Took the plunge and got my light

[SaltyDog]

Well after alot of reading and much indecision.....I decided to commit to a light for my 29 gallon.

I went with a 175w MH with a 10k Ushio lamp. I will suppliment with 2 NO actinic 03's . All I have to say is WOW...... It's bright in here. 8)

I made my decision based on the ripple effect. I love the way the Halide makes the ripple light effects on the rock ( and over my room heh), .

Also added a group of blue legged hermits, scarlets and turbo grazers today.

My only concern now is I really need a new canopy to be made....the halide only sits about 3-4 inches off the water.... with the fan its not to hot....but owouldnt want a fatal spalsh to occur. So I'm going to have a guy I know build me a taller canopy........

[Pineapple House]

That's awesome SaltyDog!

Graham :)

[on_fire_8]

Sounds like a excellent choice. Ushio 10000K supplimented with actinics look awesome. I would love to see some pics.

[SaltyDog]

I have a ? though... How can you tell if you need to change (have an old ) halide bulb? I noticed when I took out the bulb out of the sleeve it was alittle black around the bottom of the glass tube near the base). Is this a new bulb... I can't find pics to back me up... It seems to light fine....

[Zack]

I liek to change the bulb every 8-9 months, that si usually early, but by having the wavelenth go down it really can hurt the corals. IMO

[BigFish]

No offense but what was the cost of that setup? The lighting that is. I want to get an idea of how much new lighting will be.

(400th post :mrgreen: )

[SaltyDog]

Well,

I got several other things but I guess the halide system totalled a little over 200.00 . You might get it cheaper ( or pay alot more ) if you look around or go with different name brands.

Of course there are alot of opinions about product types and so forth too.

[pete_ra]

Thats sounds sweet! Did you order it? How much did it cost? Will the 175 watt support all soft corals? Post your tank!

[Chryocon]

lol a 175 watt metal halide will support all soft corals light wise, but it may fry some...halides can support almost all light demanding corals, the only problem is the span of the area they light, I believe it is two feet or something like that.....

[BigFish]

pete_ra
mh is supposedly the "best" lighting you can get on your tank I wouldn't know because I don’t have mh but. I only have pc
_________________

[Zack]

I don't know about BEST since some say VHo is anyway it is the closest thing wre have to the sun light...

[on_fire_8]

MH by far has the most intensity. The word "best" is more of a opinion word.

[BigFish]

That’s why I say supposedly not defiantly

[RazerCorals]

I think the standard shop light is the best lighting possible. I mean c'mon what could get better then yellow/pink bulbs supplemented with dust?

[BigFish]

:oops: darn I forgot about the shop light. Hmm I love that yellow dusty look in my tank I heard it could keep all of my corals thriving with only a few deaths in the tank each day until all of the corals are dead. Too bad I dont have an old shop light I could hook up right now I need one bad.


The above statement is totally B.S. please dont go get your garage light and put it over your tank. Jk nobody would do that but..... well I've met some dumb people anyway I am thinking of buying the 250w magnetic ballast retro fit from hello lights for $85 plus about $100 for a 10000k bulb what do you all think?

[phistio]

what about T5's and LED's...they may be soon some of the best lighting...

MH's are a thing of the past... :wink:

[BigFish]

well..... mh will still keep things thriving so why upgrade. Well ok if you save on energy bill..... I understand but mh is good enough for me (I hope)