Will MH Lights do anything for me?

[montoya]

I have PC lights right now - 260 watt / 48" fixture over my 55 gallon. The thing is I like my PC. The light it casts looks nice, heat is only moderate and it doesn't suck down a lot of juice. I have mostly easy corals - mushrooms, polyps, zoas, colt, bubble and a plate. They do well under my PC. Not spectacular in terms of growth - but they are growing.

The only reason I ask the question is I'm at the point where I should replace my bulbs. It'll likely cost me $ 100.00 to get me through another year or so.

So now I'm debating whether to put that money toward an "upgrade" to MH. I would do two pendants - 150 W each.

Would this do anything for me with my exisitng corals or should I just stick with PC? Is 300 W of MH a lot more light than 260 W of PC? I've always read that watts are not equal between different styles of light.

Finally - what about cost? Do MH suck down a lot of juice? How long will the bulbs last on average?

Is the grass greener on the other side?

Thanks!!!!

 

[yote]

I've just switched to halides myself.So take this with a grain of salt.
Halides produce a more focused light,which actually puts more light in a given area.I have noticed that they do heat the water up some,but that can be offset with a fan blowing between the lights and the water surface.
And as far as the light bill goes,I'll let ya know when I get my bill for this month:D

 

[ccCapt]

If your have soft corals doing fine, stick with the PC's. MH's are too strong for most soft corals. You would need to move them to the bottom and shade them. If you plan on going with LPS or SPS corals, then upgrade.

There is no comparison between 260w of PC and 300w of MH. It's like a candle vs high beam headlights. Depending on the brand/quality of the MH bulbs, they can last anywhere from 6 months for Ebay cheapos up to 18 months for high quality name brand bulbs.

 

[RAYRAY]

I have one 150 w hamilton MH. I love it. BUt want to change the bulb to a bluer color. I have a 14k now. My bill isnt too bad. I have 2 kids that keep the lights, tv and many other thing on all the time. My bill is about 95 a month. I run the MH from 12:30 to 9:30pm the moon light from 9:30pm to 4:30 am and the Fuge light from 9:30 pm to 10:30am. I have a 2 hour spand of no light. My tank temp stays at 80 and goes down to 78 at night. I also use a fan during the summer faces away from the tank to draw the heat away. GOOD LUCK TO YOU !!

 

[stagofdoom]

As far as the bill goes.......I can definitely notice a difference.

 

[lightcs4]

I really like my MH light and the bill isn't that noticeable. I don't know if I would want to go with another type. A lot of people use MH in my local club and like them a lot. However, you may want to look at the T5s with individual reflectors. A lot of people here use them and like them a lot too.

 

[Bifferwine]

Have you considered upgrading to T5s instead of MH? T5s will be cheaper, they don't run hot, and you can still keep anything you want under them. For a 55 gallon tank, T5s are a better choice than MH (except in a couple rare circumstances).

 

[stagofdoom]

As far as the bill goes.......I can definitely notice a difference.

But then again I got my tank about 2 months before I got a roommate, so actually not too much of a difference. Darn roommate sucking up all the electricity.:D

 

[bobby]

I went from 196 watts pc's to a 175 watt halide and love it. I won't change I love the way my coral look and the growth. 1 watt of any light put off the same amount of heat as another light.

I notice no difference in my bill. I added it up and it only cost 5.00 something a month for my halide to run. Also the 175watt iwasaki 15K will put out the same amount of par as 250's and has a great color. Under my halide I keep shrooms zoa's LPS SPS and an anemone and all do great.

 

[lightcs4]

1 watt of any light put off the same amount of heat as another light.

Just to add to what Bobby wrote, the reason some people think MH run hotter is because the heat is focused in one area. The T5 and PC units spread it over an larger area.

 

[montoya]

Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't considered T5's but may look at them as well. I have to do some research on them. It'll probably be a month or two before I need to do anything so I have some time to learn and search for deals.