It sounds like there are a few of us that are going to start running MH lights. I personally have very limited experience with MH lighting so I am starting this thread to facilitate conversation, questions, and personal experiences. Special thanks to @jda123 for answering my questions up to this point. I know there are plenty of these threads out on the national forums, but let's have our own for us local reefers here in CO.
Metal halide lighting discussion
- Thread starter neil82
- Start date
How high above water are you hanging the lights? And for @MuralReef what kind of bulbs are you currently running and what have you tried in the past?
I run 4 Phoenix 250 watt for 8 hours a day and 2-400 watt Radium bulbs for 4 hours.
Sent from my iPhone using MASC mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using MASC mobile app
Here's the fixture I'm hanging up today. 14k phoenix bulbs with ATI blue plus x 2. I can't wait to see what this looks like on the tank.
View attachment 13990
View attachment 13991
Up and running.
View attachment 13993
View attachment 13999
400watt 20k radium w/ two reefbrite leds on both sides. Right now par appears to be 150 on the sand and 300 at the top. Let it warm up longer and I’ll test it again.
400watt 20k radium w/ two reefbrite leds on both sides. Right now par appears to be 150 on the sand and 300 at the top. Let it warm up longer and I’ll test it again.
@TheRealChrisBrown Yup it’s plugged in but going have to see the par levels to determine if I’ll keep it at 400watts. If I have to go down to 250 I’ll have to wait till I can buy a new ballast and bulb. Last night the par actually didn’t seem overly high but the temp rose pretty quickly.
Anybody feel free to PM or post and I can help with just about any MH question. Always happy to help or demonstrate on my tanks or loan out some spare units for testing and stuff.
Most MH heat can be easily mitigated in this climate by a simple fan that comes on with the light. Don't get cute and use a temp controller to wait until the temp starts to rise... you are already behind when this happens. I just turn on a fan with the light and my tanks never raise more than .1 or .2 even with no AC in July. I use a three-speed vornado and turn it up in the summer and down or off in the winter. In the winter the heaters will still run with the MH on.
Most MH heat can be easily mitigated in this climate by a simple fan that comes on with the light. Don't get cute and use a temp controller to wait until the temp starts to rise... you are already behind when this happens. I just turn on a fan with the light and my tanks never raise more than .1 or .2 even with no AC in July. I use a three-speed vornado and turn it up in the summer and down or off in the winter. In the winter the heaters will still run with the MH on.