Opinions on MH lighting

[chwkreefer]

Originally Posted by rickjames

Hey,

Has anyone run the 400W XM's on a son agro ballast?

What combination of bulbs/ballasts would you setup if this was your tank



Thanks!

I have a 150 gallon tank with two 400 watt son agro ballasts for lighting. Originally I started out with the radiums. They look great but lose their intensity fairly quick. I love the color but I decided to switch them out for 10k's and now supplement with 2 -110 VHO. I am running a 400watt 10K XM beside a Ushio. They look virtually the same to me. If I run carbon in my tank, I could almost handle not having the VHO's on. But how white or blue you like your tank is very subjective.

I would buy XM again. The downside of the SA ballasts is the lifespan of the bulbs appears to be a bit shorter from the overdriving. At least I sure found that to be my experience with the radiums. If you go radium definitely prepare to switch them out every 9 months.