I bought a coralife aqualight pro with the 3- 150 halides and would like to change ballasts to 250 ones is this possable or do I have to change the section where the bulbs go in also? do I have to go to coralive ballast with the same plug or do most plugs fit the same prongs?
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switching out ballast
- Thread starter reeferwanabe
- Start date
You need to change out the sockets they are different between the 150 and 250 although the 400s are good for the 250 just need to spread them farther. I got mine at PA and it's a very simple procedure, although I was replacing 250's with 250's.
yea just found out the sockets are different. oh well gonna stay with what I have.
actually 4.92 watts per gal. I know about this is not the way to gauge lighting anymore but its what I have right now. that big tank at trop. 1.92 watts per gal.
reeferwanabe said:yea just found out the sockets are different. oh well gonna stay with what I have.
A very wise choice considering that you'd end up replacing almost all the stuff insider the fixture.
I was told if I get 250's I better plan on chiller is this true? at times I think I need one even with the 150's. like to have the water around 77-78 now at about 80-82
Dave,
Having a temp swing of 4-5 degrees from day to night is better for coral than keeping at a steady temp. If anything happens with the temp, corals that are allready adjusted to the 4-5 degree swing can withstand a higher spike (every once in awhile) than a coral that is kept at a constant temp. There is articles on the web about the studies done. A coral that is kept at a constant 79-80 (example) degrees will bleach with as little as a 2 degree swing where corals that are used to the 4-5 degree swing can withstand as much as a 8 degree swing (one time swing over a period of hours not days).
I run 250's on my 80 gallon and the temp in the summer runs 81-82 during the day and 77-78 at night. I don't use a chiller but there was 1 or 2 days last summer where I had to use a small fan blowing on the sump, I only do this if the tank temp reaches 84. There was one time my 120 hit 85 when our AC was out and I just turned the MH's off and ran the fan on the sump. During the summer we keep the AC around 72-74 so I never really have to worry about the tank getting higher than 82. I run a 4" fan in the top of my canopy to draw the heat out which also helps.
Having a temp swing of 4-5 degrees from day to night is better for coral than keeping at a steady temp. If anything happens with the temp, corals that are allready adjusted to the 4-5 degree swing can withstand a higher spike (every once in awhile) than a coral that is kept at a constant temp. There is articles on the web about the studies done. A coral that is kept at a constant 79-80 (example) degrees will bleach with as little as a 2 degree swing where corals that are used to the 4-5 degree swing can withstand as much as a 8 degree swing (one time swing over a period of hours not days).
I run 250's on my 80 gallon and the temp in the summer runs 81-82 during the day and 77-78 at night. I don't use a chiller but there was 1 or 2 days last summer where I had to use a small fan blowing on the sump, I only do this if the tank temp reaches 84. There was one time my 120 hit 85 when our AC was out and I just turned the MH's off and ran the fan on the sump. During the summer we keep the AC around 72-74 so I never really have to worry about the tank getting higher than 82. I run a 4" fan in the top of my canopy to draw the heat out which also helps.