Lighting dilemma...

[Brock Fluharty]

I am thinking about getting new lighting for my 75 gallon. I just Pmed MikeS about it, because I looked at the lighting in his tank, and it is awesome. Right now I have a single bulb thing. I dont think I can get better lighting with just that can I? Does anybody know of like a really bright bulb that will keep SPS corals well? I don't really want MH, because I heard that if they get wet they explode, so my mom said that she doesn't want her living room in shambles whatever that means. I hope I don't need to buy a whole new fixture. If I do, does anyone know of any good deals on them? Also, I saw that he said he had VHO 2 x 110 watt URI's, 1 actinic 03 blue, and 1 actinic white 12000K. I couldn't find the blue one, but I found the other at like $12.00. Any help would be greatly thanked!


Brock

[Matt.D]

yea, VHO's are pretty much your best bet. There expensive so it will be difficult possibally. You can find the actinic 03 blue's at drsfostersmith.com. Hope I help just a little.

[Brock Fluharty]

I looked there, but I couldn't find any blues. Could you get me a link. Also, will I need a whole new fixture, or can I keep a single bulb one?

[Brock Fluharty]

Wait, it's a white bulb, but it sayd 100% blue spectrum, is that it? That's all I need? Same ?'s as directly above.

[bubbles]

try drs.foster & smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9834&N=2004+113174) and drs.foster&smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3805&N=2004=113174)

The first link is to an economical vho (cheap) and the second is a little more expensive. I don't know what kind of ballast you have, but you might need to buy a different ballast to use vho. Hope that helps.

[MikeS]

sorry...was gone on vacation....

I get my lights from Hellolights.com, they have all the bulbs I use...I'm currently running a VHO 12000K, a VHO actinic 03, and 2 6700K PC's....

as for SPS....maybe, if kept high enough...also I have heard some are having success keeping SPS under T5's....

Mike

[FishinInTheDark]

Just to clarify, you might be able to keep SPS with four VHO bulbs, but not with one.

Hellolights.com has a great selection and better service.

[Sugar Magnolia]

What's your price limit Brock?

[Brock Fluharty]

umm...lol...i'm only 13, so I'm not going to be able to spend $400 on lighting or anything. Plus, my mom's already mad because the electricity bill went up $80 once we got the fish tanks.

[MikeS]

ahhhh.....you may unfortunately be limited my friend... :-D

Hopefully we can help you do it inexpensively....are you upgrading current lights or replacing lights altogether?

Retrofit kits are the most inexpensive way to upgrade lights. You'll have to build your own canopy, but the cost savings are worth it....spend the money on the lights, not the housing....

MH will likely be out of your price range if you are on a tight budget and the electric bill is an issue...however there are others out there. If I were you, I'd seriously look at T5's. Good spectrum, good watt/par ratio, efficient, ect....

Mike

[Brock Fluharty]

Ok, but for T5's, could I use a regular flourescent ballast. I'm not sure if that's what it is, it's just an oak thing with a single bulb in i.

[Brock Fluharty]

It's weird (completely off subject lol), but most people can fit everything they want into their tank, so they upgrade, well I can't fill mine up! I have a 75 gallon, and only like 20 pounds of live rock, and like 2 corals, and 1 fish...it's the exact opposite from everyone else!

[Gryz]

Well it's better to take things slowly than fill up your tank in a hurry. Enjoy what you have now, and get to know everything you have in your tank before getting something new. Do you have a job to make a little cash?

www.aquatraders.com has some great deals on lights and everything else you could think of....a little too cheap if you ask me, but I have never ordered from them, and would really like to try it.

[Brock Fluharty]

I don't exactly have a job, but I help my mom out and she pays me $5.00 an hour.

[Gryz]

Thats not a bad start, maybe you could find a job after school. But either way, don't worry about it, save your money and one day when you see something you really like, get it and enjoy it.

[MikeS]

Ok, but for T5's, could I use a regular flourescent ballast. I'm not sure if that's what it is, it's just an oak thing with a single bulb in i.

No...just like PC's and VHO's you'll need a special ballast...

T5's watt per wat have very good PAR and will quickly become mainstream lights...a tad expensive now, but if you can wait a year or so fro the price to come down a bit, they will be a great option...

Mike

[gman0526]

FWIW you don't need to cram up your tank to make it look good . On the subject of light again. T5's like Mike stated are great and run very cheap for the price.

[stpetehxc]

i have seen some lights on ebay, if you care to venture that route...
i'm thinking about trying out a coral life 10k in my existing hoods and see if i can manage that until i have the money to get T-5 or MH

[maxwellwhothunk]

I would say go to ebay and search for "jebo 48" http://cgi.ebay.com/JEBO-48-220W-55wx4-Power-Compact-Lighting_W0QQitemZ7715693219QQcategoryZ46314QQssPa geNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem that is what you will come up with... 80$ including shipping, and you have yourself 220w of light, granted, that will cause your energy to spike, but much less than 4 VHOs. I currently use that same light (I bought it a year ago for 20$ more...) and it works fine (I upgraded since then to add 2 250w MH, which I actually stopped using to help the corraline algae growth... dont worry everyone, they will be used again sometime).

That, I think, would be your best route.

-Max

[Brock Fluharty]

Thanks Max. How much would it increase on our energy bill for 220 watts? About how much.

[maxwellwhothunk]

some simple math will help you figure this out. First you will need to know the cost of a "kilowatt hour" in your area and your photoperiod.

So here is an example;
You currently have a 20 watt light.
You replace it with 220 watts of PC lighting
Your Kilowatt hour rate is $0.05 (5 cents)

So since you are replacing your 20 watt lamp with a 220 watt lamp, your upgrade will be of 200 watts.

Convert 200 watts to kilowatts (one kilowatt = 1000 watts)
200 watts = .2 kilowatts (kW)

Multiply the wattage of the lamp by the photo period, in this case 8 hours a day.

.2 kW multiplied by 8 = 1.6

So you are consuming 1.6 kWh per day

Multiply the daily kWh value by the days in a year

1.6 kWh multiplied by 365 days = 584 kWh/year

And finally multiply the kWh/year by the cost of a Kilowatt

584 multiplied by $.05 = $29.20

So in this example the cost increase would be $29.20

Let me know if you dont understand anything.

[maxwellwhothunk]

Ok, so I got bored, and I found this, it eliminates the need to know any math, and you can have a number in as fast as you can type them in.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/energycostcalc.html