72 Gallon Lighting VHO???

Heck I will just post it here... again.. a 48" fixture over a 72" tank... only 2 250w DE halides... 4 65w pc actincs.. with over 12 month old bulbs (ordering new ones soon). Ohh and sorry about the glare off the wall behind the tank, since I raised my halides I need a background now I guess.

 

The ends of your tank look dark

 

They arent dark except maybe near the top where the powerheads are.. again.. 48" fixture centered on a 72" tank... the ends are well lit.. i have frogspawn, anthelia, and even a montipora on the ends of my tanks growing nicely.. yes.. a 72" fixture would be nice.. but this lights my tank quite well with 12+ month old bulbs.. and I got it for nearly nothing in a big deal..

(I paid $250 for about 30 lbs of rock... 100+ polyps of whammin watermelon zoas.. about 60 green stripe mushrooms, a 4" blue crocea clam.. a purple tang.. a perc clown.. 2 chromis.. and this fixture)

 

You might want to change those bulbs ASAP the par is probably so low which will start to cause algea and your corals will suffer but MAN what a deal!

 

Point being.. odyssea are not bad fixtures

Any other 48" fixture with 2 250w halides.. 12 month old bulbs.. will look the same... at twice the cost... 250w mh are really only good for 24" of coverage.. my fixture is too short technically..but i paid nothing for it.. and have numerous corals growing throughout the tank..

Now if you are going to talk buying lumenarcs and your own ballasts thats a whole different ball game..

 

hmmm that we can agree to disagree on.... All fixtures are NOT created equal

 

Yeah bulbs will be changed shortly.. the dude told me the mh were about 8 or 9 months old.. i bought this fixture about 3 months ago used off craigslist.. the actinics are 12+ when I bought them.. lol they barely are on.. luckily i have never had algae in my tank of any sort.. I do have cyano a little now when my skimmer went offline :-(

Yeah talk about a deal.. lol.. i find the most ridiculous deals.. i got my tank, poweheads, pumps, sump, overflow, about 50lbs of base rock, heaters,and stand for $250 on a local trading site. I was looking for a sump for my 75g with corner overflow, drilled and plumbed i got for $75 and ran into it. lol I know how to get deals. Bought the 125 and sold the 75g.

Sorry to hijack the thread in sorts.. but.. it was about lighting. Unless i have a ridiculous amount of money, aquatraders will be where I shop. If you have the cash, I would go with the 48" 250w mh with 4 65w pc actinics off aquatraders.com its $329 free shipping. It is the exact same fixture I have and would look much better on your 4 foot tank.
Comes with 12 moonlights as well.. has 4 switches.. very flexible.
2 switches on the unit (one for front actinics.. one for back).. has a switch on each ballast.. the moonlights are on all the time (unless you run them on a timer as well).
Also if you do choose to use odyssea bulbs.. the replacement bulbs for this are only $68 total shipped to replace every bulb in the fixture. Can choose between 10k, 15k, and 20k halides upon ordering depending on your preference.

LOL i sound like i work for odyssea, cant help it. I am a poor reefkeeper and all about bang for the buck. Obviously I am not in China though

 

LOL you got me all wrong. I am not saying these are as good as a wicked system. I didnt say all fixtures are created equal.. I said a 250w mh is only good for about 24" of coverage.. so regardless of if they were a radium bulb on a wicked magnetic ballast, i would still have those "dark" ends near the top of my tank.

Bang for buck odyssea.

If I had money, 3 phoenix 14k bulbs in lumenarcs with magnetic ballasts and vho or pc actinics in a custom built hood

 

hmm u just read off my system lol but dont let me fool u i dont have money...really this hobby keeps me broke

 

LOL thanks for the debate man.. nice setup then!

I was broke before I started the hobby.. poor country folk in kentucky.. with kids.. lol
Girlfriend in college.. and I worked a measly call center job...