Metal Halide lighting for 36" 55 gallon

[Reef of Fillory]

Hi all,

I'll be upgrading to a used 55 gallon 36x18 20" tall acrylic aquarium in about two months.

I'm currently running an Evo 13.5 gallon nano with a 150w Phoenix metal halide fixture.

For the 55, I'm thinking to go to either two of the 150s and two total t5's (cheap add in ballasts I bought used)... https://m.ebay.com/itm/MH-150-Aquar...m=301452298067&_trksid=p2056116.c100891.m5206






Or buy a 36" fixture with one 250w halide and four t5's... https://m.ebay.com/itm/USED-524-MH-...3216060243?_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&epid=1362779796



Does anyone have and opinions on which path to take?

I keep a bubble tip anemone (may get a couple of more), a squamousa on the sand bed and some random sps. I will be adding more acros and other light demanding corals with the larger tank going forward.

Thanks!!

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have a 40 breeder, same footprint just a tad shorter. Using the Hamilton single bulb 250w 20k metal halide with 4 t5's and so far I'm absolutely loving it

 

[Reef of Fillory]

I have a 40 breeder, same footprint just a tad shorter. Using the Hamilton single bulb 250w 20k metal halide with 4 t5's and so far I'm absolutely loving it

What combination of t5 are you using with the 20k? My wife and I like our tanks to look more on the white side, but the colors aren't as great as i expected under the 14k Phoenix

Do you have any pics of your tank that show the color from the lights well?

How long have you had the tank set up with the lights?

 

[Crabs McJones]

What combination of t5 are you using with the 20k? My wife and I like our tanks to look more on the white side, but the colors aren't as great as i expected under the 14k Phoenix

Do you have any pics of your tank that show the color from the lights well?

How long have you had the tank set up with the lights?

The tanks been set up for about a year or so, the whole system is pushing over three years, but I only recently made the switch halide around 2 months ago. I run a 20k halide, two blue plus t5s and two actinic t5s

 

[maroun.c]

Two Halides With 2-4 T5s would be amazing.4 t5s would allow you to.color supplalement with 2 T5s and have 2 actinics for dusk and dawn phase

 

[jdpeters]

The tanks been set up for about a year or so, the whole system is pushing over three years, but I only recently made the switch halide around 2 months ago. I run a 20k halide, two blue plus t5s and two actinic t5s

Stunning tank and it looks like you nailed the lighting

 

[mcarroll]

Hi all,

I'll be upgrading to a used 55 gallon 36x18 20" tall acrylic aquarium in about two months.

I'm currently running an Evo 13.5 gallon nano with a 150w Phoenix metal halide fixture.

For the 55, I'm thinking to go to either two of the 150s and two total t5's (cheap add in ballasts I bought used)... https://m.ebay.com/itm/MH-150-Aquarium-Metal-Halide-Light-Saltwater-Marine-Reef-150W-Ballast-Odyssea/301452298067?_trkparms=aid=444000&algo=SOI.DEFAULT&ao=1&asc=20171010182220&meid=365844f745b541819052e87ecb4b7e4c&pid=100891&rk=5&rkt=12&mehot=pp&sd=113216060243&itm=301452298067&_trksid=p2056116.c100891.m5206






Or buy a 36" fixture with one 250w halide and four t5's... https://m.ebay.com/itm/USED-524-MH-...3216060243?_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&epid=1362779796



Does anyone have and opinions on which path to take?

I keep a bubble tip anemone (may get a couple of more), a squamousa on the sand bed and some random sps. I will be adding more acros and other light demanding corals with the larger tank going forward.

Thanks!!

I would go with the set up just like I used to have on a very similar size tank:

Two 150 W radium bulbs on the correct magnetic ballasts — nothing else but moonlights if you need em.

Hamilton bulbs are supposedly identical to the old Radiums so try them since 150w Radiums are no longer being made

 

[Reef of Fillory]

I would go with the set up just like I used to have on a very similar size tank:

Two 150 W radium bulbs on the correct magnetic ballasts — nothing else but moonlights if you need em.

Hamilton bulbs are supposedly identical to the old Radiums so try them since 150w Radiums are no longer being made

A second 150w [with mediocre ballast] will cost me $105 + new bulb while the 250w + 4 T5's and moonlight LEDs [with mediocre ballast as well] will run me $170.

My plan with whichever fixtures I end up with is to replace the ballasts when I find a good one used on the forums. So far i've not seen any descent ballasts for sale for descent prices.

