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New Lighting

T

thecodfather

Hello everyone, Im thinking about upgrading my lighting. I want to move to metal halides. I have a 29 gal tank. the length of my tank is 30". There arent too many fixtures available. I was thinking about getting a pendant fixture and hang it over my tank, plus I really like the way that they look. My question is...will one pendant light be sufficient, or will I have to use some sort of retrofit kit and make a custom fixture? Also, I want to be able to keep just about anything in my tank. How many watts should I be looking at? I currently have about 130w, and I really do not feel that its enough. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
B

Brian

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Hey Jason

I would look into a 250 watt pendant. Maybe with a 12k or 14k bulb so you don't need the supplemental lighting.

I have one of these for my 30 gallon. I bought the 150 watt, now I'm wishing I bought the 250 watt. The bulb that comes with it is a nice blue color. I've heard that the bulb isn't the greatest, but you can always change that out down the road.

HTH
 
B

billyr98

the nice thing about getting a 250w, would be that you can use it on a bigger tank, when u want to upgrade..

also you 10 mins to order it on the PA group buy, it ends tonight! ;)
 
S

Subliminal

NJRC Member
I bought a 175 ballast/setup for my 29g. It looks good, but I don't think 250w would be overkill, either.

Depends on your setup, and what you want to keep. And, I guess, your building skills or the $$$ you have to spend on a pre-built hood.
 
T

thecodfather

billyr98 said:
the nice thing about getting a 250w, would be that you can use it on a bigger tank, when u want to upgrade..

also you 10 mins to order it on the PA group buy, it ends tonight! ;)
Click to expand...
Thats the same thing I thought billy. the only problem is I cant spend anymore money until i come back from vacation, which is in two weeks. So I should definitely look into a 250w pendant light. I was thinking of getting a 14k bulb with it. Now...how high should I hang it over my tank, and how much of a temperature difference will I see?
 
S

Subliminal

NJRC Member
My temp went down from my PC setup to my 175w setup.

Of course, instead of a uv shield about 3 inches over my water, my bulb is now about 7 inches above the water, and I've a good sized (6") fan in there, too.

Former temp was 80-82, now 78 steady.

:)
 
T

thecodfather

Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
This looks like a good option.

The second one (PFO) and the fourth one are not electronic ballasts and therefore you're better off with one of the ice cap fixtures. I like the flexibility of the fixture I chose to do either 250 or 400 watt (I think that will help with growth/resale value later on) over the first one. I actually thought it would be more expensive and was suprised to see it cheaper than the first (which uses single ended bulbs).

I'm more of a single ended fan, but that's not based in reality, just my experience, and since you want a pendant anyway (so you need the shielding) then the HQI is a fine choice.
 
T

thecodfather

I really like that ice cap fixture also phyl. Hopefully Ill get it first thing when I come back. It doesnt have a fan, will that be a problem?
 
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