36" lighting

[print6196]

I have a 46 gal. bowfront, aquaclear 500, aquaclear 901 powerhead, aqua c remora skimmer, 25 lbs live rock. Currently only have a single flluorescent light. What would be a good, reasonable upgrade? I want too get into at least a light reef possibly with some anemones.

Thanks,
Mark

[liv]

you could go with some halides.. thats always a welcomed upgrade.
a nice 250w would give a good setup for corals.
add some actinics :)

[atlantic]

pc's are nice...and cheaper... vho with MH would be the way to go though... then you would not have to worry about keeping whatever you want. I went with PC on my 36" tank and am now regreting spending the money. should have bough MH...... there are so many corals that i want that i just dont have enough power for.

[print6196]

I know Halides are expensive (I would look on ebay), but don't they have to hang from the ceiling? This is in my livingroom.

[Peluche]

I have a halide in a closed canopy on a 36 inches 65 gallons tank. I currently have a 175 watts, but wish to upgrade to a 250 watts. I am currently searching for solutions to control the heat when I upgrade to a 250.With a small fan, I have no trouble with heat with my current 175 watts.

[liv]

depends on how much DIY ( do it yourself ) you can do.

if you can do the wiring yourself .. then its not that expensive.

lets go for :
1 250w bulb = ~40-50$ for a ARC 14k.
1 mogul socket = 10$ from Aquaria.
1 TAR ballast = ~65 to 80$ from a local lighting store.
1 electrical box to put ballast in. ~20$
1 reflective sheet ( hydroponic stores ) ( angel 12" = 20$ 18" = 24$ and 24" = 30$. or less

so total for one is : 50$+10$+80+20+30 = 190$ but this is going with the most expensive.. you could easily chop 40$ by shopping around.
so ~150-160$ you can get just about all u need to run a 250w bulb.

[liv]

I just noticed your location, anybody from the same area could suggest a local lighting store to get the ballats.

oh.. the money I was stating above is CDN so for you in US its possibly ~110$ us.

if you are willing to spend a bit more money you could always jump to an electronic ballast.
Ijo ( owner on this store/board ) sells a nice ice cap ballast for 199$ cdn.. so ~160$us.

[print6196]

One bulb would do it? Is there a site where can I get more detailed instructions? Is there any way to gut the canopy I have and use that, although I am concerned with heat.

[Dazz]

You could do T5s. They are more intense than PC, cost less than MH (and PC), last 18 months (with np) and ppl have sucessfully kept SPS under them. Oh yes, they also run cooler than MH.

[liv]

heat will be an issue, but you can make holes in the canopy and put computer fans.

if your canopy is high enough then it wont be an issue, I keep my bulbs about 4" from the water. but some people run them 1" from the water while others are 12" from the water.

as for wiring.. all depends on the ballast you get
but generally a pattern is given when you buy the ballast.

for a regular tar or electronic, you got 4 wires sticking our, 2 for the power and 2 for the bulb

run the power connections to the outlet, then the other two to the bulb. dont forget to ground the box and reflector.

usually, the coil that comes with the tar ballast goes in serie with the bulb.

so ballast to cap , cap to bulb , bulb to ballast.
then 2 wires to the power.

[print6196]

Ther are a couple lighting stores around me to get this stuff. I can probably raise it 4" and still look good. Right now I have a glass cover, can I keep it for evaporation or does it effect light?

[SloHand]

My 250 watt MH is 8" off the water. I use two computer fans blowing in at each end of the canopy. When I first set it up I also had glass over the tank that I kept as a splash shield for the bulb but had to get rid of that 'cause of the spike in heat between the splash shield and the water. BTW I've not had any water ever splash on the bulb (knock on wood!).

Lawrence

[print6196]

OK, now I think I'm leaning towards the T5s. Are they available at regular lighting stores? I know they are thinner, does anybody know if i can fit 2 bulbs where one regular one went? What kind of corals and such can you have with them?