175 Watt MH

[mockery]

So I'm thinking of doing 2 175 watt metal halides for my frag tank. But need some information. What are good bulbs? And does anyone know how long the average length of these bulbs are? And does anyone know where to get good ballasts?

Thanks
Colin

 

[johnr2604]

I'm going to be trying ARO ballast, Iwasaki 15,000k's and lumenbrights on my frag setup. I will let you know but Lee had pretty good results with that combo. Sanjay did some testing with that combo also

 

[ichthyoid]

The IceCap ballasts are very popular, efficient, economical and 'gentle' on the bulbs from what I've read.

 

[mockery]

Oh that is the other thing. I have a custom reflector that fits my frag tank. And with this reflector it will be hard to do DE bulbs, and the lowest wattage SE I've seen is 175.

 

[glxtrix]

Alrighty, I'll give what I know. I run 3x175 on my 140g. I began running Iwasaki 15k (more like a 12K) very powerful bulb! esp if paired with a LB reflector....and for that fact I will say you'll get similar power with LA and LM/LME reflectors. I run ARO electronic ballasts...can be found here: http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=457">http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=457</a>

I highly suggest these! Awesome ballasts and have a 3 yr warranty through hellolights. The Iwasaki and ARO ballast got awesome PPFD numbers according to Sanjays light tests. Next up would be the Icecap ballasts, but I believe those cost more. That set up would be if you're out to grow coral and have a decent looking bulb that's not horribly yellow. It's like a hyper white with a slight tint of blue. Unfortunately, these bulbs will hue shift and lose PAR around 6-8 mos...I ran them a full year though...because they are a little pricey: [IMG]http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_35_373&products_id=1948">http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_35_373&products_id=1948</a>

I currently run the Reeflux 12K bulbs:[IMG]http://www.reefspecialty.com/Lighting-Reeflux-Bulbs/c14_34/p67/Reeflux-175watt-Metal-Halide-Mogul-Base-SE-bulbs/product_info.html">http://www.reefspecialty.com/Lighting-Reeflux-Bulbs/c14_34/p67/Reeflux-175watt-Metal-Halide-Mogul-Base-SE-bulbs/product_info.html</a>

These are very nice...lower PAR, but a nice blue and decent coral growth. Definitely doesn't match the growth of the Iwasakis, then again the PPFD is about half! These are the only bulbs I have exp with, and personally think it's the only bulbs worth looking into for 175W....unless you want more blue...but for a frag tank, that may not be worth it. Feel free to ask any other questions, I'll do my best to help answer.

 

[mockery]

glxtrix;467374 wrote: Alrighty, I'll give what I know. I run 3x175 on my 140g. I began running Iwasaki 15k (more like a 12K) very powerful bulb! esp if paired with a LB reflector....and for that fact I will say you'll get similar power with LA and LM/LME reflectors. I run ARO electronic ballasts...can be found here: http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=457">http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=457</a>

I highly suggest these! Awesome ballasts and have a 3 yr warranty through hellolights. The Iwasaki and ARO ballast got awesome PPFD numbers according to Sanjays light tests. Next up would be the Icecap ballasts, but I believe those cost more. That set up would be if you're out to grow coral and have a decent looking bulb that's not horribly yellow. It's like a hyper white with a slight tint of blue. Unfortunately, these bulbs will hue shift and lose PAR around 6-8 mos...I ran them a full year though...because they are a little pricey: [IMG]http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_35_373&products_id=1948">http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_35_373&products_id=1948</a>

I currently run the Reeflux 12K bulbs:[IMG]http://www.reefspecialty.com/Lighting-Reeflux-Bulbs/c14_34/p67/Reeflux-175watt-Metal-Halide-Mogul-Base-SE-bulbs/product_info.html">http://www.reefspecialty.com/Lighting-Reeflux-Bulbs/c14_34/p67/Reeflux-175watt-Metal-Halide-Mogul-Base-SE-bulbs/product_info.html</a>

These are very nice...lower PAR, but a nice blue and decent coral growth. Definitely doesn't match the growth of the Iwasakis, then again the PPFD is about half! These are the only bulbs I have exp with, and personally think it's the only bulbs worth looking into for 175W....unless you want more blue...but for a frag tank, that may not be worth it. Feel free to ask any other questions, I'll do my best to help answer.[/QUOTE]

I think I remember your thread about switching bulbs. If you had to guess How big are the Iwasakis? I'll pm you tomorrow about more questions. Got class early tomorrow!

 

[glxtrix]

I believe they are the same size are the Reeflux bulbs...roughly 9" end to end. I'll get you an accurate measurement tomorrow...I'll go dig through my aquarium stuff in the garage and find my old Reeflux bulbs.