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]

MH heat is an excuse to people who don't want to solve it (or just don't know and are parroting)

* TRUTH *

I wonder how many times it's been said here:

"I would totally run MH but they get too hot"

or

"I love the look of MH but can't have all the heat"

 

[Bpb]

* TRUTH *

I wonder how many times it's been said here:

"I would totally run MH but they get too hot"

or

"I love the look of MH but can't have all the heat"

I don’t run them because of the heat, but….I’m not too dense to admit the REAL issue is I am unwilling to mitigate it because the solutions are beyond what I’m willing to do. Simple as that.

I know mounting them extremely high is a solution, but my tank is in a common living area, and the light spill and brightness from 10,000k lights (my fav) is too much.

I know fans are a solution, and they’ve worked in the past, but they increase the measurable humidity in the house beyond what I will tolerate. A large dehumidifier is too costly to run and replace to be worth it.

A chiller would mitigate all of that. But again, the expense and maintenance aren’t worth it

Every situation is unique. Some people don’t mind the setbacks involved in managing their lighting of choice. Others do.

I’ll never say there aren’t viable solutions to the set backs of any light, they’re just not worth it TO ME. There’s no situation out there where a solution doesn’t exist for metal halide heat. It is indeed manageable on any level. Just a matter of “are you willing to incur the additional cost/effort/infrastructure involved”

 

[undermind]

I don’t run them because of the heat, but….I’m not too dense to admit the REAL issue is I am unwilling to mitigate it because the solutions are beyond what I’m willing to do. Simple as that.

You're clearly someone who has put in a thoughtful effort into exploring them as an option, and that's great. And you're not parroting what someone else said somewhere.

My comments aren't calling out anybody who have considered MH but decided not to. I think other lighting options are great and obviously capable.

It's just become a bit of a pet peeve of mine. If you casually mention you run MH, people think of you as the "halide guy" and it's amazing how for some reason, the automatic reply seems to be "oh I'd totally run halides too if they didn't get so hot". I hear it at my LFS all the time. In fact, some guy came in a few weeks back and dumped a pile of old MH fixtures, ballasts, bulbs, cords, etc. and the shop owner calls me up and tells me to come down and pick it all up because of course he thinks I would want all that shiii – I'm the halide guy (although I do now have 10 m80 backup ballasts )

I work in music and I get the same treatment when it comes to guitars and studio gear. I'm the "vintage" guy because I have some old guitars and compressors. So I hear this twice a week "Oh I'd totally love to have vintage guitars but I couldn't handle the maintenance".

I just feel like halides have fallen into some mythical category, especially to those new to the hobby. Like, back in the day, there used to be this magical light source, but to wield it, you must possess the power of cooling.

At this point I'm rambling, haha. But as @Bpb said "There’s no situation out there where a solution doesn’t exist for metal halide heat. It is indeed manageable on any level." Well said.

 

[djf91]

If you can find some galaxy ballasts and run some 2x250 watt 20k Radiums I think that would look pretty good.

Heres an old picture of Mchava’s tank on reef central, years back, running that light:

 

[SPS2020]

I've run MH in the past and still have the fixtures...just in case I change my mind.

Considering you want to mount them at 24" above the water, I'd consider the Kessels as others have mentioned. I think there would be less spill as compared to MH...but I have not used a Kessel. Hoping you post some pictures of your choice and the results!

 

[MichaelP]

If your looking for the natural look you can’t beat MH.

IMO I would go for a 14k or 20k bulb to start. It will still look very white/crisp compared to LEDs that you are used too. 2 bulbs would be fine if you can find a 4 ft fixture like the spectra that would be great. Or you can do a DIY with two large reflectors 250w bulbs and led supplements.

24”+ you won’t have to worry about heat but you will get a lot of light spill.

 

[Bpb]

You're clearly someone who has put in a thoughtful effort into exploring them as an option, and that's great. And you're not parroting what someone else said somewhere.

My comments aren't calling out anybody who have considered MH but decided not to. I think other lighting options are great and obviously capable.

It's just become a bit of a pet peeve of mine. If you casually mention you run MH, people think of you as the "halide guy" and it's amazing how for some reason, the automatic reply seems to be "oh I'd totally run halides too if they didn't get so hot". I hear it at my LFS all the time. In fact, some guy came in a few weeks back and dumped a pile of old MH fixtures, ballasts, bulbs, cords, etc. and the shop owner calls me up and tells me to come down and pick it all up because of course he thinks I would want all that shiii – I'm the halide guy (although I do now have 10 m80 backup ballasts )

I work in music and I get the same treatment when it comes to guitars and studio gear. I'm the "vintage" guy because I have some old guitars and compressors. So I hear this twice a week "Oh I'd totally love to have vintage guitars but I couldn't handle the maintenance".

I just feel like halides have fallen into some mythical category, especially to those new to the hobby. Like, back in the day, there used to be this magical light source, but to wield it, you must possess the power of cooling.

At this point I'm rambling, haha. But as @Bpb said "There’s no situation out there where a solution doesn’t exist for metal halide heat. It is indeed manageable on any level." Well said.

I used them for many years and enjoyed the performance and appearance. I think the spirit of my post was in agreement with your sentiments. I think being fair minded and level headed on debatable topics is too rare of a trait.

I can certainly jive with the vintage guitar mindset. I’m a bass player. My 75 p bass badly needs work done to it but in all thumbs with a soldering iron. Can’t find good help locally!

 

[undermind]

I can certainly jive with the vintage guitar mindset. I’m a bass player. My 75 p bass badly needs work done to it but in all thumbs with a soldering iron. Can’t find good help locally!

Ahhh, soldering... Another dying art form