Advanced lighting "planted tank"

[Gbbudd]

Do to my unusual set up i can not get more then 3 39 watt T-5 bulbs on my 92 gallon corner tank. At 4 watts per gallon i'd need 368 watts i'm a bit shy of that at only 117 watts . i was using quartz halogen which i had great luck with but could not keep high light plants. Im thinking of going metal halide i want to keep HC, Rotala macandra, and other high light plants. I see very few if anyone using MH lighting on plantedtanks. i do have preasureco2 and im just now tring to add ferts where i have never done so before. is MH over kill will it burn out the plants? oh and i want to keep the lights about 5" above the waters surface. yes i know about the heat issue that souldn't be a problem. the quartz was in the same location and heat was fine. im curious to the intencity of two 150 watt mh bulbs. Are mh that much brighter then Quartz. ok if you can follow this your good. enough rambling heres what i have for a tank better photo's found here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110988

 

[Mgamer20o0]

people tend to use mh on bigger tanks. should only need 3wpg on that bigger tank.

 

[Gbbudd]

Also which is a better balust magnetic or electronic?

 

[st0l1]

Electronic. They're more efficient.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

yes electronic

 

[Gbbudd]

anyone ever use this slimline t5 fitting fir 6 lights in 12"x2"x1" pretty slick http://www.ecoreef.net/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=138

 

[Mgamer20o0]

dont see any reflectors on them. i would look for vho or just go with mh if you want more light.

 

[LesbianChap]

You could probably buy a few more F39T5 electronic ballasts, re-wire your current setup so that a ballast normally made to power 3 39w bulbs powers 1...you'll end up getting just under 80w of light out of each bulb, but you'll need to replace them sooner (reduces bulb lifespan). If you wire 2 ballast outputs to each bulb, you'll get about 55-60w out of each bulb...might need to recheck the math on that, but I'm pretty sure my numbers are right.

 

[Manzanitadude]

Your tank is awesome. 2-150 watt Metal Halides would give you tons of light in there, but the heat transfer might be an issue for you at 5" off the water surface. If you elevate the fixtures a little- to 10-12" I think you would have better luck. I would go with some Pendants.

 

[Gbbudd]

Your tank is awesome. 2-150 watt Metal Halides would give you tons of light in there, but the heat transfer might be an issue for you at 5" off the water surface. If you elevate the fixtures a little- to 10-12" I think you would have better luck. I would go with some Pendants.

i doubt MH burn any hotter then does a quartz halide you can't tough ether bulb bare handed. But my big question is how much more lighting does a MH produce over the same wattage bulb in quartz, if any or is the yellow spectrum of quartz the only draw back to them comparably.