Looking for advice on how to use my MH lighting

timekiller · 10/23/2012, 11:09 PM

Ok, first off I want to say I planned to save up and build a whole arduino controlled LED lighting system. Instead a guy I know was getting out of the hobby and hooked me up with a 48" MH 24 hour lighting system for $100. I couldn't pass it up.

The light is very similar to this one: http://www.liverocknreef.com/liveroc..._detail&p=8970

It's made by "Current", but is a few years old and they don't seem to sell this model anymore. It has 2x 150W 10k MH bulbs and 4 T5 actinic bulbs (currently has 2 blue and 2 10k "daylight" bulbs. There are also 3 banks of 6 moonlight LEDS. Each bank has 3 blue and 3 white LEDS. They are very low output, looks like they are just there to make the tank pretty at night.

I FINALLY got around to cleaning this thing up and hanging it (it was just COVERED in salt. Looks like the previous owner didn't take care of it). It cleaned up nice though. I have replaced all the bulbs except the LEDS. Some of the white LEDS do not light, I have ordered some replacements and will solder them in when they arrive.

I am replacing a 48" 2xT50 light that was definitely not suitable for coral. I have a 90 gallon tank that I've had going for about 10 months (FOWLR). I want to start my reef.

So that's the background, now on to my question. The guy that gave me the light said I would have to work up to using the MH lights - he said start with like an hour a day. Is this correct ? So far I have not turned on the MH for more than a few minutes. I just hung the light and want to monitor the water temp while the MH are on, so I won't give it a full run until this weekend. In the meantime I am using the 4 T50 lights during the day and the moonlight LEDS at night.

So, what is a good lighting cycle for me to start with with this setup ? Should the T50 bulbs be off when the MH are on ? Can I leave the moonlight LEDS on all night (they are quite dim, just bright enough to accent some of the live rock) ?

Thanks for the input.

Michigan Mike · 10/24/2012, 05:02 AM

I have a current outer orbit as well. It's a 24" 150w 4x24 t5 with the blue&white moonlights.
I got it for $100 too, it was in great condition and had 2 hqi bulbs (10k & 15k XM) and 4 current t5 bulbs.

It depends what corals you keep and what light thy where previously under before you get them. I would keep my halides on and just start the coral low and move them up slowly. I would keep lps and soft coral on the sand bed or bottom third of the tank and start sps coral in the middle and move them up closer to the light when they start to look darker or brown. If its too much light they will turn white. If its too little light they turn brown. There is not a set way just go by the coral's reaction and move them accordingly.

timekiller · 10/24/2012, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

I have a current outer orbit as well. It's a 24" 150w 4x24 t5 with the blue&white moonlights.
I got it for $100 too, it was in great condition and had 2 hqi bulbs (10k & 15k XM) and 4 current t5 bulbs.

It depends what corals you keep and what light thy where previously under before you get them. I would keep my halides on and just start the coral low and move them up slowly. I would keep lps and soft coral on the sand bed or bottom third of the tank and start sps coral in the middle and move them up closer to the light when they start to look darker or brown. If its too much light they will turn white. If its too little light they turn brown. There is not a set way just go by the coral's reaction and move them accordingly.

Thanks for the input. Now I know the name of my light! Haha.

This is almost identical to what I have: http://www.aquacave.com/48-Current-U...hts-P1216.aspx

Only difference is I have 2x150W HQI MH, not 2x250W.

When you say "leave the halides on" do you mean all day ? like 10 hours ? That seems like I would be asking for trouble. I don't have a chiller (yet). was hoping to put that expense off as long as possible. Since I don't yet have any corals at all I figured I can do a test run this weekend. Turn up the halides for an hour or two and see what it does to the water temp (and the fish). Right now I just have the 4x54W actinic bulbs on and the fish seem to not like it. I have a purple dottyback that is hiding in the darkest corner it could find. The Yellow Tan seems to be more comfortable though. I'm hoping they get used to the extra light and start swimming again...

PowerNap · 10/24/2012, 12:03 PM

You have to light acclimate a reef tank, not a FOWLR tank, so you can start using the new lights right away.

Two 150 watt halides are marginal for a 24” deep tank. What type of corals are you planning on housing? SPS will need to be kept high up in the tank.

I operated a 250w halide over my 56G tall for years w/o a chiller. I had a controller to turn on fans and turn light off when the temperature started to rise.

timekiller · 10/24/2012, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PowerNap

You have to light acclimate a reef tank, not a FOWLR tank, so you can start using the new lights right away.

Two 150 watt halides are marginal for a 24” deep tank. What type of corals are you planning on housing? SPS will need to be kept high up in the tank.

I operated a 250w halide over my 56G tall for years w/o a chiller. I had a controller to turn on fans and turn light off when the temperature started to rise.

Since this is my first reef tank ever, I'm not sure what I plan to get. I'm still fairly new to salt water in general so at least initially I want to stick to hearty coral so I don't kill it.

When you say you have to light acclimate reef tanks, does that mean I will have to acclimate new corals as well ? I'm assuming coral needs to be water acclimated, is there an additional light acclimation ? If so, how would you do that ?

I'm really surprised to hear that 2x150W is marginal - that thing is friggin' bright! . Also, now that I know what kind of light I have I have been reading up on it.

Apparently this light ships wih 2 blue T5s and 2 purple T5s. The guy I got it from must have switched out the purple for white (2x54W 10K Daylight). So, I guess the intended use is to use the T5s in the morning, the 2x150W MH during the day and then the T5s again in the evening, finishing it out with the moonlights at night.

Since I have the 2x54W 10k T5 I assume if I use them with the MH i would get sufficient output to light up the bottom of the tank well - or am I wrong on that ?

Should I keep the daylight T5s or get the purple T5s like the fixture shipped with ?

