PONDERING HALIDES LAST GASP and subsequent time travel

[Silent]

I dont see it either. Just wishful thinking.

 

[JoshH]

I'd be lying if I said this post did not make me feel just a little bit old lol. Here's me rambling and reminiscing trying to gain an audience about lighting that I'd bet was never even on the radar of 95% of newer hobbyist (within the last 5-10 years). lol.


In fairness, your post has helped put things into perspective.

MHs certainly weren't on my radar either when I first started 3 years ago right up until a couple months ago when I started really digging into options for my new build. Looking back at all the "older" setups using them I really ended up loving the much more natural look of them and there flexibility in growing just about everything with 0 issues. Pairing that with maybe something a little newer with blue LED strips seems like a fantastic blend.

 

[zach_discus]

I had great luck with the Nanolux Electronic ballast. The started my Phoenix bulbs easily and didn’t shift the spectrum like the Icecap ballast did.

 

[djsmallz]

Great read, I still have my halides packed away. Possibly thinking of putting it over my frag tank in the future.

 

[MTBake]

The one thing that has amazed me over the past few years is how many hobbyists are so easily swayed away from metal halide by high heat and energy costs.

I have never had heat issues that couldn't be controlled with a small fan. I use the same power(less perhaps?) with my mh and one Kessil 360we than I did when I had 2 Kessil 360we running at full intensity and 4 t5s using 39 watts each. I have 3 less bulbs to change and very much prefer the look of the mh.

 

[JoshH]

The one thing that has amazed me over the past few years is how many hobbyists are so easily swayed away from metal halide by high heat and energy costs.

I have never had heat issues that couldn't be controlled with a small fan. I use the same power(less perhaps?) with my mh and one Kessil 360we than I did when I had 2 Kessil 360we running at full intensity and 4 t5s using 39 watts each. I have 3 less bulbs to change and very much prefer the look of the mh.

This is something I didn't/don't really understand either, looking at a 250W MH bulb which some could compare with say an Orphek Atlantik V4 which is 232W (Albeit at max output). I guess it greatly depends on what percentage you run your LEDs at.. T5s can easily consume as much or more power than MHs although it seems without the heat issue.

 

[MTBake]

This is something I didn't/don't really understand either, looking at a 250W MH bulb which some could compare with say an Orphek Atlantik V4 which is 232W (Albeit at max output). I guess it greatly depends on what percentage you run your LEDs at.. T5s can easily consume as much or more power than MHs although it seems without the heat issue.

Another factor is how long the lights are ran for. I had my 2 Kessils on for 10 hours a day and the t5s for 12 hours. I'm down to 9 hours total photo period and things are looking great.

 

[Warderkous]

I personally love halides and have tried on multiple occasions to use different combinations of LED and T5 and only T5 or only LED and neither give me the same results as the Halides. I use 400 watt 20k Radium bulbs on one system there powered by Reef Brite ballasts and on antiheroes system they are driven with lumentek selectable ballasts and I cannot imagine running my systems with out them.

 

[Magellan]

Perhaps it makes me a unicorn, but I got into saltwater less than a year ago and I use a 150 watt MH bulb on my 28g nano and have no desire to switch.

 

[MTBake]

I would post some coral pics, but I can't see inside my tank at the moment. Just got back from vacation yesterday and really need to clean the glass, lol.

I think I'll need a razor blade to get through this. Or maybe a jackhammer, lol.

 

[Sailfinguy21]

Why not just move to t5s ? Less power by far and depending how many bulbs you go will have the same or better lighting.

T5 fixtures are all over the place and cheap and t5 bulbs are as well

 

[Sailfinguy21]

I would post some coral pics, but I can't see inside my tank at the moment. Just got back from vacation yesterday and really need to clean the glass, lol.

I think I'll need a razor blade to get through this. Or maybe a jackhammer, lol.

A credit card will work too... people told me to use one for my acrylic tank and it worked great and i used old credit cards for my glass tank too slices right through algae

 

[eric.tech]

Don’t laugh, but I’m actually using a dual bulb, ceramic metal halide fixture with an integrated, selectable ballast. Essentially it’s a 630 watt fixture and I’m running each bulb at around 155watts, so 310w total. Is it a grow light, yup! But I was able to find 10k bulbs for it and I supplement the blue with two led fixtures I built that are running 12 Cree xp-g3 royal blue leds. It grows coral, that’s all I care about

 

[turfster26]

I still have my (3) M80 Hamilton ballasts and (3) Lumenbright Elite fixtures. Bought them about 12-yrs ago and still in mint condition. No salt creep, etc. Sitting in a box and half-baked to install them again. I was a huge MH and Radium user for years and just went LED last year. Miss MH terribly......fwiw

 

[mandarin417]

Is it my ballast? My 20K halide seemed so much bluer 20 years ago than it does now. I am using an electronic ballast overpowering Radium lamps now. Maybe I was using a different lamp and a different ballast long ago and was that rendering a more actinic look? I also think I was using 400W lamps instead of the 250’s today. I paired up a 6500K with a 20K and had terrific colors.

I am trying to like LED’s on a new tank I am setting up but I don’t see the depth of color with LED’s alone that I get with my other tank which has 250W MH with a super actinic LED strip.

 

[Silent]

When you get used to blue leds a 20k mh doesnt look so blue anymore. If you combine the mh and blue leds i bet you would really like that look.

 

[mandarin417]

When you get used to blue leds a 20k mh doesnt look so blue anymore. If you combine the mh and blue leds i bet you would really like that look.

That be why. Moving from 6500K to 20K has to be a big blue move.

 

[Battlecorals]

Is it my ballast? My 20K halide seemed so much bluer 20 years ago than it does now. I am using an electronic ballast overpowering Radium lamps now. Maybe I was using a different lamp and a different ballast long ago and was that rendering a more actinic look? I also think I was using 400W lamps instead of the 250’s today. I paired up a 6500K with a 20K and had terrific colors.

I am trying to like LED’s on a new tank I am setting up but I don’t see the depth of color with LED’s alone that I get with my other tank which has 250W MH with a super actinic LED strip.

Indeed most LEDs make the radium look really white by comparison. And ultimately they are more white than blue. On the M-80, I always said that radium 250's were a"perfectly white" bulb.

 

[aabjones888]

I love my halides, I’ve went to led and switched back to my halides. There’s just something special with them.

 

[Magellan]

When you get used to blue leds a 20k mh doesnt look so blue anymore. If you combine the mh and blue leds i bet you would really like that look.

That’s exactly what I have, my old JBJ has built in LEDs inside the hood at the corners. I replaced them with better ones and got a blue tinted bulb. It’s still a predominately white light during the day, but I like to be able to actually see my corals and they grow like weeds.