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KPAX
04-01-2007, 10:04 PM
I'm gaining interest in this type of lighting.

I currently have 4 110W VHO's. I'm thinking of keeping two of the VHO's for actinic lighting and then going with some sort of MH. I have a 75 gallon tank.

Any sugestions on the MH's to go with?

Types of bulbs?

I currently have softies and a few SPS.

But I want shimmer in there!
spsick
04-01-2007, 10:15 PM
my 75 is 2 175 watt xm 10k's and 2 actinic vho's. i had 4 vho's and it wasnt bright enough. i use magnetic ballasts and these bulbs are much brighter than most 175 watt bulbs IMO. it's a bright white all around, i've found w/ higher kelvin bulbs, you need more watts to get the intensity. Although I might add when I used 4 vho's, and the metal halides, it was awesome. i used 3 actinic, one aquasun. I think that was the best setup possible for a 75. the problem was my sump wasnt big enough to make it possible without a chiller. best color i've ever seen though
spsick
04-01-2007, 10:17 PM
I should also say my current setup (the xm's and the actinics )have given me good growth in all types of corals for years
clownnut
04-05-2007, 09:52 AM
250W XM10KK.
David Grigor
04-05-2007, 01:09 PM
Only 175W MH i'd be tempted with would be the Iwasaki 15K bulbs. Anything else would likely need to be 250W MH or greater to really get some awesome colorations. Most 175W just don't have the intensity needed for some of the really sought after acros.......
mattb
04-05-2007, 04:20 PM
I can't wait for those 15K Iwasakis come to 250k.....
kjdeut
04-05-2007, 04:40 PM
Only 175W MH i'd be tempted with would be the Iwasaki 15K bulbs. Anything else would likely need to be 250W MH or greater to really get some awesome colorations. Most 175W just don't have the intensity needed for some of the really sought after acros.......


I cant address the 175s but I did have 150s on my original set-up and it was a big difference in looks and coloration after I switched to 250s

Ken
zryder
04-05-2007, 05:03 PM
250W XM10KK.

completely agree... 2 should do you just fine!
David Grigor
04-05-2007, 05:27 PM
Most people that are satisfied with 175W and have some acros, probably aren't aware of the full potential those corals could have under higher wattage. I was pretty content using 175Wers for about 3 years, but when I switched to 400W 10K Ushio, Holy Cow I couldn't believe some of the differences and some looked totally different and would never have even recognized it.

I'm extremely curious of the 175W Iwasaki 15k. The supposed color and the intensity is equal that of many 250Wers so that would be intriguing but that's the only one I would be willing to try.