MH HQI vs Single ended

Digitalelectric · 04/03/2011, 09:21 AM

So Ill be graduating from college in 3 weeks and have a job lined up. Yay! Anyways to the important part...my tank. Now that Ill have plenty of disposable income I can pump it all into my tank.

So. I currently have a 20 gal SPS tank which Ill upgrade to prob a 75 gallon (Im still in an apartment.) I think Im going to put 250 Watt MH's with actinic T5's over the tank. I was looking on MarineDepot and they have Icecap ballasts but theyre HQI's. Does this make any difference over Single ended bulbs?

Ive thought about only running 48 inch T5's over the tank but the 75's are pretty narrow tanks so I think Id have to cram a bunch of them over the tank to get decent PAR. Think Ill go with MH's.

Fish4Me2 · 04/03/2011, 11:27 AM

First off, congratulations on the degree and the job! That's awesome.

As for your question, you might want to try posting this over on the Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment forum. The folks over there discuss ballasts/light combos regularly. Your options for bulbs will vary a bit if you have to go with double ended bulbs. I'm a radium fan myself, and I don't believe you can get those in 250W DE. But you can use an HQI ballast for them.

Also, don't forget the heat difference on halides vs. T5s. If you're staying in FL, that will be an issue. I lived in Tampa for 3 years, and don't think it would have been possible to have halides without a chiller there.

04/03/2011, 09:21 AM	#1
Digitalelectric Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 422	MH HQI vs Single ended So Ill be graduating from college in 3 weeks and have a job lined up. Yay! Anyways to the important part...my tank. Now that Ill have plenty of disposable income I can pump it all into my tank. So. I currently have a 20 gal SPS tank which Ill upgrade to prob a 75 gallon (Im still in an apartment.) I think Im going to put 250 Watt MH's with actinic T5's over the tank. I was looking on MarineDepot and they have Icecap ballasts but theyre HQI's. Does this make any difference over Single ended bulbs? Ive thought about only running 48 inch T5's over the tank but the 75's are pretty narrow tanks so I think Id have to cram a bunch of them over the tank to get decent PAR. Think Ill go with MH's.

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04/03/2011, 11:27 AM	#2
Fish4Me2 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: TwinCities Posts: 650	First off, congratulations on the degree and the job! That's awesome. As for your question, you might want to try posting this over on the Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment forum. The folks over there discuss ballasts/light combos regularly. Your options for bulbs will vary a bit if you have to go with double ended bulbs. I'm a radium fan myself, and I don't believe you can get those in 250W DE. But you can use an HQI ballast for them. Also, don't forget the heat difference on halides vs. T5s. If you're staying in FL, that will be an issue. I lived in Tampa for 3 years, and don't think it would have been possible to have halides without a chiller there.