Metal halide

[Albertan_Reef]

I’m totally new to metal halide lighting but a die hard t5 guy.

Currently in the process of planning a 500 gallon 8x3x3 tank and a member on a Facebook group suggested 3 metal halides instead of going LED.

If I go LED it will be 4x orphek atlantiks with 8x 54watt t5 (4x atinic and 4x blue plus)

If I go halides I’ll be accompanying them with 8 orphek 120or bars.

This is what I came up with on BRS as a quick look.

 

[Troy V]

Looks like this is going to be a beautiful setup. With 8x3x3 dimensions how high are you planning to mount these lights, and are they going in a canopy?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Great set ups. Both of them. Possibly overkill.

That’s what I’d do.

 

[Albertan_Reef]

Thanks, yes they will both be in canopy’s. I have 15 ft ceilings in my formal living room where it’s going so I want it to look like it was apart of the house.

For the less they will be mounted 12 inches above the tank.

For the halides in not sure as I’ve never used them or seen them in person. I just know they grow incredible corals.

I know the cost savings from halides compared to LED ($1300 vs $3200) would mean I can put the money else where ... but the only way to do so is if I can figure them out before hand. I like the ease of LEDs and T5s. My current tank is lit by 3 Kessil’s and 6 t5s.

 

[Troy V]

As a fan of halides, LEDs, and T5s, (I use all three on my system) you know they each have thier own strengths and of course weaknesses. If you plan on keeping a mixed LPS, softies, and some SPS, you would be fine with 3 metal halides. In fact, this would make a beautiful tank. Unfortunately you will need to mount these at least 18"-24" above the tank for a decent light spread, and depending on your tank height it would be like looking into the sun when you view your tank from seated position. Imho this negativly effects the viewing experience. I had this problem on my 240 (8x2x2) and those 3 Luminarc reflectors were mounted only 10" above the tank. I was able to angle the reflector back slightly to block the view of the halides bulb. Now if you decide to go with only SPS that would present a very different challenge.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Metal halide is super simple it's plug and play. Sounds like a good setup one thing I would change is go with the SE fixture and run Radium 20k bulbs.

 

[reefwiser]

MH and T5's on that size of tank would solve any lighting issues. Would look at Reef brites their electronic ballast make the MH way more efficient and run cooler. Nothing like a 20K MH fixture and corals.

 

[Jay Norris]

Hi, nice size tank, do you have a chiller to cool the tank, you will need one if you are going to use MH's for lighting. The only bad thing I know of about big tanks is the cost to operate and build them, in the long run you would be better off going with the Orphek set up all the way, including Light Bars if you need them. With the way the high end LED lights are made their is no reason to supplement the lighting with T5's or MH's . On my next big tank build, I will be going all LED's, either Orphek, or the GHL Mitra LX 7296 series, as I m leaning toward the Mitra's, but I will need more for the same coverage as the Orpheks.

 

[Jay Norris]

7206

 

[reefwiser]

Never had a problem with heat with my Reef Brite MH system an this is on a 40 gallon tank.

 

[Albertan_Reef]

Heat I’m not worried about, I can barely get my temps on my 180 to reach 78 with 3 500 watt heaters.

I just want the best all around lighting set up for a 3 foot deep tank. It will be a mixed reef , with a lot of SPS.

 

[reefwiser]

At that depth it is your best option.

 

[Jay Norris]

Heat I’m not worried about, I can barely get my temps on my 180 to reach 78 with 3 500 watt heaters.

I just want the best all around lighting set up for a 3 foot deep tank. It will be a mixed reef , with a lot of SPS.

The Mitras would be your best bet at that depth if you are using LED's, are you talking about 36" front to back, or top to bottom. It won't really matter as the Mitras will easily penetrate a 36" tank from top to bottom, or front to back.

 

[Albertan_Reef]

The Mitras would be your best bet at that depth if you are using LED's, are you talking about 36" front to back, or top to bottom. It won't really matter as the Mitras will easily penetrate a 36" tank from top to bottom, or front to back.

Top to bottom , front to back

 

[jda]

If you are going to use double ended bulbs, then make sure that the ballasts have a HQI or Super Lumens setting. If not, then get some that do, or get real m80 ballasts. Double Ended bulbs are not driven correctly with 250w electronic ballasts.

I have never had heat problems with metal halide - ever. Keep in mind that I wanted to solve the problem and not just use it as an excuse. People who live in hotter areas (florida, cali, arizona) can have real heat problems, but I have never lived there. Heating costs are about 70% of my electrical expense, so any heat that a halide gives off allows my heaters to take a break a bit.

If you want the best possible lighting, the the MH is it. BRS says it the best when they start lots of videos by saying something like "If performance is your main goal, then Metal Halide is for you."

 

[jda]

IceCap 400w ballast does 250w regular, 250w HQI (what you need to use DE bulbs), 400w regular and 400w HQI. This is probably a better option and you can move up to 400w some day if you need more juice.

 

[Albertan_Reef]

IceCap 400w ballast does 250w regular, 250w HQI (what you need to use DE bulbs), 400w regular and 400w HQI. This is probably a better option and you can move up to 400w some day if you need more juice.

Thanks! Like I said I know nothing about MH lol

 

[jda]

We are here to help... no problem. You do not want to dim them, so just turn them on/off for your photoperiod... I use 10-11 hours, but some people run them for less... and some run them for more.

 

[Albertan_Reef]

So I can run MH for 10 hours straight? Then use the led bars for the other 2 hours

 

[jda]

Yes.

10-12 hours might be necessary since you will have a lot of area to cover with the three units. There is some science that suggests that 10 hours at 250 PAR is the same at 5 hours at 500 PAR, so longer periods can accomplish the same thing with less output.

You are going to have areas with lots of output and some areas in between the units that are less. This is cool and you can plan the placement of your corals with the acros under the lights and the lower-light stuff in the middle and front.

Some people leave the supplements on when the MH are on, but I turn mine off... you cannot see them anyway, so I save the wattage. I use VHO over some of mine, so I turn the on a few hours before and a few hours after. Leaving them on is no issue, especially if you need more output.