HELP!! Looking to upgrade lighting

Laura and Jim will be hosting the May meeting this Saturday the 12th and it will be the usual of food, drinks, raffle and fun.
 
Doors will be open at 6:00 pm for social talk and the meeting will start at 7:00.  Parking gets a little tight and the city says you can't park on 4th but there is a parking lot a block away.   Meeting is usually held in the backyard so feel free to bring your favorite lawn chair, weather permitting of course.

If you need address/directions, contact a club member.

Best if you park at Mini Mall (where the spaghetti establishment use to be)
 
You will get to see his new frag tank set up in the making.
 
Hope to see you there!

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[bjaramillo80]

i just upgraded from a 29g tank which had a t5 lighting fixture to a 36g corner tank and i wanted to put a metal halide system on it so i can get the best out of the corals i have, i could use any suggestions anyone has for me since i am also fairly new to saltwater and corals - thank you -Ben

[Ed]

Ben,
   You can upgrade with more light bulbs with  T5 which would run cooler.   You could also build your own canopy with built in fans and get away with one Metal Halide- say a 175 watt.  The issue with MH is Heat.   The lower wattage bulbs run cooler that is why I am recommending a 175 with a good reflector.   I would recommend lumen brite or Lumenarc if you are dead set on Metal Halide.    I also recommend looking for a adjustable Lumatek digital MH ballast.    That would give you the option to grow if you wanted to up a 250 MH bulb configuration. 

[bjaramillo80]

great thank you very much for the advice i will definatlyuse this new infomation again thank you 

[sscherin]

I've been looking at lighting options for my 65 and have setteled on AI Sol LED fixtures.

http://www.aquaillumination.com/sol/

Yes it's $600 with the controller.. OUCH!!!
http://www.aquacave.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=851

It uses 3W cree LED's

It will outperform a 250W MH.
It only uses 75W
Little heat... testing by folks on the reef forums show about 1 deg increase vs  lights off..
No chiller needed..
dimming 0-100%
the contoller has dusk/dawn and moon cycle built in..

Modular.. Get a bigger tank.. add on modules..

Just something to think about..


No bulbs to replace.. the LED don't shift over time and last for 5-10 years.

[Ed]

Fragman is selling LED units for a little cheaper.