lighting question

[melsmom]

Hello everyone. I have a 90 gallon standard tank. I have softies, and sps corals, several fish, and right now am using a light fixture that I bought last year from hellolights.com they are t5's. and there are 4 lights 48 inches long.
I am wanting to go with hallide, but what size is it that I need for my 90 gallon? do I only need 1 or 2 lights? I saw that hello lights has good deals, and it's affordable for me right now..sort of. meaning I would have to use that particular dealer. Okay Im starting to ramble. if anyone can help that would be great!

thanks so much

 

[DolphinLVR]

What are the dimensions of your tank?

 

[melsmom]

I dont have a tape measure, and everyones asleep so I cant go "looking" right this minute..but standard regular, 90 gallon? I'll get a measurement in a couple hours, but was just looking for general info.

 

[DolphinLVR]

Well after re-reading your post, what I could see from it is that you would need 2 MH's. Now depending on the depth of you tank would deterime the size. I know for my 180 tank, I will be using 250 Watt MH's and that depth is 24 inches.

Hope that helps a lil bit.

Jeff

 

[Myteemouse]

yes a standard 90 is 48" long..
2x 250w MH would be perfect..
remember quality reflectors are one of the most important part of MH set up..

 

[DolphinLVR]

Thanks Adam! Appreciate your knowledge there as I am not familiar with all the standard tank sizes yet! LOL

 

[melsmom]

oh ok. sorry I dont make my self very clear. (sleep deprovation) the previous owner of this set up, had the top of the canopy cut out, but not the entire length...and he had a halide. at the time I coulnt add that to the list of things I bought from him. had to make due. So I"m looking at metal halides, and really like the way they make things look. I also understand theres more to it than that. The lighting system I have, is 48 inches long with 4 bulbs. Not the big fat ones, just the thinner ones. (sorry I dont remember, and tried searching but dont know what brand/rating/ etc) so, if I get halide, do I have to have 2 individual units? OR can I get 1 with 2 bulbs? OR can I get 1 with 2 bulbs? I'm not really savy on this and I apologize, Ive been gone for 4 months completing an externship...
Thanks so much for the help and understanding. Oh...the reason I'm wanting to up grade other than the obvious, is that Nothing other than my seabae is growing. The corals all look alright, they extend, eat, etc but nothing has changed, and I thought the better lights might help. opinions?

 

[Myteemouse]

I would get two reflectors and two blubs
this will give you more options to move them to the spots you want them.
and those thin ones are called T-5's
I would lookinto lumen max, lumen bright, or lumenarc reflectors
these are teh top three reflectors and go with a dual galaxy ballast (electronic) and prolly 2x 14k or 20k radiums single ended (mougle) or coralvue bulbs
(bulbs in the single ended versions are endless in choices)

PFO makes a fixture that has one big reflector and two MH bulbs in it along with room for the T-5's or VHO's (VHO's are the really fat bulbs)

 

[melsmom]

Oh wow. Okay thanks. I'll have to print this all out to remember it, but it should help tons. What if I just upgraded my t5's? I believe they were the "standard" bulbs, and I remember the guy at the lightstore, telling me I could up grade them. Do You think that would be worth it? I know there's a lot of debate between halide and t-5 so...again any opinions would be appreciated..Thanks so much for your help

 

[Myteemouse]

Well I would need to know for sure they are T-5's.. and not T-8's whice are the run of the mil Aquarium lights..(not really good for corals)
If they are T-5's.. What ballast are they running on??
do they have individual reflectors??
If they ARE T-5's there are lots of good bulbs out there...
And many people are switching to T-5s and adding some LED's for a little bit of shimmer and color..

 

[melsmom]

theyre T-5s. I do remember that now. they have reflectors, seems to be 1 peice...that's like "scalloped" for each bulb. if that makes ANY sense. and again, I just got them last year. maybe I should just upgrade those bulbs...so IF I decide to do that, what would you suggest? and again, there's 4 of them. and LED? the little blue lights? I have those, they arent part of my light system, but have 4 of them in the top of the tank. OM! I also forgot...while I've been away, My HUSBAND has been using tap water for changes and top offs, so now I have to REDO all the ro water. any great Ideas for how to quickly re convert??

