# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Metal halide on 46 bow



## Jared Bozeman (Nov 21, 2005)

im planing on upgrading my current lighting, 2x55 watt all glass fixture plus 40 watts NO. to something higher. while this setup works OK, i just can not get small for grounds (eg, glostigma, micro grass, et al) to grow, let alone thrive. i have considered T5HO and 2x92 CF but some one on another forum suggested a single 150 watt HQI. 
so, here are my questions:
-what are your opnions on metal halide in planted tanks? 
-with very few exceptions, matal halides, especialy HQI come with higher temp lamps (like 10kk or higher). were could i find a fixture that comes with a lower temp?
-would 150 be enough to grow preaty much every thing or should i go with 250?
thanks!


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## Jared Bozeman (Nov 21, 2005)

im planing on upgrading my current lighting, 2x55 watt all glass fixture plus 40 watts NO. to something higher. while this setup works OK, i just can not get small for grounds (eg, glostigma, micro grass, et al) to grow, let alone thrive. i have considered T5HO and 2x92 CF but some one on another forum suggested a single 150 watt HQI. 
so, here are my questions:
-what are your opnions on metal halide in planted tanks? 
-with very few exceptions, matal halides, especialy HQI come with higher temp lamps (like 10kk or higher). were could i find a fixture that comes with a lower temp?
-would 150 be enough to grow preaty much every thing or should i go with 250?
thanks!


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## Detox (Feb 26, 2004)

I have a 46g BF with only 110 Watt Fixture (9325K) and my dwarf hair grass is thriving. I have not tried Glosso though.


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## imported_BSS (Apr 14, 2004)

For what tank size? It could be that just adding some nicer reflectors might get you what you want.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

it says 46 bowfront


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## cheesehazard (Mar 2, 2004)

I thought about switching to metal halide a while back but when I went to price them at the lfs I started to think about just sticking with my current fixtures. I know you can get some metal halide flood lights from home depot for pretty cheap. The main reason I didn't use metal halide is because they are so hot. If I would have bought the 3 metal halide fixtures that I was looking at it would have more than likely made my living room 10 degrees hotter.


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## imported_Creature (Feb 6, 2003)

Have you looked at online stores such as Drs. Foster & Smith, which carry reasonably priced light fixtures. Coralife has a new double strip fixture with lunar lights, built-in fan(s) and separate power cords for timed lighting. They have single light strip fixtures as well and they also carry some fixtures with metal halide of the German type, which look very small. Perhaps one of these would be worth investing. I will be purchasing a 48" CF fixture with the works for $249. Hello Lights and Aquarium Hobbyist Supply are also good places.


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## Jared Bozeman (Nov 21, 2005)

> quote:
> 
> I will be purchasing a 48" CF fixture with the works for $249


actualy, its only slightly more expensive only for small HQI pendents then CF, T5HO, or even VHO. the AB ocean light can be purcahsed for less then $250, for example.

and long term, MH may be cheaper. this would be an instance- assuming i go with 150- where metal halide would actualy use less energy then 192 of CF. and bulb replacment costs shouldnt be too outragous.



> quote:
> 
> The main reason I didn't use metal halide is because they are so hot.


i gather thats only true on small tanks, when several MH fixtures are used, and/or poor ventalation. on my 46, my guess is that the much smaller surface area AND the large ventelation room (at least 8" from water) will actualy have LESS impact on tempurater then, say 192 watts of CF 2" to 3" from the water.

im kinda thinking out loud







, if you havnt noticed.


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## imported_BSS (Apr 14, 2004)

DOH! I was looking for tank size in the text and forgot about the title.

I formerly had an All-glass fixture with the square reflector. If you look at the verbage on the ahsupply.com site, it states their reflectors give much better lighting down into the tank. You can order the AH reflectors separately (though it's not necessarily obvious). If you want to try to save some $, you could get two of their 55w Miro reflectors. Then again, if that doesn't work, it's an added cost.

P.S. When I first added my 96w CF to my 46g bf with a glass cover, it increased water temps by around 6 degrees. I removed the glass and replaced it with egg-crate to bring them temps back down.


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## Jared Bozeman (Nov 21, 2005)

> quote:
> 
> If you want to try to save some $, you could get two of their 55w Miro reflectors.


the miro reflectors sound realy nice. but that may be a pain to retro.



> quote:
> 
> P.S. When I first added my 96w CF to my 46g bf with a glass cover, it increased water temps by around 6 degrees.


probably because its so close to the surface and 96s have a preaty big surface area.


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## cheesehazard (Mar 2, 2004)

Check at home depot and look at their metal halide flood lights before you buy anything off the net.


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## Shane A smith (Jun 15, 2003)

www.aquaticeco.com has some great HQI pendants.


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## georgiadawgger (Jun 14, 2004)

I actually have 192 over my 46g bow. Two separate 96 watt freshwater aqualights. I really should have thought about the odd size of the tank before I got it, but too late now!! So at 4.2 wpg, it really is a machine and I have to keep up with my dosing schedule (aka Barr method).

Oh, and about the temperature...during the summer I had the entire glass lid off and let a fan run across the surface...otherwise the temp skyrocketed to about 90 something. Now in the winter (with the room at about 66-68) my Ebo has to actually heat the water and I placed one glass panel over the water.


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## cheesehazard (Mar 2, 2004)

I have 4 40 watt over driven bulbs and two other smaller 15 watt i think tubes in my hood. I have 4 fans blowing across the water and two as exhaust fans. My water stays in the mid 80s in the summer with no ac running and in the winter i use my lights to heat my tank. I could use just the two exhaust fans and they would work just fine but i have a bunch of extra pc fans so i threw them all in there.


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## scalare (Feb 18, 2003)

Just to answer one of your original questions..... there are several lower Kelvin Bulbs for Halides.... I would have to check about 150 watt, but I know that Iwasaki bulbs are 6500k, they have an awesome amount of par value, and very easy to come by. One thing you will have to address is you will have to keep the fixture at least 10 inches off of your tank... and possibly higher (or add fans) to ensure that size of a tank does not overheat! I would supplement with a little actinic lighting as well to balance out the slight "yellow" the bulb gives off.


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