Switching Over to MH [Update]

Well, I got my bulbs, just waiting on the rest of the stuff. The ballasts, pendants and hanging kits shipped from the manufactuer so I need to wait a little longer. I'm getting excited to put these up now.

 

I cant wait for the before and after shots
and your reaction lol

 

Update: My pendants, ballasts and hanging kits are on their way. Should get here by Friday. I'm hoping to set up the system this weekend and take pics for everybody.

 

Got my equipment today and set it up. I still need to tweek the pendants and the heights, but I love it so far. You can't see in the pic, but I have great shimmer lines and it's bluer then it looks. I will post more pics after burn in and if I can see a difference in my corals.

 

can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

Looks good keep us posted on how everything is doing under the new lighting.
I have seen quite a bit of changes in the couple weeks that I have been running my MH. I just moved my tank at the same time so some things are still in shock, but once the tank stabilizes again I think it will look better than ever.

 

ok, silly question, is the kind of metal halide lights that can go on the outside of a house the same kind you can use for the aquarium? just curious

 

yes and no. you can probably use the same ballast, although it may get loud and hot since its not made for indoor use. Also you want a bulb made specifically for a reef.

 

thank you very much =)

 

Well, I'll give a little update. My new lights have been up and running for 3 days. I haven't noticed any visible difference in my corals, but that should be expected for only being on for 3 days. The biggest difference is of course the overall appearance of the tank. It looks much more natural then with the T5s. Everyone who has seen it has agreed. T5s IMO can't compare visually to MH, mainly because of the shimmer effect. Having had these on for 3 days, I don't know if I could ever go back to T5s. The other good news is that I have had no heat issues what so ever. Given I am only using 150w MH, they have not raised my tank temp any more then the T5s did. I plan on lowering them to about 4-5" above the water surface and seeing what that does. Right now they are about 7" above the water right now. I'm looking forward to seeing how my corals respond in the coming weeks. I'll keep you guys updated and will take pics when appropriate.