Thanks.

sirreal63 · 10/24/2012, 12:32 PM

Stick with 10K MH bulbs and you will be ok. I wouldn't worry about a chiller with an open top. You really can't judge lighting by brightness. 150's are not ideal but as long as you stay with high par 10k bulbs you won't have any problems. I have used 150's and 250's for many years and there are plenty of nice tanks lit by 150's. Par is what you are after and that is not dependent on wattage. Your T5's also add to the usable light, when it is time for a bulb change you can switch to higher par T5 bulbs, which will help.

PowerNap · 10/25/2012, 09:23 AM

Yes you want to water acclimate anything that goes in the tank. Because most corals are photosynthetic you have to go thru the extra stem of light acclimation, unless they came from a similarly lighted tank. This is done by placing the coral lower than it would normally be in the tank. If it’s unhappy it will start to turn brown. If you start with the coral too high it will bleach. Brown you can recover from, bleaching…. not so much. I’ve bleached a few corals in my time.

Aside from the lighting you will also need to start thinking about water quality if you haven’t done so already. Where are you sourcing your water from? What kind of filtration are you using?

10/23/2012, 11:09 PM	#1
timekiller Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 89	Looking for advice on how to use my MH lighting Ok, first off I want to say I planned to save up and build a whole arduino controlled LED lighting system. Instead a guy I know was getting out of the hobby and hooked me up with a 48" MH 24 hour lighting system for $100. I couldn't pass it up. The light is very similar to this one: http://www.liverocknreef.com/liveroc..._detail&p=8970 It's made by "Current", but is a few years old and they don't seem to sell this model anymore. It has 2x 150W 10k MH bulbs and 4 T5 actinic bulbs (currently has 2 blue and 2 10k "daylight" bulbs. There are also 3 banks of 6 moonlight LEDS. Each bank has 3 blue and 3 white LEDS. They are very low output, looks like they are just there to make the tank pretty at night. I FINALLY got around to cleaning this thing up and hanging it (it was just COVERED in salt. Looks like the previous owner didn't take care of it). It cleaned up nice though. I have replaced all the bulbs except the LEDS. Some of the white LEDS do not light, I have ordered some replacements and will solder them in when they arrive. I am replacing a 48" 2xT50 light that was definitely not suitable for coral. I have a 90 gallon tank that I've had going for about 10 months (FOWLR). I want to start my reef. So that's the background, now on to my question. The guy that gave me the light said I would have to work up to using the MH lights - he said start with like an hour a day. Is this correct ? So far I have not turned on the MH for more than a few minutes. I just hung the light and want to monitor the water temp while the MH are on, so I won't give it a full run until this weekend. In the meantime I am using the 4 T50 lights during the day and the moonlight LEDS at night. So, what is a good lighting cycle for me to start with with this setup ? Should the T50 bulbs be off when the MH are on ? Can I leave the moonlight LEDS on all night (they are quite dim, just bright enough to accent some of the live rock) ? Thanks for the input.

10/24/2012, 12:03 PM	#4
PowerNap Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Turnersville NJ Posts: 132	You have to light acclimate a reef tank, not a FOWLR tank, so you can start using the new lights right away. Two 150 watt halides are marginal for a 24” deep tank. What type of corals are you planning on housing? SPS will need to be kept high up in the tank. I operated a 250w halide over my 56G tall for years w/o a chiller. I had a controller to turn on fans and turn light off when the temperature started to rise. __________________ Engineer Extraordinaire My other aquarium is a corvette. Current Tank Info: 56g column, RKL controler, 2x AI Sol white, custom stand and canopy.

10/24/2012, 12:32 PM	#6
sirreal63 Go Spurs Go!!! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Meadowlakes Texas Posts: 13,357	Stick with 10K MH bulbs and you will be ok. I wouldn't worry about a chiller with an open top. You really can't judge lighting by brightness. 150's are not ideal but as long as you stay with high par 10k bulbs you won't have any problems. I have used 150's and 250's for many years and there are plenty of nice tanks lit by 150's. Par is what you are after and that is not dependent on wattage. Your T5's also add to the usable light, when it is time for a bulb change you can switch to higher par T5 bulbs, which will help. __________________ Jack No One has ever been seriously injured by using the search function. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency. Current Tank Info: Reefing the Pentagon.

10/25/2012, 09:23 AM	#7
PowerNap Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Turnersville NJ Posts: 132	Yes you want to water acclimate anything that goes in the tank. Because most corals are photosynthetic you have to go thru the extra stem of light acclimation, unless they came from a similarly lighted tank. This is done by placing the coral lower than it would normally be in the tank. If it’s unhappy it will start to turn brown. If you start with the coral too high it will bleach. Brown you can recover from, bleaching…. not so much. I’ve bleached a few corals in my time. Aside from the lighting you will also need to start thinking about water quality if you haven’t done so already. Where are you sourcing your water from? What kind of filtration are you using? __________________ Engineer Extraordinaire My other aquarium is a corvette. Current Tank Info: 56g column, RKL controler, 2x AI Sol white, custom stand and canopy.

10/24/2012, 05:02 AM	#2
Michigan Mike Freedom costs a buckofive Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	I have a current outer orbit as well. It's a 24" 150w 4x24 t5 with the blue&white moonlights. I got it for $100 too, it was in great condition and had 2 hqi bulbs (10k & 15k XM) and 4 current t5 bulbs. It depends what corals you keep and what light thy where previously under before you get them. I would keep my halides on and just start the coral low and move them up slowly. I would keep lps and soft coral on the sand bed or bottom third of the tank and start sps coral in the middle and move them up closer to the light when they start to look darker or brown. If its too much light they will turn white. If its too little light they turn brown. There is not a set way just go by the coral's reaction and move them accordingly.