Spot MH Lighting

[thanh386]

I was taking to Tim like 2 days ago and he said something about people using spot MH lighting for their tanks. has anyone else heard of this and would it be easy to do? I just want a clam w/o a 400 electric bill.

 

[mojo]

Yeah- metal halides aren't going to add that much to your bill, like ares pointed out. If you're going to consider them for "spot lighting", you might as well go all the way- there's hardly any cost difference between a 75watt MH and a 400w MH....

 

[wmboots]

I have seen alot of discussion going on about MH vs T-5, will t5's not work with clams it seems to me you are getting more light and a more evenly distributed light from t5's. As an electrical contractor who sells t5 fixtures to wherehouses and plants where I can show them where I can replace 2 400 watt MH fixtures with 1 6 lamp t5 with results of more than double the lumens and less than half of the energy consumed I would think this would hold true in the aquatic applications too. Can someone tell me where my thinking is wrong

 

[tim8111]

IMO, it is not Lumens that count, It is PAR. Clams will live under T5s but I would suggest a 8 bulb fixture with individual or contured reflectors for a clam like a Maxima. 6 Bulbs would work for the lower light clams, but still suggest contured reflectors.

Thanks,
Tim