Metal Halide in small tanks

[reefcowboy]

Hey guys,

thought I would share my experience on my recent metal halide purchase.
I have a tall 20 gal tank(custom made) to fit a stand I had.
Ive always struggled to get the proper wattage required to get the corals to the right lighting requirements, and they always seemed to slowly fall as my lighting(usually 3-4 w/gal) didnt keep them happy.
I thought I would then buy a metal halide, eben though I wasnt really willing to spend the money
I gotta say it was one of the best investments Ive made, I bought a Clip on 150w from the brand Haqos($220) and the anemone/corals are always completely open and the look it creates in the water is amazing.
If you are the kind of guy I had been, always trying to upgrade lights by adding more fixtures and adding wattage and still not getting what was needed, try to save some money and make the right purchase...Also the clip on's set themselves higher above water and do not heat up the water. My temperature stays the same all day. I would not recomend buying cheap ones, such as de Odyssea brand, that sit very close to your water level, do not have decent ballasts(the MH units' ballasts heat up during use) that could catch on fire, and also have cheap bulbs.
Anyways, thought would share my experience and encourage the reefers to get "once and for all" a good light that will showcase your corals thanking you back

 

[Gti_Leo]

T5HO all the way, alot of folk are still die hard halide fans but the truth is the PAR rating on T5 are better. only thing is the smallest they come in is 24" so anything narrower won't work to well

 

[jenatron]

Gti_Leo, T5HO fixtures come in 18" and 20".

 

[reefcowboy]

Maybe for that reason I got the MHd's. My 20 gal is custome base, tall and only 16", and that way I would not find decent T5's(at first i didnt want to spend the $ for the MH) that would fit my tank, I ended up buying 2x of the Current Extreme 18" T5HO that comes with 2x 18w(blue/10k), and even though it did have a nice light, still wansnt enough for proper coral growth(around 3.6 w/gal).
So I gotta say, this clip on is amazing, not only for the 150w that it provides, which are making my corals open ways i did not get before, but also give a WAY more intense light spectrum and shimmer to the water(the fixture comes with a 20000K bulb)