IceCap MH query

with all the talk of coral fragging and helping the reef i got to thinking and planning a while back. i was excited to start an aquaculture facility and i now have the financial partnership and backing i was looking for to do so. so here goes the first of many questions to follow ;D i am going to start small with a grow tank estimating 6' long x 2-3' wide and 12-14" tall. i want to use dual 250watts 14000K on the outside and a 400watt 20000k in the middle. the pendant and ballast will be icecap if anyone has heard or had good experience with them. has anyone? or know of a better brand/setup to attempt? this is all in planning and i believe planning is the most important step. i am so excited hopefully i can sell some coral to help minimize reef damage and maybe pay for the elecrical bill in the process. all comments are welcome. thanks fellow reefers

 

Being your in CA, you should drive up the Pacific Garden Supply, and buy yourself some Luminarcs. They're far more effiecent, re: light spread/concentration. I'd go with Luminarc III's or Minis for this. Give em a call, they'll do you more then right.

Pacific Garden Supply

Tell Dan(owner) I sent you

 

if i were you i would use 10ks as opposed to 20k for a frag grow out tank, youll get a better growth rate

 

pretty cool stuff gresham i might have to look into that. icecap is tempting me with a sell though, but nothing is conctete yet. anyone else have thoughts/ideas for my modest grow tank. by the way how much faster for growth are the 10000K compared to 20000K? i havent been able to find any literature on this yet. thanks again guys karma to ya!!!

 

I'd say nearly double the growth, but far less color IMO, on a 10K. I run 50KK DE myself.

Honestly, if you did your research on what reflector is the best, you'd find 10 times out of ten, the say Luminarc. It's the best on the market, go read Sanjays website, you'll understand then.

 

are these reflectors solely mogul or screw in base? they did not appear to be double ended HQI. just wondering what would be the best in the long run. i think i will utilize 10000K on the 400watt middle fixture 14000K on the outsides for less needy corals and for the look i am desiring. thanks again.

 

They introduced the AC3 mini w/ DE at the WMC a few months ago. They're not internet savvy really, so the site is lacking it.

 

those luminarc 3 look so cool. it sounds like they can accept double ended halide bulbs too so that is way cool. how are the ballast that they have there. it sounds like you have made quite a few purchases there gresh what do you think. or should i just buy reflectors from them? so much to decide on, planning is so fun!!!

 

Belive it or not, PGS is a major player when it comes to ballast manufacturers. I didn't get mine there, but they had very competitive prices on ballasts. The best bet for you, is to actually drive there. There's nothing like tlaking to someone in person, especially Dan and the crew. They know lighting, and love to tlak about it.

 

As far as the IceCap there good ballast but if you where planning on running 20K they tend to run them bluer than they already are. Other than that good ballast. Best warranty in the business.

If your tank is going to be 6' by 3' I would run 3x400W in luminarch
or luminmax(DE is out)
Sunlight Supply LumenMax 2 Mogul Pendant: Premium Aquatics

The big luminarch will give you more than enough spread.

If I had to pick a growth bulb I would go with 10K XMs. The XMs would look decent and allot better than the 6.5K Iwasaki. IMO but the 6.5K are just plan ugly.