I'll be honest that cost is a main concern for the lighting - while i'd love to go with a Hamilton fixture and a Icecap/Reef Bright or similar ballast, I can't drop the $160 for a ballast alone, + $150 per reflector and $60 per bulb.

The Ebay lights sit right in the range where i'm comfortable either buying a second 150w, or going with the 250 with the T5's to supplement for color/coverage since the tank is 36" long and 20" front to back.

 

[mcarroll]

If cost is an overriding issue, then you should really be considering an LED-only system.

A hybrid system is by far the most expensive up-front and long-term...especially if it's halide+t5.

For <$300 you can have a massive LED system that you can run at low-intensity to make it last forever. You can spend A LOT less than that if required (as little as ~$100), but you might have a lower output (but still SPS capable) system or have DIY involved.

Just some thoughts if cost is really an overarching issue.

The system you're trying to set up sounds REALLY NICE but it does not sound like a cost-conscious setup.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

If cost is an overriding issue, then you should really be considering an LED-only system.

A hybrid system is by far the most expensive up-front and long-term...especially if it's halide+t5.

For <$300 you can have a massive LED system that you can run at low-intensity to make it last forever. You can spend A LOT less than that if required (as little as ~$100), but you might have a lower output (but still SPS capable) system or have DIY involved.

Just some thoughts if cost is really an overarching issue.

The system you're trying to set up sounds REALLY NICE but it does not sound like a cost-conscious setup.

I definitely get that, however I'm not interested in LED after using them before. (Marine orbit, ai primes, sbreef)

My 150w Ebay fixture has done well enough so far, now I'm wondering what I'll need in a 20" deep tank at 36" and what T5 to supplement for Ideal coloration

 

[mcarroll]

No T5's needed was the point of my earlier post. Totally superfluous in a system your size underneath a pair of 150w Radium-like halides.

Pair of halides is where it's at. Budget is the only reason I took down my old Coralife Aqualite that was two mini-reflectors in a fixture on short legs, maybe 4-5" off the water.

I still have the system, BTW, but no budget to turn it on.



What was your beef against LED's? Deployed nicely, any of those "should" have been pretty great. Just color/aesthetic problems, or....? (Deployment issues are usually the problem in most cases....not sure about yours of course, hence the ?. )

 

[Reef of Fillory]

No T5's needed was the point of my earlier post. Totally superfluous in a system your size underneath a pair of 150w Radium-like halides.

Pair of halides is where it's at. Budget is the only reason I took down my old Coralife Aqualite that was two mini-reflectors in a fixture on short legs, maybe 4-5" off the water.

I still have the system, BTW, but no budget to turn it on.



What was your beef against LED's? Deployed nicely, any of those "should" have been pretty great. Just color/aesthetic problems, or....? (Deployment issues are usually the problem in most cases....not sure about yours of course, hence the ?. )

I just wasn't a fan of them, I sold them off and threw on metal halide and I cant find anything negative about MH.

I'm a fan of the shimmer and simplicity behind non LED

I want the t5's partially to have some of the balance of using a 20k MH and reduce shading.

I also miss having sunset/ blues for viewing with a totally MH system

 

[mcarroll]

I just wasn't a fan of them

Can't argue with that I guess.

I cant find anything negative about MH.

The downsides are always relative, but with halide are pretty well known. Cost and heat are the biggies. Having to recycle the mercury bulbs is a pain to me. But how important those factors are/are not is relative to the owner.

Corals don't keep wallets - so they love halides!

I'm a fan of the shimmer and simplicity behind non LED

I also miss having sunset/ blues for viewing with a totally MH system

Use a small LED strip on a manual dimmer and timer for that....can even hide behind the front tank trim. Tunze and Marineland both make potential candidates...numerous unbranded options too.

I want the t5's partially to have some of the balance of using a 20k MH and reduce shading.

I dunno if you can build this in stages, but I'm serious as a heart attack about my old dual-150w system...it was on my old 50 Gallon, which is your tank, but an inch or two shorter.

You definitely don't want any more light than 20K – you'll be laying down maybe >60,000-80,000 lux (around 1,500 PAR.), so T5's aren't needed on that front.

With two bulbs in mini-reflectors, mounted close to the tank, coverage will be supremely nice. No T5's needed for that either.

If you use the Hamilton bulbs (ie Radium) then color shouldn't be an issue....they're possibly the nicest looking light around all by themselves.

So build it simply as 2x150w and run it...and if you disagree after seeing such a system in action, then add on some T5's. No big deal and no loss, right?

Just a bunch of ideas.

2¢ at most.

