OK I need a straight answer whats the best light out

J

jred25

Premium Member
[smilie=thinking.gif] Im seting up a 220 and need lights whats the best out. I have a 110 with PC but im thinking MH for the 220.
 
there are many components to 'best' light but IMO the best pendants are the glass enclosed lumenbrights. i am using 3 over my 210 and love it.
 
If you have an unlimited budget go with the sfligio. They are really sweet, cool to the touch and have great ratings. You can also get a controller that can run lunar cycles for ya.
 
[smilie=crying.gif] Unfortunately my budget is far from unlimited. [smilie=crying.gif] But i do need good lights. As far as electricity is it the same cost to run 800w of PC as it is to run 800w of MH???
 
800W of MH and 800W of PC are the same. like saying which is heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of lead. however for some bulbs (like LED and compact flourecent bulbs), they use less electricity, but give off more light. since everyone associates watts with illumination for some reason, it has created a weird way of associating how bright a bulb actually is. i am not a light expert by any means so i can't tell you how many lumens or spectrum a bulb reaches, but if a MH bulb consumes 800w, and and you have an LED strip that consumes 800w, your electricity bill will be the same. 800w of LED will be much brighter though.
 
What animals do you want to keep? In my personal experience going from PC to T5 to MH for SPS on a small tank, I found the MH to be much better for the SPS corals, even though it produces more heat. For my soft coral/LPS tank, T5s are fine. Some people with larger tanks successfully keep SPS and other corals with T5, where I could not, simply because they can use the longer bulbs which put out higher watts. I only had room for 2' bulbs @ 24W ea. ... but you can get 4' bulbs @ 54W and 5' bulbs @ 80W and 4 or 6x54 would give you a lot of light and maybe not as much heat as one or two MH fixtures. Bulb replacement cost would vary. Maybe 6x54W at $22 about $132. One MH bulb roughly anywhere from $59 to $100+ depending on manufacturer, SE (single end) DE (double-end), and kelvin rating (10k, 14k,etc). If you have a long tank you might need two MH fixtures so bulb replacement cost would double. Some people with MH fixtures also have T5 or PC to add actinic lighting, or a sort of dawn, dusk light before the main MH come on. You can browse the tank builds and see the different setups, too, that may help.
 
Look into LEDs. Best growth, adjustable intensity, fade in and out and a fraction of the energy cost. Dont forget hardly any heat! Its the future in my opinion
 
If you own a home I would look into solar tubes then suppliment with t5's depending on how tall of the tank I would go with a good t5 fixture like ati power module or aquactinics constellation.

For me I would shy away from LEDs if you are going to go sps. Mh are good option just you need worry about heat and electricity cost
 
No I do not own a home I am in a apt. The apt told me I could only have the 110 if I got renters insurance.I did not mention the 18 fresh or 12 nano.I will definately not say anything about the move from the 110 to the 220.Anyway back on topic what would emit more light per watt? I have been told PC or LED if so why use T5 or MH at all? Why not 800watts of PC and get more light for the cost? O and yes I do think I would like to grow SPS.
 
@jred25 wrote:
No I do not own a home I am in a apt. The apt told me I could only have the 110 if I got renters insurance.I did not mention the 18 fresh or 12 nano.I will definately not say anything about the move from the 110 to the 220.Anyway back on topic what would emit more light per watt? I have been told PC or LED if so why use T5 or MH at all? Why not 800watts of PC and get more light for the cost? O and yes I do think I would like to grow SPS. said:
I had 65W PC over my 20 gallon. I switched to 2x24W T5HO and could not believe how much brighter the 48W of T5 was over the PC bulb. And just curiously I compared my 70W HQI with my 65W PC and no comparison at all. The HQI emitted more visible light. But to really know which emitted more light I'd need a PAR meter. But everything I've been researching the last couple weeks on "best MH bulb" the PAR readings posted by some reefers most MH readings are higher than T5 of about the same amount of wattage. I've not seen any data on PAR readings for PCs. My knowledge is somewhat limited so just going from personal experience and stuff read on forums.
Click to expand...
 
Here, check out this forum. I just found it... a bunch of hobbyists have posted pictures of their tanks and all the specs. They range from 10g to 200+ gallons. So you can see the tank, see what lighting they have and what they're keeping. Tanks are running PCs, T5s, MH and a mix. Pretty interesting. Might help you make a decision.

http://tinyurl.com/2edg8cv
 
I checked the site and can see a dif so im thinking a (Aqualight Pro HQI/Compact Fluorescent/Lunar Light Fixture) would be good. I can get one used for $500 but i have herd it runs vary hot.
 
Dude if you want to keep sps then get MH. And then to get the nice blue look add some t5s. Stop trying to worry about par and what lights are better! Bottom line is in most cases you get what you pay for. If you buy a cheap fixture it will break or catch on fire and then you have to buy a new setup. Not to be rude but the best thing you and do is buy the best thing you can afford. This is a money pit hobby but one we all love.
Best of luck on your new reef build. And I think you are doing the right thing asking lots of questions. It will save you lots of time and money not to mention learning things the hard way like many of us here have.
thanks
Bhavin
pm me if you may need any help
 
I'll repeat what's been said. Buy the best you could afford now and best if it's new. Used things can turn out to be a waste of money sometimes. I bought a used Chiller and UV light and both of these items broke on me in less than a month !! On the other hand my used MH set up has worked well after being upgraded with electronic ballasts. So, just be cautious. By the way, MH lights are always better for SPS/LPS in my opinion, especially in a 220 !! I have a 125g with (2) 175 watt bulbs (10k) and 2 T5s' (1 actinic) & (1/10k) that run the lenght of the tank, wich is 60" long. I love the way it looks.
 
Thank you all. You have all been of help. The only reason I keep asking about par is common sense if 1000 watts of t5 emits X light and 1000 watts of Mh emits 1/3 less light. What makes Mh better? Has anyone used a meter to compare or is it just someone opinion Mh is the best? Not saying anyone is rong. I have seen t5s on a large tank in person but only Mh on small 40g or less hard to compare them with such a diff in tank size. I just want all the facts before I spend $1000 on a light. I only make like 13000 a year so im stuck with what I buy. No second chance. [smilie=whew.gif]
 
Where do you live? Check out some diff setups in your area. The reason most people love MH the best is because of the shimmer you get. Will not get that with T5. MH and t5 combo is the best way to go hands down! IMO
 
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