Metal Halide

M

malinto

I want to purchase some metal halides for my 180 gallon aquarium and I was told a little about getting a retro fit kit and it would be cheaper. Can anyone give advice on what parts I may need, how many, and a good place to get them from. I want to be able to light clams. The tanks dementions are 6'x2'x2'. Thanks.
 
Do you have a canopy on your tank? Generally the retro-fits are made to mount inside your canopy. This can cause heat issues resulting in the possible need for a chiller. Pendants on the other hand can be hung above the tank or in my case mounted on top of the canopy (allowing most of the heat to escape).
 
Yes I do. I was actually thinking of buying 4 to 6 3ft retro pcs at 192 watts a piece totalling 768 or 1152. Does anyone have a pic of there tank with that type of setup to show what types of corals I could grow?
 
pc's wont have the intensity for clams, i would go with 3x 250 wat MH's...for my 180 i did 3 coralvue 250 ballasts with 3 of the 12k vue reeflux bulbs...i will also have 4 2 foot pc's for early morning and late evening light...alot of people buy the octogan reflectors for retro, but i bought a fixture and put my stuff in it...
 
Halides cost may be more upfront, but then if you look at the
studies on how long halide bulbs can be used, the long term
cost will be much cheaper than pc's or t5's or vho.
jhmo.
 
i bought 3 250w f-can magnetic ballast and 3 spider reflectors to go on my 265 with 3 10k coralvue bulbs. Aquired some soow cord and sockets then wired them up. Of course i am an electrician and only paid 40 bucks a pop for my ballast and they have no exposed electrical components. I am putting a fan in my canopy to vent strait up. I have my 70 set up with one of these f-can ballast and 1 96w actinic PC the new tank will have 3 MH's 250WAnd 3 PC's 96W each. Here is a pic.
 
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