Thinking about MH

SO after a year with my Par38 LED bulb, im not too happy with it, and after stopping off at the LFS, i was offered a viper 150w MH for 60$ and my bulb. I'm not too familiar with MH, is this a good light/good deal?

 

over what size tank? and what k are you planing on going with?

 

Biocube 14, atm it has a 20k bulb, but im thinking 14 or 12k pheonix bulb.

 

are you not satisfied because its not bright enough? id get a second par38 rather then pay60$ and turn in my par38 bulb. you'll notice a difference in temperature in your bc14 and room temp if you get the metal halide

 

yea you will defiantly need a fan to keep your tank cool with the viper. which will increase your evaporation

 

Its bright enough, i just am not a fan of the cone shaped spread it has, the bases of my sps colonies never seem to get enough light, leading to bleaching. :-X A second bulb runs at 120$, so i'd rather just buy the MH.

 

Already have a fan which i can use, and topping off wont be a problem during summer as i am home throughout the day (mostly)

 

IMO, keep your $60 and save up and invest in a better LED system. No sense in buying used, old technology.

 

the viper's reflectors aren't as broad as a regular mh set up. so in a way is still a cone shape, just not as sharp, with 2 par38 you can set them on the sides aiming at the base of your corals

 

You can either buy it or save up for better LEDs. personally i love my HM but replacing the buld every year gets kind of annoying and when i upgrade to a larger tank I'm defiantly going to go with all LEDs. no matter what the call is yours both sides have pros and cons