250w metal halide on a 29g
 

Hey I've got a spare 250w metal halide pendant and ballast laying around, if I had a 20000k bulb and hung the mh 10-12" above my tank (30x12x18 deep) would this be Way to much light? I am currently running a 4x24w t5ho setup. Bulb cost is damn expensive though at $30 a pop. I also love the shimmer from metal halide. What do you guys think?

Nope, not too much light! Been there, and done that - its works great! As for costs...I have no comment, I run 3 250s :) Just be cautious about how much heat the MH bulb will put off.

Thanks
 

Thank you. How long per day should I run the halide? It will be my only light

The best coral growth and color I have ever had was from a 250W metal halide over a 29 gallon bowfront. Supplimented with a 2X24W actinic T5 Fixture. It was amazing. It was also only hung 4" over the surface.

My light schedule was T5's on from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm and Halide on From 12:00pm to 8:00 pm. Worked great for me.

I used to run my halide somewhere in the range of 9-10 hours per day. I believe it was my only bulb at the time. I tinkered around a lot with 7-9 hours vs 10-12 hours of MH to see what happened...nothing did, except for growth and pretty colours. Oh and my utility bill probably went down and up too at the same time.

Halide
 

I was gonna buy a blue submersible led bar for supplementation but I like the clean look of the pendant hanging over the tank so to hell with it. I've got a 4 bulb t5 for back up too if the halide doesn't work out. How much will the power bill go up I wonder?

You may run into heat issues with that though :)

Probably quite a bit because your most likely going to need a chiller.
As Brad said you might have a heat issue.

Chiller
 

If I blow a big Fan across the water and the mh is 10 inches above the tank u think ill still need a chiller? If I need a chiller there goes that idea

I have never had a chiller on smaller tanks with halides, and have never had temperature issues at all. It all depends on your house temp. If it fluctuates a lot and gets super hot in the summer time, you will have problems for sure.

My house luckily stays constant enough to avoid any temp swings.

That would work fine. But house temp will make a big difference. I know you guys in BC get pretty darn hot out there.

Summer
 

My house does get fairly hot in the summer, I think I'm going to wait until summers over to put this thing on my tank. That will give me enough time to get an air conditiner going in my room where the tank is before next summer. Damn I hate waiting:lol:

Wow
 

Oh man I hooked the halide up and put it over the tank for a few minutes its like 5 times the light I've got now and it was 14" above the tank. But it defiantly will get hot on a summer day. Love the look of it though

Acclimating
 

My tank is packed full of softies, now how do I acclimate them to the light? Just hang it way up high and lower it as time goes by?