Halides for 75g, opinions wanted

C

CaravanShaka

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Thinking about switching to Halides from my T5/LED fixture. Will use about 24 cree LED's for actinic supplement.

Here are my thoughts:

Pendants:
Lumen Max 3's or lumenbright Mini's. I am leaning towards the Lumen Max 3's since I would like to have the Actinic heatsink mounted with the the Halides, and the Lumenbrights need to be pretty high, reducing the effect of the LED's.

Ballasts:
Lumatek dimmable and user selectable 150/175/250

Bulbs: Phoenix 14k or Iwasaki, depending on power

So what do you guys think for power? 175 iwasaki mogul based or 250 Phoenix DE HQI? My SPS is all in the top half of the tank, mainly Zoa's and Chalice on the bottom half. I want the fixture high enough to get plenty of heat ventilation, but not so high that my LED's need crazy optics to focus the light in the tank. It will be open canopy in a room with a big ceiling fan, current light is about 6" off the water and my tank never goes over about 78.5.
 
The 175's should be enough. If your going to get the 250 HQI you should get the 175 250 HQI model. HQI bulbs are ment to be ran at a higher wattage than 250 watts. My ballast pulls 330 watts on HQI mode. The bulbs are whiter and brighter on that mode. A little more blue on the 250 mode.
 
Part of my concern is the much higher energy requirements for 250, add in the HQI runs at 330 and i don't think it is worth changing anymore. I have 300w total right now, going to 175's with LEDs will be about 425w...if they run at 330 we are talking 735w.

Thanks for the opinions. I am thinking 175 will be enough, but is it a simple bulb switch to move to 250 with the adjustable ballast if i go with a mogul 250?


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@CaravanShaka wrote:
Part of my concern is the much higher energy requirements for 250 said:
Yes all you need to do is change the bulb and turn the knob. The mogul based socket it standardized and will fit 175, 250, 400, and even 1000 watt bulbs. HQI socket sizes are different by wattage
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Great, thanks for the info!!

So rhe lumen max for mogul would either be the elite or the 2.


Anymore opinions?


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I am going to run 2 lumatek dimmable ballasts with 2 lumenbright mini reflectors, at this point I havent decided on bulbs yet. I wish there was a way to "test drive" some before buying. I am torn between the 175w 15k iwasaki, 10k ushio, 14k phoenix, and 20k radium. The 10k ushio is a proven growth bulb but will need more actinic supplementation to keep my tank from looking like i just pissed in it.
 
I highly suggest the 250w, I think if you do 175(not that many bulb choices) you will wish you did 250w down the road. I would bet it would cost you less then $10 more a month more to run 250w over 175w, if that.
 
I know your opinion, Steve ;)

Just getting a little more input. I am considering the 250 with a radium bulb as well.


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I would do 175 iwasaki check out sanjays website it blows away the par on most 250 watt bulbs


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So torn now. Mogul socket and start with iwasaki and move to 250 down the road? Or DE 250 with radium bulbs so i need less actinics?

Still need to sell the t5/LED too.


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I went from leds to mh pendant over my neo nano and i have to say that Im pretty happy with coral growth and color. There are draw backs but the tried and true method is living up to its name. I'm running a pheonix 14k 250 w about 12-16 inches off the water. So far so good. Good luck with the decision.

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Mogul as the socket is fully compatible with bulbs up to 1000w so the reflector never needs to be replaced in terms of an upgrade Only the ballast if you choose to go to 400w+. Also the mogul bulbs dont need an extra piece of glass to filter out the UV where as DE does so less equipment!! If you like the Radium then run a 250 SE Radium 20k bulb.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/lighting/metal-halide-aquarium-lighting/metal-halide-aquarium-bulbs/radium-metal-halide-bulbs/radium-250w-20k-single-ended-bulb.html
 
They don't make de radiums only SE they do make de 150 watt


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Go check different members tanks that run the bulbs you are thinking to run


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@kuyatwo wrote:
They don't make de radiums only SE they do make de 150 watt Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk said:
Thanks for that info.

Anyone near frisco run radium or iwasaki? I have seen the phoenix 14k and like it with good supplemental blue.


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@niteowl03 wrote:
Do you supplement them? Why did you choose radiums? said:
I run t5's (ge 6500, blue +, fiji purple and coral plus) and just installed DIY
Rb LEDs. I like a more 12 k look. Radiums don't need actinics. I chose radiums as per sanjays site they gave good amount of par and not sacrificing color. Good balance of growth and coloring.


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