Pendant vs. Regular

JokerGirl · 12/26/2006, 03:03 PM

For X-Mas, my parents gave me $500 to go towards getting a metal halide lamp. Now I'm trying to figure out what to go with. We had been planning on getting a new washer/dryer for xmas and then our fridge decided to break on x-mas eve.

So now we're trying to figure out if I should spend 6-800$ on a 48" Metal Halide ballast or if I should try going with one of the pendant fixtures. We have plenty of room to hang a pendant fixture.

My tank is a 90gallon tall and I was wondering if the wattage of the bulb would need to be any different in a pendant vs. your classic fixture.

I was looking at the 400w HQI pendant ballast. Would that be enough light to penetrate far enough in my tank, and if the 16" ballast I'm looking at would actually cover the 48" of the tank enough?

What's your experience with the pendant ballasts? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

nyvp · 12/26/2006, 04:39 PM

what are the dimensions of your tank? what are you trying to grow?

JokerGirl · 12/26/2006, 05:14 PM

The tank is 48Lx22-24Hx18Deep

The tank is only a few months old and is my first saltwater but I would eventually like to keep a nice mix including some beautiful acros and maybe a clam.

12/26/2006, 03:03 PM	#1
JokerGirl Whistler's Mother Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: That place Posts: 1,345	Pendant vs. Regular For X-Mas, my parents gave me $500 to go towards getting a metal halide lamp. Now I'm trying to figure out what to go with. We had been planning on getting a new washer/dryer for xmas and then our fridge decided to break on x-mas eve. So now we're trying to figure out if I should spend 6-800$ on a 48" Metal Halide ballast or if I should try going with one of the pendant fixtures. We have plenty of room to hang a pendant fixture. My tank is a 90gallon tall and I was wondering if the wattage of the bulb would need to be any different in a pendant vs. your classic fixture. I was looking at the 400w HQI pendant ballast. Would that be enough light to penetrate far enough in my tank, and if the 16" ballast I'm looking at would actually cover the 48" of the tank enough? What's your experience with the pendant ballasts? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

12/26/2006, 05:14 PM	#3
JokerGirl Whistler's Mother Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: That place Posts: 1,345	The tank is 48Lx22-24Hx18Deep The tank is only a few months old and is my first saltwater but I would eventually like to keep a nice mix including some beautiful acros and maybe a clam. __________________ 01000001 01101110 01111001 01101111 01101110 01100101 00111111 Current Tank Info: 120g Reef Tank, 60g Cube Mantis/Reef Tank, Want more info, ask me.

12/26/2006, 04:39 PM	#2
nyvp Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Hollywood Florida Posts: 3,633	what are the dimensions of your tank? what are you trying to grow?