How many Metal Halides for a 125

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Experiment397

Experiment397

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Feb 26, 2010
2,815
959
150
Probably the Poly section
How many metal halides would I need for a 125 and of what wattage? The tank will have soft corals and mushrooms along with a few polyps. I found a guy on the local classifieds selling two 250w fixtures and bulbs for $200 and might take advantage of the deal if I could use them on my tank


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Otherone said:
500 watts will cook the water, you'll need a chiller
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+1


I thought you were planning on LEDs to avoid any large energy consumption?? Halides have to be the worst for that lol, and as above the heat they emit, and the cost of bulb replacement, and the lack of variety in colours.

Stick with T5's. Korallen Zucht are the best bulbs to get by far. But it's your choice!

Let us know what you finally opt for. :thumbsup:
 
Ya but if its cheaper to buy its cheaper to buy. While I'd love I buy a fully setup t5 HO setup and I even found one perfect for my tank, I don't want to spend $600 on lights. There are tons of 150 and 250 watt metal halides for sale on our local classifieds here. Would 2 150 do okay for the tank? I figure that's 300w and the t5 HO fixture I was looking at was 312w. It's just that lights, power heads and a skimmer are all that I'm missing for the tank as far as equipment then it should be smoother from there.


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And with the LEDs I didnt realize how low powered they really where. I might eventual buy some just for extra light in the tank but probably won't be using them unless I can find two 36" fixtures for really cheap or a 48" and two small ones for cheap.


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Experiment397 said:
Ya but if its cheaper to buy its cheaper to buy. While I'd love I buy a fully setup t5 HO setup and I even found one perfect for my tank, I don't want to spend $600 on lights. There are tons of 150 and 250 watt metal halides for sale on our local classifieds here. Would 2 150 do okay for the tank? I figure that's 300w and the t5 HO fixture I was looking at was 312w. It's just that lights, power heads and a skimmer are all that I'm missing for the tank as far as equipment then it should be smoother from there.


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Click to expand...

There is a reason there is a ton of halides for sale.....

Halides.... you're going to need LOTS of fans or a chiller (with a nice £ tag for one). Price that into the equation in relation to running costs and initial purchase of each. You'll find it's more than new T5's cost. Without being rude... If you can't afford to do it properly - don't do it at all.

Why don't you just get some really cheap LEDs or a couple of T5 bulbs to light the tank, then when you have saved up enough and your tank is ready for corals, buy your better lights then? You won't be able to put corals in it any time soon anyway. If your going to do things right that is.

Last thing, do you know how much an extra 100/200 watts would cost per year? (comparing T5's to GOOD LEDs). Don't get hung up on watts too much or you'll go insane.
 
Metal halide's are good reef lights - they pack an excellent reflector and alot of intense light from a smaller bulb. In order to properly ajust the hieght of an MH system you might want to check into a PAR meter (Photosynthetic active radiation). 500w is alot for 125, 300w is highly doable and even overkill for most softies. Buying used however 9 times outta 10 you need to replace the old bulbs so factor that into your total intial cost. A brand new 300w 8 bulb t5ho system with 13 blue 3w LEDS and a timer from aquatic life costs approx. $500.
 
Ill have to check that aquatic life website out. The lights are not my only high wattage thing so anywhere I can save energy is good. I also have over 2000w in reptile electronics and will have another few hundred for my power heads, filter and skimmer just on this tank so I really do sort of need to watch my wattage when I can. If I can find a t5 fixture for around 500 that would be great. I have a thread on t5's I'll see if anybody has recommended any. Thnx


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