Metal halide coverage / led / t5

[Ronisreef]

I’m planning on a build that will be 60x30x15
I want to hang my light pretty high above the tank so when your viewing the tank it doesn’t intrude the view being that it will be a shallow tank
I was thinking of going with halides if I can find them and the kelvin I want to be at is between 8k and 14k a much whiter look I’m going for a natural look over fluorescent with many macros and soft coral
My question is what lights would you suggest and if I do go with halides how many would I need to cover that spread
Also with halides is it more about the wattage or the the size of the reflectors
I’ve only used radion pros but since I’m going for the natural white look I also like the natural shimmer you get with halides
Any and all info help and suggestions are welcome
TIA

 

[undermind]

You said you want to hang your light pretty high above the tank... How high are you thinking?

And how would the MH's be mounted / hung?

And yeah, you can certainly find them

 

[Ronisreef]

You said you want to hang your light pretty high above the tank... How high are you thinking?

And how would the MH's be mounted / hung?

And yeah, you can certainly find them

Yes hanging them and at least 2 feet above the tank I figured with the tank being shallow I can get away with it just don’t know if I should be going with 150w 250w or 400 watt
Do I need different ballast for the light depending on wattage of the bulb
And what company bulb is best to go with

 

[neonreef3d]

I think you will like my friend's setup, Its right up your alley.

Build Thread - John's SPS Shallow 90g Peninsula-Lagoon build

A massive shout out to Tony @neon_reefer for lending me his mad cnc skills in milling out the magnets holes and handles for these walnut panels. Now I just need to finish them and move on to the canopy facade. Finally, the vision from my very first post on this thread is coming to life! Thanks...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[undermind]

Yes hanging them and at least 2 feet above the tank I figured with the tank being shallow I can get away with it just don’t know if I should be going with 150w 250w or 400 watt
Do I need different ballast for the light depending on wattage of the bulb
And what company bulb is best to go with

I would say at least 250 or 400 watt with a maybe a quantity of 3 on a 5' tank. And of course people will say it's all about the reflector.

Something else you can do is look at the popular older metal halide fixtures like the Hamilton Cebu Sun or Geissman Spectra and see the configuration they had. The 4 footers had 2x and the 6 footers had 3x. Lots of people with 5 foot tanks used 4 foot fixtures since not many manufacturers made 5 footers. Those fixtures had 4x T5s also, but were designed to grow light loving corals like SPS, which it sounds like you're not. If you stick with softies long term, you could probably get away without supplementation.

Yes you definitely need to get the appropriate ballast for the wattage you need. It's probably best to choose a wattage then select ballasts for that wattage. Bulbs are easy once you have the ballast.

Electronic ballasts are still super easy to find.

As far as what company's bulb is best, that's a big question. There's lots of options. Radium bulbs are cherished and probably the most popular. They're on the blueish end of the the white spectrum, especially when driven on electronic ballasts. I'm running 14k Hamiltons currently and they're not nearly as blue (I supplement with T5 and LED to dial in the perfect color).

Probably a better way than deciding which company is best or discussing all the individual bulbs, it would be good to see what your favorite store sells. Make note of what wattage bulbs they carry and cross reference that with the color you're looking for and see what options you end up with. Also check direct with the manufacturers. I mentioned Hamilton earlier. They happily sell everything direct and still make bulbs, ballasts, etc.

One last little note since you're mounting 2 feet above the tank... Will these be in a canopy? Will you be sitting in a position to see the light bulb directly? That's something to consider when mounting that high.

 

[Ronisreef]

I would say at least 250 or 400 watt with a maybe a quantity of 3 on a 5' tank. And of course people will say it's all about the reflector.

Yes you definitely need to get the appropriate ballast for the wattage you need. It's probably best to choose a wattage then select ballasts for that wattage. Bulbs are easy once you have the ballast.

Electronic ballasts are still super easy to find.

As far as what company's bulb is best, that's a big question. There's lots of options. Radium bulbs are cherished and probably the most popular. They're on the blueish end of the the white spectrum, especially when driven on electronic ballasts. I'm running 14k Hamiltons currently and they're not nearly as blue (I supplement with T5 and LED to dial in the perfect color).

Probably a better way than deciding which company is best or discussing all the individual bulbs, it would be good to see what your favorite store sells. Make note of what wattage bulbs they carry and cross reference that with the color you're looking for and see what options you end up with. Also check direct with the manufacturers. I mentioned Hamilton earlier. They happily sell everything direct and still make bulbs, ballasts, etc.

One last little note since you're mounting 2 get above the tank... Will these be in a canopy? Will you be sitting in a position to see the light directly? That's something to consider when mounting that high.

I would love to create a canopy bc of the height and light spill when looking at the tank therefore considering needing to put fans in for cooling but I’m also still 50/50 to go metal halide or just a 4 foot 8 bulb t5 fixture
The thing is since I’m going for a shallow Caribbean style/ soft coral mangrove situation I really wanted a whiter spectrum hardly any blue to look natural and that why I was focused on the shimmer from those halides and just proven to work

 

[undermind]

Yeah if you want shimmer, then MH is definitely the answer instead of T5s. There's also a crispness and quality that's totally different. Most MH bulbs will get you the white look you want.

Cooling isn't too much trouble, especially at that height.

 

[ReefAddict16]

With halides the larger the reflector the better the coverage. I love the natural look halides give especially if hung high but obviously the wasted wattage through heat is a big issue.
LED’s you’d need more fixtures for more coverage. Unless you get an ATI Straton or Phillips Coral Care. Both awesome lights but expensive.
T5’s are the best at coverage but definitely no shimmer. I like T5’s for an SPS.

