Metal Halides - Arcadia Mini?

[Jonno]

Hi there,

Looking for a lighting solution for my juwel trigon 190 and came across this which should fit just perfect, 150W too so should give me 3WPG.

Expensive though at £170 - £200, but if it saves me a shead load of DIY it may be worth my while. Anyone got one and are they worth it?

Jonno.

 

[Themuleous]

The trouble with an MH esp over a corner tank is that it will give a lot of light over a small area, i.e. in the centre of the tank, the edges are likely to get a lot less. If you want a high lgiht, you'd probably be better off with two 70w MH so you can even out the light spread over the tank.

A set of power compacts lights would also be a good alternative, and loads cheaper.

Sam

 

[Jonno]

Hi there,

What are these power compact lights that you talk of - and would they fit the trigon?

Thanks!

Jonno.

 

[Themuleous]

http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...ct-lighting.asp

They attach the same way as standard lighting tubes, with clips

Sam

 

[Jonno]

sounds interesting - didnt realise you could get lighting so small!

how do you attach the clips to the hood? sorry never had to do it as i've never had to upgrade lighting before.

the 21" should fit perfectly under the front flap and 16" one under the rear - what starter would be needed for this? Having said that, i could possibly replace the 16" with 2 x 12" and that will give me a higher WPG than just the 16 alone, but can 3 tubes be attached to the starter at the same time? any clarification would be appreciated

also - what width are they?

 

[aaronnorth]

Thats the idea of compacts, htey have 2 tubes that run along side each other for more light.
You can screw the clips in place.

the 2x 12's will give you more WPG if need it, if you have enough already then i wouldn't bother.
You can only run 1 tube of 1 starter unit (unless it is a double) and if you had a 36w tube you would need a 36w starter unit.

I have the 36w and the width is approx 2"/ 5cm but it depends on wattage, 8w version is 0.6"/ 1.5cm

If you do decide on these then get the daylight plus tube for plants and the beauty light for fish colours. If you have 3 then get 2 of the dayight+

Additional clips can also be bought for peace of mind. (2 come supplied)

Here is how i attached them:

 

[Jonno]

Thanks aaron!

Right so shopping list:

1 x Interpet Daylight Plus 55w T5 Power Compact Lamps 21ins. £14.59
1 x Interpet Beauty Light 36w T5 Power Compact Lamps 16ins. £8.99
1 x Interpet 36w T5 Power Compact Convertagear £17.95
1 x Interpet 55w T5 Power Compact Convertagear £32.95
2 x Interpet T5 Power Compact Light Clips (Pk*2) £1.45

Along with the 2 x Standard 28w tubes, that should give me 2.9WPG of light.

Does this sound about right?

 

[aaronnorth]

The juwel are different lenghts though so the 54w wont fit into the 28w and the starter unit (or whatever powers it) probobly wont run a wattage that high.

 

[Jonno]

The juwel are different lenghts though so the 54w wont fit into the 28w and the starter unit (or whatever powers it) probobly wont run a wattage that high.

yes noticed that just as i posted it hence my edit !

 

[aaronnorth]

Are you still going for:

1 x Interpet Daylight Plus 55w T5 Power Compact Lamps 21ins. £14.59
1 x Interpet Beauty Light 36w T5 Power Compact Lamps 16ins. £8.99
1 x Interpet 36w T5 Power Compact Convertagear £17.95
1 x Interpet 55w T5 Power Compact Convertagear £32.95
2 x Interpet T5 Power Compact Light Clips (Pk*2) £1.45

 

[Jonno]

yes i think so - going to see how my funds prevail

one thought - will this add much extra to the electricity bill?

 

[Kevstir]

i would go for a triplus instead of the beauty light if you can.

 

[Jonno]

i would go for a triplus instead of the beauty light if you can.

so you recommend a 1 x triplus and 1 x daylight? why is this?

 

[Kevstir]

with the triplus and daylight you will have a lighting system more suited to grow plants .

 

[aaronnorth]

yes i think so - going to see how my funds prevail

one thought - will this add much extra to the electricity bill?

According to the PFK electricity calculator, at 91Watts it will cost £30.89 @ 10 hours a day.