Hood and Lighting upgrade...HELP!

[Stixbaraca]

I am upgrading and building (with the help of Matt!) a new hood for my Oceanic 58 (36.5"x18.5"x21"). I know I want to include my 2x96 watt PC tubes I already have. I also want to include MH somehow, but am really confused as to which way to go since there are so many options these days. DE, SE, Pulse, Electronic, 150, 175, 250...the lists go on and on! SO I need some help and reasoning on which way to go. I really like the look of my 150W 14K Phoenix on my prop system...but find it may be hard to build a DE system with the PC tubes since I need to wrap glass around the DE bulb. PLEASE HELP ME OUT! I figure my real options are either the 150 DE, 250 SE, or the 250 DE! Keep in mind...I am doing this on a tight budget! I keep a majority of zoos of course...with the occasional softy and lps thrown in...but wouldn't mind an SPS or 2 in the future.

 

[surfn]

if you are doing this on a tight budget, why are you considering DE over SE?

what about 2x175w SE mogules on magnetic ballasts? that would do nicely in a 58g along with your PC's (would prefer T5's myself).

IMO i think SE mogules have better light spread than DE's, are MUCH easier to retrofit, and are ALOT cheaper.

2x250w of anything on a 58g is gonna give you alot of heat, and only really needed if you have a majority of sps in the tank.

 

[twon8]

i would go with one 400 w, a blue bulb reeflux 12k, xm20, hamilton 14k, maybe a radium?
having to buy only one bulb/ballast/reflector, will save you a lot of money, and bulb replacement will be half or close, unless you decide to go with the radium, which i have heard need to be replaced every 5 months

 

[twon8]

agree with surfn on t5s over pcs

 

[Stixbaraca]

I already have the pcs though...that's why I want to incorporate them into it. I am leaning towards a single 250w SE Hamilton 14K bulb on an electronic ballast (I have a nice gift certificate which will allow me to go for it)...and then use the PCs for dawn/dusk. Any thoughts?

 

[twon8]

i;ve used hamilton 400w's, but they were used when i got then, so thtat tempers my opinion, but i thought they didn't do a good enough job of bringing out different colors, and they weren't bright enough imo. i prefer xm20 on magetics, or a reeflux 12k or 10k.

 

[Stixbaraca]

That's what I am looking for...a bulbs that really makes my colors POP. I put the small 150 DE 14K Phoenix on my display when I got it just to see what it looked like...and it blew my mind. That's what I want all the time!

 

[jessiesgrrl]

I used PCs for a long time (years), and then switched to MH. I didn't get right into MH because it seemed overkill for zoas, even though it sounded cool. Growth was what finally made me decide to do it.

It's crazy how differently everything reacts to MH... my GPE's finally went from mystery PE to GPE withing about a month. Also, growth has been surreal since switching over!! Zoas that would never put out polyps are all of the sudden braching off onto close rocks, and my sun coral is polyping babies all over the tank.

I sold the PCs I had and am using the funds to buy a supplemental T5 light for the tank to run all the time while the MH's do their sunrise pattern, just so we can enjoy everything being open all over the tank at the same time.

Just my .02

Laurie

 

[twon8]

i would see if you can borrow a few used bulbs from local reefers and see what you like; ime every tank will be different, and it really comes down to personal preference.

you may want to go with de pheonix 250w 14, a great combination of an inexpensive bulb, lots of par, and the color/spectrum very similiar to the aquaconnects and radiums

 

[Stixbaraca]

the only thing is how can I go with a DE bulb, and maybe just 1 96w attinic? Wouldn't it be a problem squeezing them all under the same hood?

 

[JGoslee]

Steve, I have the 58gal also. I custom made my hood. I have 2-250watt de in the hood and I have about 3" in the front and 3" in the back to work with. Im not sure if I could fit any pc lights but I know I could fit a t5 in either the front or back. The dimensions of my pendent are 11.0" x 9.0" x 4.0"(LxWxH). I have reef optix III pendents. I think if you had your metal hallides towards the front you could get a pc actinic in the back of your canopy.