If you’re going with a softie tank I’d recommend the Kessil a360x’s. Awesome shimmer, low wattage and you won’t have to hide the huge ugly reflectors or fixture of a T5 or halide light.

 

[Big E]

I would go with this...............clean, beautiful and fits what you want.

Giesemann Spectra SE Metal Halide/T5 Fixture (Iridium)

Metal Halide with Advanced Quad T5 Fluorescent Lighting Choose from 250w or 400w model with single(2ft), double(4ft) or triple(6ft) single ended lamp. Fixture is 17.25 x 3.5in wide. Metal halide ballast sold separately. T5 Bulbs are NOT dimmable. PLEASE NOTE IRIDIUM COLOR IS NOT PICTURED

www.coralvue.com

 

[Big E]

If you go with T5 I would just do an ATI or Geismann 60" unit.

 

[Bpb]

A giesemann spectra. 2x250 watt with Hamilton 10,000k mogul bulbs. Hang it 18” off the water. It’ll be fabulous.

 

[WVNed]

I would look at Orphek Atlantic Icons. You can hang them high with no light spill.
LEDs dont have to be blue. Yes MH is pretty but hot and noisy.

I have both right now

 

[bobnicaragua]

I run reef brite fixtures. Normally 3 175 watt halides would be enough for such a shallow tank. You may need to go with 250 watt if you are hanging them really high. For a mixed reef, 175 watt may still be fine. 8k. to 14k will be a more yellow look. 20k is more white/slightly blue. 20k is lower par, but will look better on a display tank.

 

[Ronisreef]

I would look at Orphek Atlantic Icons. You can hang them high with no light spill.
LEDs dont have to be blue. Yes MH is pretty but hot and noisy.

I have both right now

When you say noisy what is it that makes them noisy and how noisy is it

 

[Ronisreef]

I run reef brite fixtures. Normally 3 175 watt halides would be enough for such a shallow tank. You may need to go with 250 watt if you are hanging them really high. For a mixed reef, 175 watt may still be fine. 8k. to 14k will be a more yellow look. 20k is more white/slightly blue. 20k is lower par, but will look better on a display tank.

It’s going to be mostly macroalgaes gorgonians and possibly some soft corals that’s mainly why I want the whiter spectrum but I would like to have a crisp white not so yellow and stay away from blue as much as possible

 

[undermind]

When you say noisy what is it that makes them noisy and how noisy is it

Not answering for WVNed but I have some input here. The only thing that can really generate noise on a MH system is the cooling fans on the fixture.

Looking at his/her picture, I see two 4' Hamilton fixtures end to end on the 8' tank. Those fixtures have standard computer case cooling fans in them, so it's just like a computer. If the manufacturer used cheap, noisy fans then your light will be noisy.

I have the same fixture and I swapped out the fans to ultra low noise fans and I can hardly hear the fan if I press my ear against the fan. Completely silent from a few feet away.

@Ronisreef there's no reason MH can't be silent IMO.

 

[Spare time]

I would look at Orphek Atlantic Icons. You can hang them high with no light spill.
LEDs dont have to be blue. Yes MH is pretty but hot and noisy.

I have both right now

I was thinking the kessil a500x, the orpheks, and the quanta lights too. I think the OP would like the kessil a500x shimmer too. OP could also combine it with reefbrite 50/50's too.

 

[undermind]

I was thinking the kessil a500x, the orpheks, and the quanta lights too. I think the OP would like the kessil a500x shimmer too. OP could also combine it with reefbrite 50/50's too.

When I first saw this thread, I thought a500x too. That's a lot of light for sure. A cool aspect of a spotlight like that is that you could go pretty much as high up as you'd want. I've always loved the idea of having a500's so far above a tank that the lights are pretty much out of the tank "equipment" perspective. The rimless tank's best friend.

And of course Kessils are a pretty natural move for MH fans. And no trouble dialing in crisp white or whatever you like.

 

[Spare time]

When I first saw this thread, I thought a500x too. That's a lot of light for sure. A cool aspect of a spotlight like that is that you could go pretty much as high up as you'd want. I've always loved the idea of having a500's so far above a tank that the lights are pretty much out of the tank "equipment" perspective. The rimless tank's best friend.

And of course Kessils are a pretty natural move for MH fans. And no trouble dialing in crisp white or whatever you like.

I like the kessil daylight appearence. If I owned them, I'd likely run it to appear more like a natural reef. That with the shimmer is really pretty

 

[jda]

Giesemann spectra is a nice looking fixture. As a pendant, if the top is open, then your tank will not likely heat up. If it does, a simple fan fan handle it. MH heat is an excuse to people who don't want to solve it (or just don't know and are parroting), and no issue for those who do know. I have 7x Mh over a 240g and a 40 breeder on one system and a Vornado fan on the 100 degree days without AC keeps my tanks at 78 degrees.

250w 10K Hamilton is a really good looking bulb. Crisp white with some nicer pop. There is no windex in this bulb. Lots of people really like it who are looking for that spectrum that you described. I would use 250w electronic ballast on it. It has tremendous PAR and growth too.

You have to contact Giesemann and they can make and ship you a fixture from Germany. It is very hard to find use Spectra fixtures, but you sometimes can so it might be a good idea to look on eBay, for-sale here or on some other marketplaces. You usually have to pry them out of their owners' cold, dead hands.