 

[melsmom]

found the thread to my lights!!!
Accommodates ultra efficient, high output T-5 lamps
95% reflective aluminum inserts that increase output by over 300%
The polished aluminum is bent into 4 parabolic shaped reflectors

Major brand, fully enclosed electronic ballasts
4, 6, & 8 lamp configurations

Complete line of German & domestic T-5 HO lamps available (purchase your choice of lamps separately)
Easy to reach On/Off illuminated switch
Optional easy to use adjustable cable hanging system with 8 ft cable
Sleek profile only 2.5 inches high
Convection vent allows maximum air flow
.

 

[Myteemouse]

OOOO you should be good with that set up..
I would try some new bulbs and see what gives

The RO water deal I would just run some carbon and GFO and make sure top off and water change water is RO..
I LOVE giessman bulbs but ATI makes top of the line bulbs also..
I would roll
2x actinic blue+
1x true actinic (purpley look) and
1x 10000k bulb..

this is the set up Ice cap promotes and also the same type of set up for bulbs cherrycorals uses..
but they use a 6 bulb fixture.

 

[melsmom]

OOOO you should be good with that set up..
I would try some new bulbs and see what gives

The RO water deal I would just run some carbon and GFO and make sure top off and water change water is RO..
I LOVE giessman bulbs but ATI makes top of the line bulbs also..
I would roll
2x actinic blue+
1x true actinic (purpley look) and one 10000k bulb..

yes, they are up for replacement....so, you mention one 10000k bulb..what about the rest? do they need some sort of k rating also? or when I order them can I just quote this post and they'll know? and is this going to be good for growth, etc?

 

[Myteemouse]

yes, they are up for replacement....so, you mention one 10000k bulb..what about the rest? do they need some sort of k rating also? or when I order them can I just quote this post and they'll know? and is this going to be good for growth, etc?

two 1000k bulbs is normal for good growth and two actinics ..
But the one true atinic bulb instead of 10000k will give you great color on your corals and growth.

 

[kngofaquaticoIs]

yep i definately agree geisman or ati for sure and i like this arrangement of bulbs... you will get decent growth, but color will be awesome, but i still like my halides better!!!LOL
shane

OOOO you should be good with that set up..
I would try some new bulbs and see what gives

The RO water deal I would just run some carbon and GFO and make sure top off and water change water is RO..
I LOVE giessman bulbs but ATI makes top of the line bulbs also..
I would roll
2x actinic blue+
1x true actinic (purpley look) and
1x 10000k bulb..

this is the set up Ice cap promotes and also the same type of set up for bulbs cherrycorals uses..
but they use a 6 bulb fixture.

 

[jake65]

I also use 2x250w 10k's over my 90 supplimented with 2x110w vho's and like the look so far

 

[agc]

If you are looking for affordable, have you tried looking at the oddysea fixtures (either ebay or aquatraders.com)? They seem to have all different sizes and bulb fixtures for much less than the name brand ones on hellolights.

Be warned though, you get what you pay for. Oddysea fixtures work just fine, but their output and quality are not what the name brand ones are.

Best of luck!

Hello everyone. I have a 90 gallon standard tank. I have softies, and sps corals, several fish, and right now am using a light fixture that I bought last year from hellolights.com they are t5's. and there are 4 lights 48 inches long.
I am wanting to go with hallide, but what size is it that I need for my 90 gallon? do I only need 1 or 2 lights? I saw that hello lights has good deals, and it's affordable for me right now..sort of. meaning I would have to use that particular dealer. Okay Im starting to ramble. if anyone can help that would be great!

thanks so much

 

[agc]

Sorry, double post...

 

[bigblue141]

If you're tank is growing fine with what you have, I'd stick with the lighting you have and just replace your T-5's. Maybe get a retro kit and add a couple more. T-5's use a lot less energy than Halides and do not produce near as much heat.

Although Halides have an amazing look, they drink lots of power and put out lots of heat.