Are MH's really the way to go

[Bob I]

Originally Posted by Cam

Hi,
I recently was told if you ever want coral that MH's are the way too regardless of the wattage and k of power compacts they just wont compare to Metal Halide lighting. Is this true?
Thanks
Cam

.I don't understand the question, as it is not English.

[G1GY]

Originally Posted by Bob I

.I don't understand the question, as it is not English.

Why reply then?

Cam,

Going with MH's now could save you some money in the future.

[Invigor]

I agree..without posting actual numbers and such, the input/output ratio for metal halides is unparalleled by any fluorescent combination.

I went to MH for no other reason than it's easier to ship 2 MH lamps than 8 48" fluorescent bulbs...funny enough, I've downsized to a T5 only setup because I dropped something in my tank and killed 90% of my corals and can't afford to replace them..so I didn't see a need to waste $20/month on lighting my tank with halides.

[Ruth]

WTH did you drop in your tank? That is really too bad - I liked your tank and if I had anything that was ready to frag yet I would send you something. Maybe in a few months.

[Invigor]

Originally Posted by Ruth

WTH did you drop in your tank? That is really too bad - I liked your tank and if I had anything that was ready to frag yet I would send you something. Maybe in a few months.

some power compacts...and no I didn't have a gfci installed yet :/ Got one now though changed to copper wire too instead of the aluminum wire that was existing.. (moved into a new house...old as bones wiring)

[Willow]

Originally Posted by Bob I

.I don't understand the question, as it is not English.

looks like english here. on the other hand i don't remember starting a sentence with a question mark as proper english, i'll leave the fancy details to you.

[vanreefer]

Yes

[Fish]

IMO halide is the best quality of lighting and also works out to be the cheapest. Especially if you can avoid getting fleeced by LFS prices. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the "shimmer" as an advantage. That being said... I am kind of partial to the colour and look of tanks lit by pc and t5. Something about not having every nook and cranny lit up... seems to give a tank more 'mood'. The problem is, it will cost you more, may limit your livestock choices, and you will probably end up going to halide eventually anyway. From my experience, halide also allows for lower tank temperatures than pc lighting (unless you enclose it in a canopy right on top of your tank - but because of its penetrating power it doesn't need to be sitting right over the water).

In Bob's defense:
I too hate being corrected on something like grammar when I am trying to get an answer to a non-grammar-related question - but, he usually doesn't bother anyone unless the mistakes are really glaring or comprimise the meaning of the post so that you have to guess or assume what the person is asking. As much as he can be a pain, he does provide an important role here on Canreef... reminding us of the common courtesy of pre reading our posts. I'm sure that my post has errors too, but I did make an effort to have it as correct as possible... and I think that's reasonable to expect. And I suspect that Bob actually enjoys getting flamed - I would have an easier time believing that his signature line is Homer Simpson quoting BobI and not the other way around. JMO

- Chad

Edited - for spelling ( :

[Willow]

i dunno, those wacky germans are producing some pretty wicked tanks using t5's only.

[Ruth]

The wacky Germans are..........however......if you look into it a little further you will see that hey are using just about all HO T5 (even overdriven) with some knockout reflectors for each bulb so I think the cost of trying to replicate - if you can even get that stuff here- would probably run you more than a good MH system. Then you have to consider the cost of replacement bulbs which I believe a lot of them are changing every 6 months or so.