Need some opinions on lighting

[Whoyah]

Well it is official, we're moving in to a new house. :D Its a nice house on .75 acres right on the edge of town. The house needs some updating though. Since I know I going to have to breakdown the tank a couple time during the update, I think what I am going to do is downsize from my 75 gallon to a 30 gallon that is seating empty in the garage. All of my current equipment will work great on the 30 with the exception of my lights.

For the new lights, I considering going with one 175w MH 15K and some actinics. This would my first step in to the MH arena, so any opinions would be helpful. Not sure on what types of bulbs to go with on the actinics. Need some help here too. I have really only dealt with PCs.

The tank will be stocked with mostly softies (zoas, shrooms, xenia, leather), rose BTA, frogspawn and maybe monti cap plate (if possible).

I checked out Hellolights and they seems to have all the goods I would need to do a DIY canopy. Let me what you think.

[Reptoreef]

Hellolights is great. I like the XM's I run, but if you're gonna go with act supplimentation, I suggest 10k's. XM makes a 15k now, but I haven't seen alot on them yet(good or bad).

[Whoyah]

Thanks for the info. I have seen 15K in action here locally and really liked the light it put out but they are new so... I will try and get a hold of the guy here that is running them and see how they are working for him.

What kind of bulbs do you think for the actinics?

[davejnz]

I'd also suggest a 10k with that wattage(175)the higher K bulbs just dont have the PAR.For supplementation,I'd recommend T5 blue+ or URI VHOact although the blue + compliments a 10k a little better(10k@420nm blue+@450nm)With higher K bulbs they generally peak@450 so VHO act would give better balance(VHO@420nm)

[dakar]

I'll throw in our penny's worth and venture that we'll never part with the Iwasaki's and 460nm blues now... The results have been nothing short of spectacular, now that is likely just moving up from flouro's only, but I really like the colors.

Shad what do you have now that can be canabalized for parts? Ballasts/fixtures?

[davejnz]

I do like the 'sakis as well,they give a real natural look to a reef tank IMO,although a little yellow,they balance nicely with a pair of flourescents.Not sure if they make them in 175's though.Although,if ti were me,I'd just go ahead and get a 250,I ran a single 250 over my old 30gal for the past2.5yrs

[dakar]

They onlt run 70, 150, 250, & 400w that I was able to find. With the 250/400's running $10-15 cheaper than the smaller ones.

[Whoyah]

Thanks for the opinions and info. I probably go with the 10k instead of the 15K.

Shad what do you have now that can be canabalized for parts? Ballasts/fixtures?

I think I am just going to leave my current hood as is and buy new stuff. That way I have two complete lighting setups and I could always sell the hood later down the road if I needed to.

For supplementation,I'd recommend T5 blue+ or URI VHOact

Any major difference in price and maintenance between T5 and VHO?

I will need to research both types a little more.[/quote]

[Grandmaster_Toad]

I'll have to agree with Daveinz..... The URI VHO's are my favorite. I run 2 white and 2 blue atn.
There was a ReefCentral post a while back that compared all halides complete with color pictures, lumens, and spectrum reports. Maybe its still there.
As far as Halides..... If you need halides, I have a friends that has sold his tank but still has his hallides, ballast and sokets. Its a dual bulb system....but you can run a single also. If your interested I can give you his email. I dont know the specs or the cost...
GT

[davejnz]

actually,I think T5's might be a bit cheaper,You can get a 2x34"T5 retro for $125,An IceCap VHO retro would be around $200,you could get the ARO ballast VHO retro for a little cheaper.Bulb life is longer with T5's,they also have 2 different apectrums to choose from for their actinics.