70W halide Good? Bad? or Ugly?

[user 2204]

Hello everyone,

I am currently contemplating purchasing a 70W metal halide to possibly be retrofitted into either a 7 gallon bow tank or possibly a 20 long. I do not see very much information lately on the 70W MH but have noticed that there are a few more bulb choices nowadays.

Ballast- IceCap 70W MH
Bulb- Unknown - suggestions for a 14k

My ideas are as follows, if I use 7 gallon minibow tank I would have 70W with 32W Actinic supplement. This tank is currently used to house my fragged corals but is getting very small fast. *lol*

The second idea is to use my 20 long that I just aquired to put coral frags into and use either one 70W with either 2 65W PCs or 4 24W T-5s. The 70W would be used mainly in the middle portion of the tank leaving some areas in the tank for softies. I am also contemplating putting a single 150 DE or a single 175W SE on this tank instead of using a 70W but would be afraid that either of those may be to much light penetration for such a shallow tank.

Any advice would be great as I am really unsure which direction I should take here. *lol*

Cheers,
Alex

 

[moto826]

i have a 70 watt sun pod on my biocube and like it

 

[jamiehill]

I have one on my aquapod and use the Ushio 10k bulb with a 32w actinic. It is a nice crisp white with just the hint of blue.

 

[gotfish]

Why would you have to leave areas in the tank for softies? You think somehow the 70w bulb is stronger then the sun? Plenty of people put 150's over a tank that deep as well. You just have to keep them higher up for heat purposes. That would also help with coverage though. I'd probably stick with the 70w though just cause you already have the ballast.

 

[user 2204]

Why would you have to leave areas in the tank for softies? You think somehow the 70w bulb is stronger then the sun? Plenty of people put 150's over a tank that deep as well. You just have to keep them higher up for heat purposes. That would also help with coverage though. I'd probably stick with the 70w though just cause you already have the ballast.

Thanks for the help. No I do not think the 70W would be hotter or brighter than the sun. *lol* I wouldn't even think that a 400W MH would be brighter than the sun. *lol*

I am figuring I should keep a low light area for the softies as they will be coming out of a 20H that is lit by 130W of PCs now.

Also I do not have the ballast or any other items at the moment. I figure I should ask other people for their opinions before I purchase anything.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Skimmy]

t5 4 bulb all the way...you only have 12"of depth for light to penetrate...
you can grow anything with that fixture and have better color control.
...i know current makes a 30" sundial fixture(individual reflected t5 + led moonlight, fans, and timers built in)

 

[user 2204]

t5 4 bulb all the way...you only have 12"of depth for light to penetrate...
you can grow anything with that fixture and have better color control.
...i know current makes a 30" sundial fixture(individual reflected t5 + led moonlight, fans, and timers built in)

Thanks Mark,

I am thinking that any way I go I'd like to do a diy hood or lack there of. *lol*
I'll look into the fixture too.

What about keeping SPS frags with that type of light set up? Whould they be happy enough with just T-5's?

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Skimmy]

in 12" of water?? hell yes...
i kept my oregon tort in a 15g under a t5 4 bulb and it had better growth and color than ever... it was probably only 6"-8" from the fixture.
way more than enough for sps....

 

[gotfish]

Sorry, I thought you already had the ballast and what not. I agree with skimmer, the sundial fixture is pretty nice and even if you did want to do a hood, I'd go with a retro fit t5 kit. I run t5's on my 125g which is 23" tall and I've got milli's a couple inches off the sand that are doing great.

For some reason the myth that t5's aren't good for sps still pops up even though the Euro's have been doing it for years.

 

[user 2204]

Thanks for the info on the T-5 set ups. I may have to look further into those set-ups.

 

[scytale]

Yeah, use T-5's or anything smaller than a 150W HM for the 20gallon.

I made the mistake of putting an OuterOrbit fixture (150W HQI Halide + 130W of actinics) over my 20Tall and it was/is OVER-KILL!
I had to get a small chiller just to keep the tank below 82*!!

(It's not as hot as the sun, but darn close--I swear I get a sunburn every time I stick my arm under it! :lol

 

[burning2nd]

70watt sunpod

Im happy with it... i stick with the current brand 70watt bulb tho, cause i like the blueish tint,

 

[user 2204]

Thanks for the photo Burning2nd. Very helpful to see photos of what a 70W looks like versus 4 24W T-5 set up. Still have to love the halides. *lol*

 

[user 2204]

Yeah, use T-5's or anything smaller than a 150W HM for the 20gallon.

I made the mistake of putting an OuterOrbit fixture (150W HQI Halide + 130W of actinics) over my 20Tall and it was/is OVER-KILL!
I had to get a small chiller just to keep the tank below 82*!!

(It's not as hot as the sun, but darn close--I swear I get a sunburn every time I stick my arm under it! :lol

Sorry to here that. Do you have the fixture only with the feet or did you suspend it about 8"-10" above the water level?

 

[user 2204]

Just so that everyone knows what I am after, I am not afraid to and maybe prefer to do a diy hood fixture versus spending the money on a premade fixture such as those from Current or Coralife.
I am thinking that if I can do it myself I can maybe have exactly what I want and keep it cool at the same time.

That doesn't sound right (kind of rude sounding sorry). (

Cheers and thanks for all the replies thus far,
Alex

 

[scytale]

Sorry to here that. Do you have the fixture only with the feet or did you suspend it about 8"-10" above the water level?

Tried the feet only first.
(except the leg-tracks were 14.5" apart, and the tank is only 12.5" wide.... so THAT should have been my first clue that I had too much light for the tank )

I then switched to a DIY pedant setup (at 6", 8", then +12" off the tank.)

It almost stayed cool enough at +12" high, but that was in March/April before the weather started to get warm...

Decided I didn't want to hassle with the massive evaporation of running fans over an open-top, year-round--so got the chiller (and closed the top) instead.
"Any problem can be solved, just have to throw enough money at it." : :badgrin:

 

[user 2204]

12" off the top! Holy cow, now I would say that is bad. Especially considering my 7 gallon today hit a record high of 84.5 F before I put a fan on it and now it is at 78.6 F and holding steady. *lol*
I'd hate to see what my 7 gallon would do with a halide with no fans.

 

[user 2204]

"Any problem can be solved, just have to throw enough money at it." : :badgrin:

I like your motto. Especially with me being an auto mechanic, should I say I really like it. *lol*

 

[user 2204]

I am thinking at this point I might go with a diy T5HO 4 bulb set up. I can get a good quality T5HO ballast for around 40.00 plus cost of reflectors and endcaps I should be into the build around 150.00.
All those parts are NIB (new) too.

 

[burning2nd]

how hot is it where you guys live?
my 10 never hits 81 and the room gets up in to the mid 70's


i hung my sunpod from the ceiling,