T5 lighting. Just got two volumes on reefkeeeping by Sprung and Delbeek, hopefully I can find some good info there.

You are welcome I tend to shy away from using the books as a main source of knowledge since the technology changes so rapidly in this hobby. They are still good for general sources but don't go planning an entire system around what you read in print. You are much better off coming to RC and reading as much as you can. You would also gain a lot from joining a local club if you have one. Search the club forums to find one near you. I actually belong to one that's an hour north and one that's an hour south of me and sometimes go to both meetings. It's a geat way to find used equipment or livestock that doesn't need to be shipped and you could make a few friends that can help out when it's time to set things up.

Hope that helps
-- Kevin

[mmm55645]

I developed two separate plans, and included links to what I would have to buy. I am thinking of using t5s but not icecap ballasts.

I found this site. http://www.warehouse-lighting.com/it...FQ54Hgod8Q7KTQ

I wonder how that would work out. I could buy that ballast without having a lot of DIY. If it would come out about the same price wise, I would consider doing that(assuming of course that it is a good idea to begin with), or buying this ballast

http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page...+BA/B254PUNV-D

and setting up two t5s running of that ballast, and then buy releflectors and if it were possilble build the canopy to include the stock T8 bulb that came with my tank. I'm not sure if that is a good idea or not. I was thinking of the two 46" t5s with high K rating, and having the 46" t8 be an actinitic bulb. Does this sound like a decent plan? Or does either of my plans sound decent?


--Thanks for any help, I really apppreciate it.

[itZme]

The first link you posted is interesting but you will find that the endcaps are not waterproof and that is definitely a bad thing around saltwater. I have a friend who almost had his house burn down due to an PC socket that got salt creep inside and burned the fixture.

It also uses white reflectors instead of polished aluminum. I am sure you would lose a lot of your light that actually reaches the corals due to that.

There is no problem running T5 without overdriving them. Workhorse ballasts are commonly used to drive T5HO bulbs. Also consider that the the fixtures like the Nova Extreme, although not the best fixture, comes with bulbs which is around $100 value for 4 48" bulbs. That makes the $249 seem like a better deal. They also have built in moonlights. I am not sure if the AquaMedic OceanLight comes with bulbs.