Ebay Metal Halide and T5 fixtures

Reef of Fillory · May 14, 2018

jda said:
You will not need any actinic to supplement the phoenix when it is on. It can both render great color and illuminate the coral at the same time. You won't hardly be able to see it anyway.

For dusk/dawn, how about just a few blue LEDs attached to the fixture in inconspicuous places? Kinda a DIY Reefbrite strip? You will not need many.

I would keep the tank top as open as possible... 150w HQI is a great light and pretty low heat, but 13.5 gallons is not a lot of volume. Have a fan and turn it on with the light... do not get cute and wait until the temp starts to rise... once the temp starts to rise, you are already behind.

A few individual Blue LED's is exactly what I was thinking, but i'm not sure if it'd be better to just buy a cheap "actinic led strip" off of Amazon or Ebay rather than trying to wire and place individual diodes [or whatever they're called]

I'm running an open top with a DIY screen top [currently tulle material, but will probably have to switch to the aluminum stuff due to the MH heat]

Are there any "go to" fans that people use consistently for this type of application? Some people talk about "clip on Walmart fans" but i'd like to keep it as low-profile as possible. I hope to attach whatever it is to the back of the tank [behind the "sump"] blowing out and over the entire length of the tank

I find it hard to search for pictures of different bulbs, ballasts etc. to see what the actual look of these bulbs are, I just saw that the consensus online was that the 14k Phoenix was a great bulb, and some people found it perfectly blue, while others found it too white. Hard to determine what it means to me!

Thanks for the feedback!

jda · May 14, 2018

Vornado. Seriously... larger fans like that can move air in a room. Computer fans are a joke, IMO. I do not mess with it... in the warm months, I just blow a Vornado across all 6 feet of my tank and the temp never moves one-tenth of a degree.

mcarroll · May 14, 2018

For "dawn/dusk" are you talking about a dimming setup?

Or just unobtrusive lights to use for off-hours viewing such as early morning or late night?

With halide, part of the beauty is not needing supplementation...that's was needed back in the 80's/90's. If you think you need supplementation in 2018, you can think of that as meaning you picked the wrong color bulb.

It sounds like you want something REALLY blue, so I'd consider either Ushio's 14K or 20K , Phoenix 14K, or one of the high-K Megachrome's. If you can lay your hands on a 150w DE Radium, do that....but they've been out of production for a while.

For your specific tank, 20,000K makes particular sense since you don't need much/if any PAR, just the right color.....and 20K tends to have less PAR due to the color. (This is not bad.)

Out of the spectrum graphs I have to look at, I think Ushio has the peaks you're after that will let you not worry about supplement.

Their 14K adds a huge sub-blue spike at 420nm, along with the other minor color changes, compared to the 20K. Check out all three Ushio plots on Page 3 of this PDF:
https://www.ushio.com/files/specifications/aqualite-metal-halide-for-aquariums.pdf

Comparing with some after-market specrtum plots I found for the 250w Phoenix, I'd say it's very close to the 20,000K Ushio. So maybe check out the plot for the Ushio 14K on that PDF to see the difference with theirs.

For side/moon/dawn/dusk lights, check out Tunze's magnetically mounted in-tank LED's. Should be ideal for your size tank. After that I'd check out the smallest LED strips that outfits like Current USA make – no need for high-power strips.

If you really wanted a dimming dawn/dusk feature, Current's smallest Orbit Marine would be one way to add it.....it would be sufficient to light your tank all by itself too though.

mcarroll · May 14, 2018

Cool you were still able to switch the purchase, BTW!

mcarroll · May 14, 2018

Reef of Fillory said:
Are there any "go to" fans that people use consistently for this type of application? Some people talk about "clip on Walmart fans" but i'd like to keep it as low-profile as possible. I hope to attach whatever it is to the back of the tank [behind the "sump"] blowing out and over the entire length of the tank

You can find other options sorta like this out there, but I think this is the lowest profile I know of...

