Are MH's really the way to go

[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)

[StirCrazy]

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 have spent probably over 7K on lighting because I tried the overdriven NO, then PC/VHO, then PC/MH (175) and now 250watt MH.. I would have saved about 6K of it just going MH from the getgo.

Steve

[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.

[Snappy]

I would recommend starting with M/H as most reefs tend to evolve over time. It has been my experience that few hobbiests stay only with the exact types of corals that they started with. As both your tank and experience in the hobby grows, your tastes will likely change somewhat. If you decide later that a tank with just softies no longer 'floats your boat' and you want to give sps, clams or other light demanding items a try, you will be ready for whatever you want to keep in your reef without having to spend extra loot upgrading. (been there, done that)

[bnhreef]

Hey Cam,

Did you use my Advise and buy those MH's in Calgary?

Brad

[Bravoman]

Cam,

Its my experience that bnhreef knows what he's talking about.

I'd do what he says and stick to the Metal Halides if you want to have as beautiful and sucessfull a reef as bnhreef has.

Good luck. (Although..... with bnhreef showing you the way, you won't need it!)

Bravo

[Buccaneer]

I have 400W MH on my tank and I do like the shimmer effect of MH bulbs ... however to say MH are a necessity is inaccurate

check out this SPS/LPS tank run on T5's

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1