 

[mcarroll]

Meant to say Tunze and Marineland make options that can be potentially submersed or otherwise hidden. Other strips from Reefbrite to Current's plain truelumen, and others could work as traditional "moonlights" alongside the halide setup, out of the tank.

 

[CNDReef]

I’m planning out my 40b and going with 1 250mh and 2 led bars for supplemental lights.

 

[A. grandis]

Hi all,

I'll be upgrading to a used 55 gallon 36x18 20" tall acrylic aquarium in about two months.

I'm currently running an Evo 13.5 gallon nano with a 150w Phoenix metal halide fixture.

For the 55, I'm thinking to go to either two of the 150s and two total t5's (cheap add in ballasts I bought used)... https://m.ebay.com/itm/MH-150-Aquarium-Metal-Halide-Light-Saltwater-Marine-Reef-150W-Ballast-Odyssea/301452298067?_trkparms=aid=444000&algo=SOI.DEFAULT&ao=1&asc=20171010182220&meid=365844f745b541819052e87ecb4b7e4c&pid=100891&rk=5&rkt=12&mehot=pp&sd=113216060243&itm=301452298067&_trksid=p2056116.c100891.m5206






Or buy a 36" fixture with one 250w halide and four t5's... https://m.ebay.com/itm/USED-524-MH-...3216060243?_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&epid=1362779796



Does anyone have and opinions on which path to take?

I keep a bubble tip anemone (may get a couple of more), a squamousa on the sand bed and some random sps. I will be adding more acros and other light demanding corals with the larger tank going forward.

Thanks!!

This is one of the choices I would recommend in your case:

https://hamiltontechnology.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=17_74_76&product_id=56
SE 175W 14K or 20K halide.
I know it is much more expensive than the one you're talking about.
I took a year to get my 48" Spectra and will never regret. I'm not rich and had to use my credit card for it.
The problem in getting a cheap halide system is fire. Just like T5 fixtures. So many friends had that happened!
That's the reason I wouldn't recommend some of the Ebay stuff. You never know...
Using 4 T5s you can have the halides for less hours and the T5s ON while halides aren't. That's the way I do. It saves electricity!
Just my US $0.2.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

I had a 40B for several years, sps mostly but a mixed reef. At first I ran 2 150w MH then switxhed to a single 250w MH. Went back and forth between 14k and 20k bulbs with bith light set ups. Finally ended up being happy with the 250W pendant and 14k Phoenix over my 40B and corals grew to the point I needed to upgrade to a larger tank.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

Got the new tank today

Acrylic 55 gallon with one drain bulkhead and one return bulkhead. Thinking about making both holes drains, one with full siphon the other emergency and bring the return over the back of the tank.

I don't think there's enough room in the overflow to drill a 3rd hole for a bulkhead

 

[A. grandis]

I have this return on one of my my 75gal. for many years. Maybe you should try. I like it!
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/return-jet.html

I wouldn't use halides over the acrylic! Better change for a glass tank.
I actually removed the top plastic frame from the 75gal that I have my halides and made an Euro bracing after people told me their central braces broke and the UV from the halides and /or T5s could contribute to the disaster...
Here is one of the pictures I found online:

I'm not sure if the picture above shows damage by UV.

I think it depends on the manufacturer, but I've called many of them and they all told me there is no warranty for UV damage. I've should read well the first post. Sorry, I didn't notice it was an acrylic tank. Hope you have time to change.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

I wouldn't use halides over the acrylic! Better change for a glass tank.
I actually removed the top plastic frame from the 75gal that I have my halides and made an Euro bracing after people told me their central braces broke and the UV from the halides and /or T5s could contribute to the disaster...
Here is one of the pictures I found online:

I'm not sure if the picture above shows damage by UV.

I think it depends on the manufacturer, but I've called many of them and they all told me there is no warranty for UV damage. I've should read well the first post. Sorry, I didn't notice it was an acrylic tank. Hope you have time to change.

Thanks for the warning! After a quick search I've found only one instance where someone attributed a tank failure to metal halide over their acrylic tank. I think that it's much more likely to have been from heat and time degrading the acrylic/ plastic bracing on tanks.

Both SE and DE mh bulbs have a glass covering to shield UV from dispersing as far as ive read.

Any concerns about metal halide over acrylic tanks seems to be from >8 years old as far as I can tell based on a web search.

I really do appreciate the caution, if it truly is a valid concern to have, do you know of any other discussions on the mh/UV actually damaging acrylic or the acrylic solvents?

I'm curious if @Dana Riddle has come across any evidence on either side?

Thanks again!

Here's a better picture of the hood and top of the tank