Metal Halides for Small Tank?

[A. grandis]

No. But I would go with a 250 instead. 150's just don't pack enough punch.

There are no basements where I live and we have to run our air conditioners 24/7 for about 9 months out of the year. That said, I've run halides on many systems over the years and have never owned a chiller. Unless you hang a 400w 6" above your 10" tank, a fan will work just fine to keep the tank from overheating.

The difference between a 150W DE lamp and a 175W SE lamp can be debatable, for example. Sometimes you can find a DE fixture, but can't find a SE fixture, and so on... Changing the choice of Kelvin from bulb to bulb will also imply significant applicable changes. It's a matter of application, really. The SE 150W can emit lot's of light over 22" deep tank, if the corals are placed only on the top part of the tank, so a 150W would be great. Application is everything.
About the chiller... well... depends really where you live. Sometimes you need a chiller no matter what. Even if you choose LEDs. It's not only halides that will dictate if a tank needs a chiller or not. The atmosphere temperature alone can already set the need of a chiller.
If a tank needs a chiller it will need a chiller. If using halides will surpass the limit of having a chiller or not, then just get a chiller. If you want the results of using halides then use it, and gt a chiller if you need. This life is too short!

 

[Black Dog Reefing]

Are you going to use halides for the 40gallon cube, or for the frag tank? Or both?

just over the frag, the radions doing fine over the 40g as it’s more a mixed display tank. Just want that lovely MH pop of color over the higher end acros growing out in the frag

 

[The_Paradox]

, a fan will work just fine to keep the tank from overheating.

If humidity is low enough.

 

[RedoubtReef]

Okay so I’m that case, do I have these options correct?

That would work. You can always buy a 250w ballast later if you decide to go that direction or move to a bigger tank in the future.

 

[djf91]

just over the frag, the radions doing fine over the 40g as it’s more a mixed display tank. Just want that lovely MH pop of color over the higher end acros growing out in the frag

What are the dimensions of the frag tank?

 

[Black Dog Reefing]

What are the dimensions of the frag tank?

22x22x10deep

 

[The_Paradox]

22x22x10deep

Im a huge fan of MH but even I don’t think I would do it on a tank with probably 8” water. That’s cook’n. Go with T5s

 

[djf91]

Im a huge fan of MH but even I don’t think I would do it on a tank with probably 8” water. That’s cook’n. Go with T5s

People used to do it all of the time with amazing results.

I would go with a single 250 watt 14k SE bulb in a large reflector with 4 x T5 bulbs/ 2 on each side of the metal halide. Being in your basement, you should have no issues with heat. The whole heat thing is way overblown and can certainly be compensated with fans if necessary. I run 4 x 400 watt metal halides over my display in my basement and my system never gets above 80 degrees.

 

[The_Paradox]

People used to do it all of the time with amazing results.

I would go with a single 250 watt 14k SE bulb in a large reflector with 4 x T5 bulbs/ 2 on each side of the metal halide. Being in your basement, you should have no issues with heat. The whole heat thing is way overblown and can certainly be compensated with fans if necessary. I run 4 x 400 watt metal halides over my display in my basement and my system never gets above 80 degrees.

I’ve have them over tanks that are only 12” deep but they are also over 100g volume with sump and plumbing. 250 over 15 gallons is cooking.

 

[djf91]

I’ve have them over tanks that are only 12” deep but they are also over 100g volume with sump and plumbing. 250 over 15 gallons is cooking.

With a medium size fan though I think it’d be ok. 150 would work too if the reflector covers most of the foot print of the tank

 

[The_Paradox]

With a medium size fan though I think it’d be ok. 150 would work too if the reflector covers most of the foot print of the tank

I don’t doubt it can be done effectively. In low humidity climate it might even not be that bad. Just want OP to know they do warm tanks.

 

[Troylee]

I think the chiller comments are a little over rated lol.. if you have a canopy on the tank and it’s closed top then maybe but even then a fan works just fine.. I currently run 3 halides over my tank and it got 1° warmer than running my radions.. heat shouldn’t be an issue with a pendant hung above the tank.

 

[Black Dog Reefing]

Im a huge fan of MH but even I don’t think I would do it on a tank with probably 8” water. That’s cook’n. Go with T5s

they don’t make T5s small enough unfortunately or at least not too my knowledge.

 

[Black Dog Reefing]

I’ve have them over tanks that are only 12” deep but they are also over 100g volume with sump and plumbing. 250 over 15 gallons is cooking.

the system is 70g total, would that extra water help to dissipate the heat?

 

[The_Paradox]

the system is 70g total, would that extra water help to dissipate the heat?

Q = c × m × ΔT

Yes. Mass matters.

 

[Gundy]

Do you think he, or anyone, would choose halides if wouldn't be for the results of the quality of the light?

I get it and understand the metal halide vs the LED debate. I’m not denying the excellent performance of halides but under certain circumstances, and in this situation, the cost to run a halide light could cost 5 times more due to purchasing a chiller and cost of electricity to run both the chiller and halide over time. Is the cost difference of hundreds of dollars in up front costs plus the increased costs to run a halide worth it? Perhaps it is for some and a definite no for others.

 

[Reefing102]

I would go 250 for the bulb options (seems to be slightly more options). 175s seem harder to come by.

These chiller comments make me laugh. I run 2 250 watt halides on my 65. No fan but I have AC and it stays peak at 79. My guess is you won’t need a chiller especially keeping it in a basement. A fan maybe but chiller, not likely.

One thing to keep in mind, if going double ended, 175W bulbs if I’m remembering correctly are shorter than 250W bulbs, so those saying can always upgrade later, while true, will likely result in having to upgrade the socket to a 250 as well.

 

[Troylee]

I get it and understand the metal halide vs the LED debate. I’m not denying the excellent performance of halides but under certain circumstances, and in this situation, the cost to run a halide light could cost 5 times more due to purchasing a chiller and cost of electricity to run both the chiller and halide over time. Is the cost difference of hundreds of dollars in up front costs plus the increased costs to run a halide worth it? Perhaps it is for some and a definite no for others.

No need for a chiller unless it’s a closed top canopy.. I live in Vegas it’s one of the hottest places on earth and I’ve never needed one.. I’m currently running halides and gonna add 2 more and I don’t have fans or anything on my tank. The only reason this graph even peaks is because I run my skimmer outside and it pulls 110° heat into my skimmer. Lol

 

[Black Dog Reefing]

I would go 250 for the bulb options (seems to be slightly more options). 175s seem harder to come by.

These chiller comments make me laugh. I run 2 250 watt halides on my 65. No fan but I have AC and it stays peak at 79. My guess is you won’t need a chiller especially keeping it in a basement. A fan maybe but chiller, not likely.

One thing to keep in mind, if going double ended, 175W bulbs if I’m remembering correctly are shorter than 250W bulbs, so those saying can always upgrade later, while true, will likely result in having to upgrade the socket to a 250 as well.

Thanks so much for the pictures! my question with the 250s is would that produce too much par over that size of an area? And also, what is the difference between single ended and double ended? Say a single ended produces less light (I have no idea if that’s correct) then going the 250 route (due to my concerns about too much par) a single ended would be the better option?

 

[djf91]

Don’t listen to the people saying it’ll use more electricity than LED….silly marketing bs from the LED companies. This has been debunked.