# lighting a deep cube



## endgin33 (Jun 10, 2008)

A friend of mine gave me a really beautiful 18"x18"x22"h aquarium and stand a while back. He had a custom built 2-27 watt 4 tube PC light in a simple wood enclosure with marginal reflectors (if you can call it a reflector). Obviously, this is a really low light arrangement and while I have been able to do alright with swords, moss and ferns, I am about to get another pressurized co2 system this month (a friend had to give up his kegerator for health reasons) and would like to upgrade the light system to be a little more flexible with my plant choices. Given the depth of the tank MH would be preferable, but I am very concerned about the cost both up front and maintenence. I am not a wealthy man, and for the peace of the household, I probably have to settle for something moderate as far as output goes. I have considered the 2x 36 watt bright kit by ahs supply, but am concerned that the length of the unit will spray a lot of light onto the coping of the tank as the mouth of the tank is only 16.5" or so. I could build an enclosure for it in which the 36's would be at a diagonal (versus parallel) in the housing to make most of the light enter the tank, but that would dictate a larger enclosure that may not be quite as streamlined. The 24 watt AHS bright kit seems like it would fit well, but I am curious if two would be enough to get good growth. I am not aiming for a glosso carpet or anything "really" light intensive. Any advice?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

beleave it or not MH is actually cheaper to run then fluorescent lighting, in both power used and in bulb life.

for $100-$200 you can pick up a used MH system( check reef forums, people are always up grading) you will most likly have to swap out the bulb, but for a 150 HQI or 175 mougel, bulbs are less then $75 for the lower color temps and it should last you atleast a year.


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## endgin33 (Jun 10, 2008)

I guess I have read that they are more expensive to run than a moderate PC or t-5 rig. I am used to flourescents overall. I like the look of "reef" style lightning, but frankly I am concerned that I will have to chase the dragon more when it comes to algae farming with an intense lighting system. I have a 29g with 2-65watt pc unit and while it is the best of the tanks I am currently running, I definitely have to pay more attention to than any of the others.


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## ashappard (Jun 3, 2006)

I had also thought that MH was more expensive, but TAB is correct.

After switching most of my aquariums to MH lighting I have brighter light and lower electricity costs. The fixtures were affordable, I bought used pendants or cheap new ones (fishneedit) where possible. Even though I use the cheap fishneedit.com bulbs ( less than $20 each ), I still have great performance and spend a *lot* less money on bulbs than I did with PC or T5. 

that being said, MH isn't for everyone. It can be way bright for a shallow tank, and that will increase maintenance and trimming time. For a tank your size, I think a single 150W MH over the center would be ideal. Use a shorter photoperiod on the MH to reduce algae issues until you find stability. some fixtures have supplemental T5 lighting and you could run that to get longer viewing time and kick the MH on for a short time to kick in growth.


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## endgin33 (Jun 10, 2008)

Just took a look at fishneedit.com. That is pretty cheap... They are good quality, I take it? To some extent I am concerned about the photoperiod- I work odd hours sometimes and view time kinda matters. I have also heard that heat can be an issue- in your experience is it really a factor? What do you prefer for color temperature for MH systems? I appreciate your assistance.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

I personally like bulbs in the 10-14k range, which is a little high for a planted tank, but I love the cooler colors they bring out. with MH bulbs, diffrent ballest will put out diffrent colors and diffrent par out puts. Also as they degrade they color shift and put out less light. how high they are off the water can also make a huge diffrence.


I'm currently running a ushio 14k 150 de on a blue wave mag ballest and a reef optic 3+ reflector.( both of which are made by sun light supply) I find I get better color out of the 14k then I did a 10k. 

Heat is only a issue when you run several mh or they are inclosed. my 45 hex with the 150 de about a inch off the water heats up less then a degree during my 4 hour photo period.


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## endgin33 (Jun 10, 2008)

MH is looking more interesting to me after a bit more research. I do like the compact size. On my other two systems (29 2x65 watt pc, 20h 2x 23watt t-5) the photoperiods are pretty long 10 hours +, depending on how the algae war rages. (I am still stumbling along, but they at least impress my friends) What is a somewhat normal photoperiod for for a tank about my size with 150 watt MH, assuming I do the legwork- fert, co2, etc. I know that it will vary alot depending on factors but what have others used as a ballpark guess?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

2-6 hours would be my guess.


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## ashappard (Jun 3, 2006)

on my tanks with only MH (24x24x17"tall) I run 7-8 hour photoperiod.
I reduce this when I'm not growing out for trade/sale (winter)

longer photoperiod makes for faster uptake and more work to maintain stability. For a 'show' tank that has a long viewing time I will use MH for a few hours and PC lights for the rest to give me 10-12hours. 

the fishneedit fixtures are good deals for the money. I did have one (of 4) that burned through a terminal strip and I had to repair that. Otherwise trouble free. I like their magnetic ballasts better than the electronic ones based on the color rendition. In the case of two of the fixtures I just used an icecap 150W ballast and am very happy with those. Outstanding color and bulb life.

I'm with TAB on color temp. I lean towards the 10000K bulbs and like the cooler colors. Lower temps give too much of a saturated, unnatural green or yellow look to the tank. Personal pref though. The 8000K and 6500K bulbs grow the plants equally well in my experience.


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## endgin33 (Jun 10, 2008)

Thank you both, I appreciate the imput. I am getting pretty interested in the MH option.


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