Neptune Aquatics

MH Lights Opinion

Does ne1 know if this is any good?
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/for/1883514761.html
I'm thinking of dumping my LEDs.
Just not happy with it.
 
If you want a 150w I have a couple of them that were used for 7 months.
I drilled some holes in them for cooling.
Used $50ea or trade for LED's
 
eh... I think you're getting the LCD on this one... that's to say lowest quality goods, no-name electronic ballast, no name bulbs (although I use them :D), will it work? sure, but this doesn't appear to be a deal of a lifetime (i.e. there's just one he's selling) so you might want to do a little more looking.


And yeah what are you looking for size/wattage wise? I have some spare junk I might want to part with or trade if you want to nix the leds
 
Oh, my LED is a DIY fixture that I custom created to fit inside my BC29 hood.
I can easily pop the whole heatsink, but it is not a reefbrite or anything.
I was looking for something that has a nice look to it, since I don't have a canopy to hide the stuff in.
150W should be fine for BC29, right?

So, which one of these?
For Sale Coralife clamp on style metal halide fixture with ballast and14k color spectrum bulb $150 - http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/MH-CPENA20/Coralife+AquaLight+Pro+Metal+Halide+HQI+Clamp-On+Pendant+-+1+x+150W.html
Current Sunpod Metal Halide (175 W, 14 K bulb) : 1 yr. old , ---- $100.00
20" Current USA Sunpod 150 watt HQI.
 
Roberto,
good luck. I think you are right on with the 150 since you have a bunch of stuff way up top on those rock pinnacles.
 
that would work, but I was thinking that if the UV side is what is deficient with LEDs, then chew through sanjay's spectra and get a UV weighted bulb. It is possible that a 10-14k bulb may have reasonable output in the 380-420 range.
 
newhobby said:
What is the difference between the 10, 14 and 20K?


Personally I think kelvin ratings are a joke, the best bet is to see as many tanks as you can sans supplementation and then with supplementation and see for yourself what you like.
 
what is sad, is technically, the kelvin scale is measurable. What is sad, is no one (at least anymore) measures the real "black body temperature equivalent." I think manufacturers just "guess" how blue and drop it into one of the 3 reef colors. If they did it for real, there would be all sorts of color temps and rarely a repeat.
/digression over.
 
No digression there Tony, you're just addressing the question.

The reality from a consumer perspective is the lack of any kind of baseline since the whole thing is skewed from the get go, to me the holy grail is a good 14k, IMO that is really not out there.
 
Is there any difference as far as light output, spectrum or coral growth?
Since I already have Royal Blue LEDs, I can always supplement it to get more blue, right?
I thinking on sticking with the 14K and place some blue LEDs. Am I in the right path?
Or should I just dump the blues and go 20K only instead?
 
newhobby said:
Is there any difference as far as light output, spectrum or coral growth?
Yes, yes, and yes. PAR is usually higher in lower kelvin bulbs. The spectrums are very different with high kelving bulbs having more blue wavelengths and less reds (red/blue used generically). Growth rate, color and form have been shown to be different under different spectrums.
Since I already have Royal Blue LEDs, I can always supplement it to get more blue, right?
Sorta. Blue here is genericlu used and from an LED it is a bandpass spectral emission: meaning, you dont get "all colors of blue". You will definately miss out on the "violet/UV" side of blue if you try and account for a MH lack of blue by using LEDs. This isn't necessarily bad, but it isn't an equivalent substitution.
I thinking on sticking with the 14K and place some blue LEDs. Am I in the right path?
Or should I just dump the blues and go 20K only instead?
Yes, you are on the right path for something :p It depends on your goal. I'm sure coral will grow fine under both options you mentioned.
 
I got Jon's fixture and put it over my tank...
It looks so much less blue now :( lol
I don't know if it's just impression or what. It seems my LEDs were so much brighter than the MH though.
Let's see if that makes any difference on the coloration. I'm just tired of looking at brown corals... lol
 
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