Testing MH lighting

i want to use HM lighting but don't want to run a chiller. do you think running them on my cycle to test the heat is a good idea or will it just cause problems. i plan on going with a 2x250 retro for my 90g,in a hood.

 

With my single 175watt MH, with a 20k bulb -- my tank does not need a heater at all. I dip to 77 at night and I'm at 79 during the day. That's on my new setup.

If your not using MH currently, but plan on going to one, you should really look into setting up a schedule to help your tank get used to MH so you don't shock them. Going from PC's to MH is the largest adjustment but not so bad from T5's to MH.

Personally,
I setup a 2 hour start cycle and increase it 1 hour a day till I reach my time frame I want.
Example:
Monday: 2 hours MH 9 hours T5
Tuesday: 3 hours MH - 8 hours T5
Wednesday 4 hours MH - 7 hours T5
Thursday 5 hours MH - 6 hours T5
and so on....

So in short, I think it would cause a problem to just add MH to a light cycle. Acclimation is needed when switching your lighting.

Hope this helps.
-Fritts

 

I wouldn't have them on during the cycle...you're just going to get a lot of unwanted algae

Once it's cycled, i would do the test then!! But then again, as Fritts explained...he doesn't have a big heat problem.

or you could just go T5s!!! *hint*hint*

EDIT: pardon me. did you mean cycle as in nitro cycle? or lighting cycle...