HQI Lighting?

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Rick_B

HQI will put out approx. 1.6 times the candle power of a mogul halide, and the colour spectrum will not fade as fast as a mogul will.

Rick

not true at all, a good mogal bulb on a HQI ballast will put out more light than a DE bulb over a given area and be just as intense. as for colour you would be pretty hard pressed to notice a difference in longevity also as long as they are on the same ballast.

Originally Posted by Rick_B

The HQI should however be mounted no closer to the tank than 9-12 inches.

Rick

you can mount them as close as any other MH bulb, I have been running my Mogal bulbs on HQI ballast 5 to 6" above the water for over 2 years now. it depends on weather you have a lot of splashs and such in your tank.

the only advantage the DE has over a Mogal (SE) is that it is smaller and comes in a housing so you can actualy mount it lower to the water as it has a protective glass on the housing.

as for retrofit kits yes there are lots out there doe DE bulbs you buy the minni pendant and mount it inside the canopy (going to need about 12" of space between the water and the top of the canopy as they are aprox 6" tall, for running a SE bulb on a HQI ballast you can use what ever socket and reflector kit you like and just buy bare ballast and make your own case or buy a PFO ballast already cased and plug them in.

Steve