# MH questions



## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

Have a new light fixture arriving tomorrow (yay!): Giesemann 230 Eco Plus 2x150W HQI + 2x 54W T5 fluorescents. The folks at JLAquatics.com were kind enough to swap out the 13000K halides with Tropic 6500K, and the actinic T5s with Midday 6000K bulbs. [smilie=u:

Just wondering <1> how high above the tank I should hang this? and <2> what duration for the MHs vs. T5s?

I currently have 4x55W PCs on my 66 gal tank; 10.5 hours duration.

Any other hints or tips I should know? These will be my first halides.

Thanks!


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

HOLY MOLLY thats alot of light over than 66 gallon. Sure your not going to boil the fishes??? Thats 408W. Anyhow, most people use the MH for a shorter burst during the middle part of the lighting cycle. Total lighting is still abotu 10 hours, with about a 5 hour block or so in the middle with the MH on with the T-5's. You will more than likely have to play with the times of both the total photoperiod and the MH burst in the middle. With that much light it will be very critical. Good luck!


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## erik Loza (Feb 6, 2006)

Congrats on your acquisition. Trust me, because I own three Nova II's: You cannot go wrong with anything Giesemann makes. On my big tank, I run the MH's for 12 hours on a staggered cycle. One on at 9:00AM, then #2 on at 10:00AM. Then, #1 off at 9:00PM and #2 off at 10:00PM. They hang about 18" off the water's surface and have no problem getting to the bottom of my 20" tall tank.

What type of plants do you plan to keep? This would dictate how I stage the lighting. My tank has lots of fast growing stem plants and a couple of big swords. They take all the light I can give them but you might want to experiment with running the HQI's only during the mid-day. I would just experiment and see. Oh, you do have a pressurized gas system, don't you?

Best of luck and post pics for us to see.


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

> HOLY MOLLY thats alot of light over than 66 gallon.


Hmmm. Maybe an opportunity to get a bigger tank?



> What type of plants do you plan to keep?


I have mostly stem plants, a couple of swords. Not much for ground cover plants now, but the new lights should help. And yes, I do have pressurized CO2


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## Ibn (Oct 20, 2004)

I run mine during the middle of the day for 4 hours. Lighting cycle goes as follows.

T5s (4x39W) comes on at 12 
Halides (2x250W) comes on at 3
Halides goes off at 7
T5s goes off at 10

Ferts are dumped by a pair of dosing pumps before the halides comes on at 2.


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

Another question (since I'm a MH noob): where does everybody put their ballasts? The tank is in the middle of my living room, so I'd like to keep them out of sight. Too hot for inside the tank stand?


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## erik Loza (Feb 6, 2006)

werner said:


> Another question (since I'm a MH noob): where does everybody put their ballasts? The tank is in the middle of my living room, so I'd like to keep them out of sight. Too hot for inside the tank stand?


Inside the stand is fine. Mine (at least) use electronic ballasts and do not generate as much heat as the potted tar ones.


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## Ibn (Oct 20, 2004)

Same here. The dual 250W ballast sits in the bottom left side of my stand.


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

Thanks all. Just got everything finally installed today- had to buy some hardware (easy), find the ceiling joists (easy), hang the light (very easy), and then move the tank to fit under the light because the joists weren't where they needed to be and I didn't want to mess up the clean look of the hanging system with some MacGyvered job (not easy.) Ballasts are in the stand and are much cooler than I expected. Still waiting for the T5s since the first ones were broken in shipping. I can't believe how bright the whole room seems now!


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