Compact Flourecent vs Metal Halide and tank change
 

I am moving my plants from my 120 Gal to a 55 Gal. Currently there are 6
40watt tubes above the 120. Giving me 2 watts/gal. I do not have CO2.

For the 55 I am considering 2 options.

Option 1: 2 55watt compact fluorescent tubes. Giving me 2 watts/gal.

Option 2: 1 175watt Metal Halide bulb. Giving Just over 3 watts/gal.

Both options would be house in a homemade fixture with a shiny aluminium
reflector.

I have a few lighting questions.

1) If I have sufficient light on my 120 gal (@ 2 watts/gal) will the same
ratio work for the 55 or will I need more/less light?

2) When comparing these two lighting technologies, does one CF watt = one
MH watt as far as plants care?

3) Which is actually better for plant growth? All the hydroponics shops
seem to sell MH exclusively

4) Which is better to for the fish?

5) Which is better for viewing the fish?

6) I am familiar with the heat generated by fluorescent, how much is
generated by MH?

Thanks

--
zooks

Compact Flourecent vs Metal Halide and tank change
 

On Mon, 21 Oct 2002 18:37:03 GMT, "zooks" wrote:

1) If I have sufficient light on my 120 gal (@ 2 watts/gal) will the same
ratio work for the 55 or will I need more/less light?

You will need a little more light. On larger tanks, you need fewer
watts per gallon to give the same amount of light.

2) When comparing these two lighting technologies, does one CF watt = one
MH watt as far as plants care?

For the most part, yes.

6) I am familiar with the heat generated by fluorescent, how much is
generated by MH?

About the same as fluorescent, but it's concentrated in a smaller
space, since the MH fixtures and bulbs are much smaller.


Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua

Compact Flourecent vs Metal Halide and tank change
 

I've heard the same thing regarding large tanks and how they need less Watts
per gallon than a smaller tank. I've always wondered why this is the case?

Ian


1) If I have sufficient light on my 120 gal (@ 2 watts/gal) will the
same
ratio work for the 55 or will I need more/less light?

You will need a little more light. On larger tanks, you need fewer
watts per gallon to give the same amount of light.


Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua