Halide or PC ?

[canadawest]

If the price is similar, I'd say go with the halide. There is no comparison when it comes to intensity, and over a 33 you could keep a greater variety of livestock with the 150W MH than you could with the single 95W PC.

A daylight spectrum halide paired with a couple NO actinics would give you great intensity and coloration, and cover the entire spectrum needed for keeping most livestock healthy and happy.

[BCReefer]

I have a 33 with a 175MH and I wish I went bigger. If you have the money go with a 250. Don't buy small and cheap if you can help it. Also think about the future. If you want to expand then you will already have a good start. Now maybe if the price is really good you can with both and then use a 10000K MH bulb with out going to actinics.

Sometimes that is what I wish I did, cause even with a 175 I feel I am under lighting my tank by about 25%.

Cheers,
Patrick

[StirCrazy]

Hmm amazing no one has asked what you want to keep in it and how deep of a sand bed you are planning.. a33 is only 18" deep so if you go with a 4" sandbed you are looking at a efective depth of ~13" of water. I would say that unless you want to do a mostly SPS tank then go with the PC's, whare as if you want to do mostly SPS then go MH. I am not sure what BCReefer is keeping but I know a few people that had to get rid of some nice LPS and softies as the MH was to much light for them. Personaly if they are the same price (the 150 MH and the 96 watt PC) and you are only getting one.. I would got for the 96 watt PC. the intensity is about the same but you will get a better coverage with the PC IMHO. so in the end it is up to what you plan to do..

hope that helps
Steve

[One_Divided]

I have gone from 2x 96w PCs to 1 175w 10k halide and 2 vho actinics to finally two 175w 10k halides and 2 vho actinics on my 33.. I'll post some pics so you can see some comparisons.. Personally I would go witha combo of PCs and the 150 if I were you.. Is this 150 HQI or just standard?

[naesco]

One dividend
In your opinion
Which combination makes the coral look better?
Which combnation produces more coralline algae
Wayne

[ganowicki]

I think I am going to go with the PC. If I went with the halide I would probably boil the water, as I don't have a fan set up in my hood. the PC I think I can use in the long run for my sump, whereas a 150w halide I probably would not be as satisfied and then I would end up buying a 250w halide; therefore costing me more money (which the wife does not appreciate). At this time I only want to get easy corals (1-4 on the 10 scale). I want to get more knowledge and experience dealing with those, and when I feel confident (and win the lottery) I want to go bigger.

Thanks for all the advice, you guys sure make a beginner feel welcome and not feel stupid for some questions that may be obvious or easy.

Thanks again

Gord N

[Aquattro]

Originally posted by Gord N:
Thanks for all the advice, you guys sure make a beginner feel welcome and not feel stupid for some questions that may be obvious or easy.

Thanks again

Gord N<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Gord, remember...if someone answers a "stupid" question, it's because they probably asked the same question before. None of us were born with any of this stuff. Good luck with the lighting!

[One_Divided]

naesco, coralline growth has taken off in my sytem in the last 4-5 months.. I am not sure if it was the lighting change or what. It may just have been my system becoming established. The PCs will grow darker shades of coralline and the halides grow pinkish to light purple. I am pretty sure the rate is about the same.. Coralline really doesn't have much to do with light IMO/IME..

[ganowicki]

I have been searching for lighting and I have an opportunity to get a 150w metal halide or a 95w pc. What should I go for? MH, PC or neither
I have a 33 gallon tank(for now)

[BCReefer]

As StirCrazy indicated it really does depend on what you want to keep. You need to plan not only for today or tomorrow but really for 6 – 12 months down the road. Almost everyone I know that is in this hobby has changed their plans from what they originally wanted to what they really want. I for one started off with a thought that I would never ever get corals as I thought they were to advanced for me. Well after 6 months of a FOWLR I wanted some corals. Because of my lighting I feel that I can only keep mid lighting level corals but I see some really beautiful corals that I would love to have. No can do since I don’t have strong enough lighting.

I am far from an expert and the only advice that I feel experienced enough to talk about is what someone new to the hobby should look at when picking equipment, and I base this upon my experience. From the amount of money I spent on my mistakes I could have started with a 60G system, proper lighting etc and did it right the 1st time.

There really is no right or wrong answer just do what you feel is right but don’t forget to think about tomorrow (I think there is a song in there somewhere?)

Cheers,
Patrick

PS - to really know what you might need, go down to J&L and look at thier corals. Pick what you really think is neat and ask about their lighting requirements.

[Bob I]

Myself, I think the dimensions of the tank are important. If it is a standard 33 one 150W MH is probably not quite enough because of the length. You can get a 36" Allglass top that is 110w PC. I myself have a 24x18x18 33 gallon tank with one 175w MH pendant with only soft corals and mushrooms, and Polyps. I am currently using an old 5500K Coralife bulb, because my new Xanium H2 bulb became horribly dull in two months of use. To date everything is still doing well. :D