[URL='https://www.tunze.com/US/en/products/details.html?user_tunzeprod_pi1%5Bprodid%5D=7028.900']
TUNZE® Aquawind

Click to expand...

is an especially low-noise aquarium ventilator provided with a 5V low-voltage power supply unit. Mor... mehr

7028.900

78.94 USD

[/URL]

Reef of Fillory · May 14, 2018

mcarroll said:
For "dawn/dusk" are you talking about a dimming setup?

Or just unobtrusive lights to use for off-hours viewing such as early morning or late night?

With halide, part of the beauty is not needing supplementation...that's was needed back in the 80's/90's. If you think you need supplementation in 2018, you can think of that as meaning you picked the wrong color bulb.

It sounds like you want something REALLY blue, so I'd consider either Ushio's 14K or 20K , Phoenix 14K, or one of the high-K Megachrome's. If you can lay your hands on a 150w DE Radium, do that....but they've been out of production for a while.

For your specific tank, 20,000K makes particular sense since you don't need much/if any PAR, just the right color.....and 20K tends to have less PAR due to the color. (This is not bad.)

Out of the spectrum graphs I have to look at, I think Ushio has the peaks you're after that will let you not worry about supplement.

Their 14K adds a huge sub-blue spike at 420nm, along with the other minor color changes, compared to the 20K. Check out all three Ushio plots on Page 3 of this PDF:
https://www.ushio.com/files/specifications/aqualite-metal-halide-for-aquariums.pdf

Comparing with some after-market specrtum plots I found for the 250w Phoenix, I'd say it's very close to the 20,000K Ushio. So maybe check out the plot for the Ushio 14K on that PDF to see the difference with theirs.

For side/moon/dawn/dusk lights, check out Tunze's magnetically mounted in-tank LED's. Should be ideal for your size tank. After that I'd check out the smallest LED strips that outfits like Current USA make – no need for high-power strips.

If you really wanted a dimming dawn/dusk feature, Current's smallest Orbit Marine would be one way to add it.....it would be sufficient to light your tank all by itself too though.

I'm not particularly looking for any dimming functionality, just some blues to view the tank when the halides aren't off [at night for instance], to see the glowing corals, etc.

I see that BRS sells 12" Reef Brite actinic strips that might be a good addition on one side [or both] of the halide. I'd probably turn the "supplement"/blue lights on 30mins before the halides go off, and an hour or two before/after

Reef of Fillory · May 14, 2018

jda said:
Vornado. Seriously... larger fans like that can move air in a room. Computer fans are a joke, IMO. I do not mess with it... in the warm months, I just blow a Vornado across all 6 feet of my tank and the temp never moves one-tenth of a degree.

Those look like too much for my little 24 inch tank

mcarroll said:
You can find other options sorta like this out there, but I think this is the lowest profile I know of...

This is what I was thinking of - made by Tunze so i'm assuming it's descent quality but I haven't seen/heard of anyone using them - time for Google!

mcarroll · May 14, 2018

Reef of Fillory said:
BRS sells 12" Reef Brite actinic strips

A little 12 watt light like that might still be a lot for dawn/dusk, but you probably can't get much smaller these days – and you can get a manual/in-line dimmer for it.

A dimmer is probably recommended for longest life anyway since running strips at 100% is sometimes too much for the emitters/passive cooling. Cutting them back to at least 95% or so is advisable IMO. (Manual dimmers should be very cheap.)

mcarroll · May 14, 2018

Reef of Fillory said:
Those look like too much for my little 24 inch tank

If you were talking about the Tunze fans:

Dimensions (L x W x H): 270 x 100 x 30 mm (10.6 x 3.9 x 1.13 in.).

Reef of Fillory · May 14, 2018

mcarroll said:
If you were talking about the Tunze fans:

That was in reference to the Vornado's

https://www.amazon.com/Vornado-133-Compact-Air-Circulator/dp/B00FGPWJXA

Reviews on BRS talk about that Tunze dropping tanks as big as 120 gallons by 1-3 degrees - it might shoot the water right out of my tank.

