Metal halide accilimation?

S

scotts

[Okay, over the next month or so I"ll be converting my tank from the WEAK 65W PC setup i've got to a nice shiney new 2x175 20K MH setup. Right now, all that's in the tank are about 16 red mushrooms (started off as 6!!) and a shy bi-color blenny.

They've been on a timed 9.5 hour light cycle starting at 10am and going off around 8. When I put the MH lights on, how should I acclimate the tank to it? What kind of lighting cycle should I go with? And will dimmers work with the MH lights? I want to simulate sunrise and sunset as well as possible with this setup so I'm trying to get an idea as far as which way to go.

This also brings me to another question. My cichlid tank (100g) crashed on Wednesday. Long story, but I left my filters off accidentally (never been a problem in the past) and the tank crashed. I lost 7 fish totaling about $350 and 2 years of time. So, watching my 2.5" obliquden terrorize fish twice it's size, makes me want to convert it. If I do, I'd want to do an SPS/LPS focused tank but still want to keep softies in it too (they're so pretty!). How should I light this? Doing 3 MH on that tank would be ... hot in my living room and very expensive. Could I get a canopy for it and get 2 20k MHs and suppliment the rest with 10K VHOs?]
 
@mmiller40 wrote:
[Where did you get the MH's? How much did you spend? Yes you can supplement with VHO's. On a 100 it might take quite a few though.] said:
[Mitch,

Haven't gotten 'em yet. But the ebay guy quoted me the 2x175 with 2 10K bulbs for $325. I thought that was a pretty swank deal. And I'm just kind of going over things in my head. I'm either gonna buy a 125 RR or convert my 100g. I know it's gonna be very expensive to light that tank, but ... that's life =) I'm just trying to think of what i'll need to do.]
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[Scott, pass on that deal.
Go for duel 250s and look for used setups on Reefcentral or even do it yourself. Youll probably come out paying $300 or less if you shop right. I got 2 250 MH Icecap ballast used for about $90 each. bulbs were 59.99 each.]
 
@mmiller40 wrote:
[Skip the 175's if they are not going on the 55. You can get the same deal give or take 50 bucks for the 250 or 400's] said:
[Mitch,

The 2x175 would go over the 55. I'm only thinking about converting my 110. I'm gonna keep my eyes open for a 125RR tank/stand/canopy to put in the living room. Gonna keep the cichlids after seeing Fish Gallery's fresh stuff. I might convert it to a big community tank!]
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@nvillacci wrote:
[Scott said:
[Nick,

The deal I'm looking into is everything brand new for that price. $350 for the ballast, reflectors, and sockets if I get the 2x250. I'm just thinking about how hot 500 watts of light is going to be in my bedroom.]
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[I've been told that 20,000K bulbs don't burn nicely on a 175w ballast. For some reason, the radium 20,000k look good on 400w ballasts, so you may decide to go with 10,000K bulbs.

And you can still supplement with an actinic VHO if necessary.]
 
[@Marc wrote:
I've been told that 20 said:
Is this true? If so, this is a big deterrent from buying the MH setup. I was going to go this route so I wouldn't have to spend more money and supplement the light. So if there isn't a decent burn with the 250s either, I'm back to square one.

How much supplementation am I going to have to consider? What's the Dollar translation on that? I'm definatly not patient, as I'm already considering saying "screw it" and just getting the custom sealife fixture with the moonlights. I can always wait until I get better to do Stonies.

ARGH! This hobby teaches me self control on a different level.]
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@scotts wrote:
[[I]@Marc wrote:[/I][quote="I've been told that 20 said:
Is this true? If so, this is a big deterrent from buying the MH setup. I was going to go this route so I wouldn't have to spend more money and supplement the light. So if there isn't a decent burn with the 250s either, I'm back to square one.

How much supplementation am I going to have to consider? What's the Dollar translation on that? I'm]"]
[Yes and no. Every bulb burns differently. When you talk about 20K bulbs, Radiums are kinda the defacto. They burn pretty blue on some ballasts. and they would look better under a PFO or Custom Sealife 400W ballast. I just all depends on the bulb, ballast combo. The easiest way to get a good color combination is to shop around and ask some folks you know who have 250W ballasts what looks good without supp. And the corals aren't gonna care, so supp. at this level would be mostly for asthetics.

About your original questions, if mushrooms are all that have to acclimate to the MH, then you're ok. Just turn them on. New hallides you should start off running at 2 hours, 5 hrs, then 8 to 10hrs on the third day. I'd say 8 in the morning until 8:30 or 9 at night is a good light schedule. You can move this forward or back some. About 10 to 12 hours of light though. Use a timer, cause a set schedule is very important.

Oh, FYI, your mushrooms are gonna hate you. They are not MH lovers! They will probably climb under the rocks at least for a while or you'll see them letting go and floating around the tank looking for a better pad.]
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[I may be wrong, but according to tests done by Sanjay Joshi, the Radiums burn best on designated HQI ballasts. I forget the exact percentage, but there is a greater PAR output when using the Radium/HQI ballast combo.

That said, I'm currently using the 400W Radiums on my standard PFO MH ballasts. It's ok. I think I'll go back to the 10K Ushios and turn my actinics back on though with the next bulb change.]
 
@Kevin Trotman wrote:
[ said:
Yes and no. Every bulb burns differently. When you talk about 20K bulbs, Radiums are kinda the defacto. They burn pretty blue on some ballasts. and they would look better under a PFO or Custom Sealife 400W ballast. I just all depends on the bulb, ballast combo. The easiest way to get a good color combination is to shop around and ask some folks you know who have 250W ballasts what looks good without supp. And the corals aren't gonna care, so supp. at this level would be mostly for asthetics.

About your original questions, if mushrooms are all that have to acclimate to the MH, then you're ok. Just turn them on. New hallides you should start off running at 2 hours, 5 hrs, then 8 to 10hrs on the third day. I'd say 8 in the morning until 8:30 or 9 at night is a good light schedule. You can move this forward or back some. About 10 to 12 hours of light though. Use a timer, cause a set schedule is very important.

Oh, FYI, your mushrooms are gonna hate you. They are not MH lovers! They will probably climb under the rocks at least for a while or you'll see them letting go and floating around the tank looking for a better pad.]
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[Okay, so as long as I get 20K bulbs I'm fine? No supplementation needed? So what's different about an HQI ballast from a PFO? Are they different brands or different types? So who has 250W ballasts using 20K lamps?

The mushrooms and my blenny are the only things in the tank right now, and they're going to stay the only thing in the tank until I get it to the point where I feel happy about adding more livestock.

I figured that there would be a longer than 3 day transitional period. But 2,5, 8-10 is easy to remeber. I already have a timer that's controlling my existing PC. Is it going to hurt anything if I turn the lights on at 2pm and turn them off at Midnight? Or should I try and keep it as close to the natural cycle of the sun as possible? I switch work scheudles next week and would like to have the lights on as much as possible when I'm home as apposed to when I'm at work =)

Will the mushrooms adapt to the MH, or will I have to start placing them in shaded spots within the reef? I'd actually kind of like to see them let go of that rock and float around. That'd be pretty interesting =)]
 
@DallasJose wrote:
[scotts said:
[Jose,

I read that thread. I'll definatly be keeping it in mind when it comes down to it. It all depends on what I decide to do. Right now I'm debating on whether or not I want to try keeping hard corals just yet since I'm new to saltwater.]
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@DuaneD wrote:
[I may be wrong said:
[Duane,

Could you take pictures? Or could I come see your tank before and after? I'm in north Dallas.

What is an HQI ballast? How does it differ from a PFO?]
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