View Full Version : Help with LIGHTING
Whoshwee
03-03-2008, 9:29 PM
Hi, I have a 60gal. and I'm upgrading my lighting for later corals in the future. I was wondering if this lighting system is good enough to raise almost any corals i want. It's the Current "USA Metal Halide Outer Orbit" 36", I'm buying it for $250 used from a guy. Is it a good deal and will it be good enough to raise almost anything i want?
clown-lover
03-03-2008, 9:49 PM
What is the watt of the light and how deep is your tank?
Whoshwee
03-03-2008, 9:53 PM
What is the watt of the light and how deep is your tank?
My Tank is 24" deep. 15" wide, and 36 long.
The light spec is: 2x96watt actinic, 1x150 10K MH, and 4 moon light
clown-lover
03-03-2008, 10:32 PM
Well MH only cover 2 feet of horizontal space. With that wattage your not going to be able to put anything that requires high light on the bottom. But if you keep those types of corals near the top you should be ok. I'd just stay away from SPS corals. For that deep of a tank you really need 250 watt lights.
Whoshwee
03-04-2008, 12:03 AM
Well MH only cover 2 feet of horizontal space. With that wattage your not going to be able to put anything that requires high light on the bottom. But if you keep those types of corals near the top you should be ok. I'd just stay away from SPS corals. For that deep of a tank you really need 250 watt lights.
The 150w bulb is a double end bulb though. with 10,000K
archer772
03-04-2008, 12:18 AM
I agree with the 250 watts. I wouldnt try any of the higher light corals with 150 watt MH unless you keep them up near the top, with a 250 watt MH you will be able to keep more with fewer limitations on placement
The 150w bulb is a double end bulb though. with 10,000K
The info is still the same, it will only cover 2' of surface area and although the 10000k is better for growth than say a 20000K, you want the higher wattage for deeper tanks.
clown-lover
03-04-2008, 7:36 AM
The 150w bulb is a double end bulb though. with 10,000K
Double end or single end it is still the same. All that means is the type of mounting application for the bulb and one is a lot larger but contains its own UV sheild within the bulb itself and the other does not (well except for the coralife DE Bulb) and is quite smaller (the Double Ended bulb).
Whoshwee
03-04-2008, 10:15 AM
Oh ok, i see. So as long as I keep the higher lighting corals near top, everything is fine. good deal or no deal for $250?
Ace25
03-04-2008, 10:19 AM
one is a lot larger but contains its own UV sheild within the bulb itself and the other does not (well except for the coralife DE Bulb).
Wait a second.. can you explain that a little more? My neighbor has a Coralife Aqualight Pro fixture and is just about to replace the Coralife DE bulbs with something else.. should he stick with Coralife bulbs because of the UV shield? I just assumed the glass pane was a UV shield as well.. but maybe I was wrong. Can you clarify?
Reefscape
03-04-2008, 10:37 AM
Wait a second.. can you explain that a little more? My neighbor has a Coralife Aqualight Pro fixture and is just about to replace the Coralife DE bulbs with something else.. should he stick with Coralife bulbs because of the UV shield? I just assumed the glass pane was a UV shield as well.. but maybe I was wrong. Can you clarify?
Most single ended MH bulbs have a UV shield built inside the bulb itselb, and dont neccesarily need a seperate UV shield via an external glass. Double ended MH bulbs have no UV shielding built into them, and as such, need to have this external glass UV shield.
The single ended bulbs are basically two layers of glass, the inner where the arc tube is housed, and then an secondary glass layer which provides the UV shielding. A double ended MH bulb is just one layer of glass, hence the need for the shield...
Hope that explains the differences Ace...
Ace25
03-04-2008, 10:40 AM
Ya, I understood that one.. but he was stating that Coralife DE bulbs are the only DE with a shield as well..
I was wondering.. if the company Coralife puts in DE bulbs with a shield in their fixtures.. would they then skimp on the glass and not have it UV shielded? I would hate for him to replace his Coralife DE bulbs with something like an XM or Hamilton and end up cooking his corals with UV.
Reefscape
03-04-2008, 11:15 AM
According to coralife, their DE bulbs do have UV shielding built into them, however, its only a 3/4 tube shield, so, i take that as not "full" UV protection..After reading about these bulbs on another forum where two seperate people at seperate times inquired about this to coralife, both were give the same answers, however, both were never supplied with the technical info to prove this fact on UV protection.
Here is a thread which touches on this issue..start reading from page 7 and post number 137...It may help you on this issue..
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53462&st=120