Reef of Fillory · May 14, 2018

Here's a Throwback @mcarroll

mcarroll · May 14, 2018

I still have mine. LOL. I haven't noticed the power bumps I used to get in a long time though....which is good since I think these conditioners may have a sort of expiration date on them...if so mine's OLD.

(If it's a good story, how'd you bump into that post?)

Reef of Fillory said:
That was in reference to the Vornado's

Reviews on BRS talk about that Tunze dropping tanks as big as 120 gallons by 1-3 degrees - it might shoot the water right out of my tank.

That makes sense......those Vornado's are BAD fans though if you need one. Small, but moves air WAY better than a box fan. Even has a warranty that you can depend on – I've even sent mine into the factory for cleaning once when the fan ran slow after an air-compressor cleaning once. WORTH IT. Love my Vornado.

Though I admit I did not have one of these on my tank back in the halide days....that was a generic knock-off fan. Similar-looking, but NOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE as the Vornado.

Reef of Fillory · May 14, 2018

mcarroll said:
I still have mine. LOL. I haven't noticed the power bumps I used to get in a long time though....which is good since I think these conditioners may have a sort of expiration date on them...if so mine's OLD.

(If it's a good story, how'd you bump into that post?)

That makes sense......those Vornado's are BAD fans though if you need one. Small, but moves air WAY better than a box fan. Even has a warranty that you can depend on – I've even sent mine into the factory for cleaning once when the fan ran slow after an air-compressor cleaning once. WORTH IT. Love my Vornado.

Though I admit I did not have one of these on my tank back in the halide days....that was a generic knock-off fan. Similar-looking, but NOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE as the Vornado.

I actually found it in an Odyssea Metal Halide Review thread over on Central

jda · May 14, 2018

I do not have any opinions on the blue light stuff... I am not around my tanks except for when the lights are on, so I have no need for dusk/dawn so I don't waste any electricity, product or mental thought on them. This is so personal, that it is really up to you.

150w 14k Phoenix is better than a 20k Radium (if you can even find one) or the Ushio 14 or 20k. It is a great bulb. It is crisp white with a tint of blue and awesome flouresce... looks just like the 250w 14k Phoenix on HQI and very similar to the 250w 20K Radium on HQI. 250w 20K radium on electronic is bluer. The 150w HQI 20k Radium is more blue than these too.

I just a 3-speed Vornado. There is a table next to the tank that is about the same height as the top of the tanp... I just set it on there and turn it on with the lights. It keeps the aluminum fixtures cool enough that you can touch them for 5-10 seconds without being burnt. Keeps the tank cool too. I have had them probably for 10 years, or more. They are heavy enough with good enough of a base that they stay put.

Reef of Fillory · May 14, 2018

jda said:
I do not have any opinions on the blue light stuff... I am not around my tanks except for when the lights are on, so I have no need for dusk/dawn so I don't waste any electricity, product or mental thought on them. This is so personal, that it is really up to you.

150w 14k Phoenix is better than a 20k Radium (if you can even find one) or the Ushio 14 or 20k. It is a great bulb. It is crisp white with a tint of blue and awesome flouresce... looks just like the 250w 14k Phoenix on HQI and very similar to the 250w 20K Radium on HQI. 250w 20K radium on electronic is bluer. The 150w HQI 20k Radium is more blue than these too.

I just a 3-speed Vornado. There is a table next to the tank that is about the same height as the top of the tanp... I just set it on there and turn it on with the lights. It keeps the aluminum fixtures cool enough that you can touch them for 5-10 seconds without being burnt. Keeps the tank cool too. I have had them probably for 10 years, or more. They are heavy enough with good enough of a base that they stay put.

Mark Levinson just did a YouTube video talking about cooling, and he uses these IceCap fans - the price looks great, but i'd need to make some kind of angled holder to place the fan in on the back lip of my tank...