Which metal halide should I get?

[JosephM]

So I’m planning a 30x30x16 mixed frag growout tank. Ill have stepped egg crate for different levels of lighting. I want to try out Metal halides for growth and have some supplemental lighting as well. Thinking about purchasing lumenmax elite pendant off of a fellow member on here. Anyone have experience with these? Any experiences with others ones and different ballasts and bulbs. I’m really taking a shot in the sky as I don’t know much about MH and would love advice and help.

 

[Bpb]

That’s a Good pendant. For something big and shallow like that you’ll want to hang it high. Run a 400 watt bulb 24” off the water

 

[JosephM]

That’s a Good pendant. For something big and shallow like that you’ll want to hang it high. Run a 400 watt bulb 24” off the water

That’s good to hear. I know they’re discontinued and sometimes that means it wasn’t a good product. Do you have a bulb and ballast recommendation? The guy selling on here is only selling the pendant. He also mentioned some lightly used radiums he could throw in.

 

[zalick]

Good reflectors.

Here is some good info. Dont take his conclusion to chose a different pendant as a knock on the lumenmax elite. All three he compared are good reflectors.

Comparison - Radium 250/400 - Cozumel Sun / Lumenbright Large / Lumenmax Elite

While trying to decide what lighting to run on my new 300DD build I decided to try different combinations of Radium bulbs and reflectors. For those who have transitioned to LEDs this information may not be too useful, but for those who love Radiums the info below may be very relevant. I...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[JosephM]

Good reflectors.

Here is some good info. Dont take his conclusion to chose a different pendant as a knock on the lumenmax elite. All three he compared are good reflectors.

Comparison - Radium 250/400 - Cozumel Sun / Lumenbright Large / Lumenmax Elite

While trying to decide what lighting to run on my new 300DD build I decided to try different combinations of Radium bulbs and reflectors. For those who have transitioned to LEDs this information may not be too useful, but for those who love Radiums the info below may be very relevant. I...

www.reef2reef.com

Good to hear. I’ll give that a read, thank you!

 

[zalick]

Good to hear. I’ll give that a read, thank you!

Be aware though: the lumenmax elite may be too much of a spotlight for your shallow 30" square. You may be better suited trying to find a Luminarc (tough to find) or a Cozumel sun.

 

[JosephM]

Be aware though: the lumenmax elite may be too much of a spotlight for your shallow 30" square. You may be better suited trying to find a Luminarc (tough to find) or a Cozumel sun.

What if I hang it high (24”) like the other guy said? And I read the thing and sounds like radium bulbs are pretty good. I didn’t get much out of it ballast wise, any ideas on what I could go with?

 

[Bpb]

Good luck finding a lumenarc. I’ve literally never seen one for sale anywhere in the last 7-8 years. The above article does paint the lumenmax elite in a bit of a negative light. I think rather than looking at brand recommendations, instead just ensure you’re using a reflector with at least 18” of length both ways. For a square footprint of that size you want a large reflector. Ideally something in the 20-24” range if you can find it. I’d prefer an electronic 250-400 watt adjustable ballast with whichever color bulb you like. I’d probably use a 400 watt 10,000k or 6500k bulb for a propagation tank, but I prefer a daylight appearance. If it’s going to be for growing chalices and zoas and such, a 250 watt 20,000k bulb will do fine

 

[zalick]

What if I hang it high (24”) like the other guy said? And I read the thing and sounds like radium bulbs are pretty good. I didn’t get much out of it ballast wise, any ideas on what I could go with?

Hanging it high should be good. I'm not a ballast guy. I think any electronic selectable ballast should be just fine. There are generally quite a few for sale.

The radium bulbs are nice. Since this is a growout tank you might get better growth with 10k and they will last longer not being driven as hard.

 

[JosephM]

Good luck finding a lumenarc. I’ve literally never seen one for sale anywhere in the last 7-8 years. The above article does paint the lumenmax elite in a bit of a negative light. I think rather than looking at brand recommendations, instead just ensure you’re using a reflector with at least 18” of length both ways. For a square footprint of that size you want a large reflector. Ideally something in the 20-24” range if you can find it. I’d prefer an electronic 250-400 watt adjustable ballast with whichever color bulb you like. I’d probably use a 400 watt 10,000k or 6500k bulb for a propagation tank, but I prefer a daylight appearance. If it’s going to be for growing chalices and zoas and such, a 250 watt 20,000k bulb will do fine

Shoot. Y’all are really starting to confuse me now lol. I’ll look into some other MH’s. So the lumen max elite probably isn’t the smartest choice? And it’s going to be mixed grow out tank. 3 levels. Up top mainly acros, montis, high light stuff, middle will be mostly euphylia and probably some zoas, bottom will be shrooms, other zoas, low light stuff if that makes sense.

 

[JosephM]

Hanging it high should be good. I'm not a ballast guy. I think any electronic selectable ballast should be just fine. There are generally quite a few for sale.

The radium bulbs are nice. Since this is a growout tank you might get better growth with 10k and they will last longer not being driven as hard.

Okay, you and bpb agree on those things so I’ll go with a 10k bulb. Should I have some supplemental lighting (t5s or something like an orphek bar?)

 

[zalick]

Good luck finding a lumenarc. I’ve literally never seen one for sale anywhere in the last 7-8 years.

Same. And I've been looking. I've only heard of one being for sale and never saw it. The unicorn sale!

 

[zalick]

Shoot. Y’all are really starting to confuse me now lol. I’ll look into some other MH’s. So the lumen max elite probably isn’t the smartest choice? And it’s going to be mixed grow out tank. 3 levels. Up top mainly acros, montis, high light stuff, middle will be mostly euphylia and probably some zoas, bottom will be shrooms, other zoas, low light stuff if that makes sense.

It's a fine choice mounted higher. I've got two. I like them.

 

[JosephM]

It's a fine choice mounted higher. I've got two. I like them.

Will it put out good par for me mounted that high?

 

[zalick]

Okay, you and bpb agree on those things so I’ll go with a 10k bulb. Should I have some supplemental lighting (t5s or something like an orphek bar?)

No need for supplemental lighting with that setup. You will be able to grow anything.

 

[zalick]

Will it put out good par for me mounted that high?

Absolutely. And you can adjust the height to fine tune it.

 

[JosephM]

No need for supplemental lighting with that setup. You will be able to grow anything.

Absolutely. And you can adjust the height to fine tune it.

Awesome. Love to hear that. I’ll pick up that pendant off the guy, it’s a good price. And 400 watt 10k bulb and a 400 watt ballast. Any brands you recommend? I’ve seen the ice cap on a few sights at a good price point compared to others

 

[zalick]

Awesome. Love to hear that. I’ll pick up that pendant off the guy, it’s a good price. And 400 watt 10k bulb and a 400 watt ballast. Any brands you recommend? I’ve seen the ice cap on a few sights at a good price point compared to others

I prefer galaxy but I have both. Ice cap is fine. Again, I'm no ballast guru though.

 

[JosephM]

I prefer galaxy but I have both. Ice cap is fine. Again, I'm no ballast guru though.

Okay. Thank you for all the help! Just to confirm since i don’t know tons: Lumenmax elite pendant (make it to where I can adjust somewhere in the 20-28” range), 400w ballast, and 400w 10k bulb?

 

[zalick]

This is from Sanjay Joshi in an RC post:


It has been my expereince that there is very little difference between the electronic ballasts.

sanjay.