250w metal halide on a 29g

canadianbudz604 · #1 07-09-2013, 12:17 AM

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?

michika · #2 07-09-2013, 02:00 AM

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.

canadianbudz604 · #3 07-09-2013, 05:15 AM

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

FishyFishy! · #4 07-09-2013, 01:38 PM

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.

michika · #5 07-09-2013, 07:02 PM

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.

canadianbudz604 · #6 07-09-2013, 08:03 PM

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?