MH lights and E-ballast for 8 footer tank

[jazzben81]

hi guys im thinking of getting a MH light for my 8 footer tank...
however the tank height is 2.5" so im wondering abt how many watts is enough anf how many MH lamp do i need?
thinking of getting the pendant type to hang over my tank....
however i have seen many pple sucessfully incorporate the MH bulb into the lighting system of the hood... so im kinda confused...
regardin the e-ballast... wat is it actually and wat does it do?
i went to a lighting shop to check out abt the MH lamp pendant with bulb and a ballast not e-ballast type and was quoted 195.... think is it worth it?

experts pls kindly help me out...

[hwchoy]

can check out the bioplast lights from Systems and Control Engineering. Perhaps 2 × 4ft in series?

[jazzben81]

wheres bioplast?
how much is 4 feet MH?

[hwchoy]

see LFS list under systems and control engineering. no idea about price but the lights are damn nice german quality.

[jazzben81]

lets say for my 8 footer i would need 2 150 watts mh lamps 6500k be enough??
thats wat the guy at the lighting shop told me...
he say his customer used 1 Mh lamp for this marine fish tank and the tank is 6 feet...
and its enough!!! for coral somemore..
he even show me the invoice to prove he not tua kang....

[David]

Hi jazzben81

As what hwchoy has mentioned, you may need a total of 4x150watts worth of MH lights for this tank

[sherchoo]

Jazz,
For my 4ft (105 gallons), I'm already using 2X150W. IMO, my lighting config is more or less there.
For your 8 X 2.5 X ? 2X150W is definately insuffiecient. In fact 3X150W may not be enough. I personally would go for at least 4X150W.

[sherchoo]

You do not need E ballast for MH lights. Mine is not anyway. It tends to be warm but it's located in my cabinet so won't effect my tank temperature at all. If you insist on using e-ballast, you can actually order via the web which I think would be the same price or even cheaper inclusive freight charges. You can try asking EYE lighting to see if they carry any.

[jazzben81]

thanks for the pointers...
i would like to ask how do u guys install the VHO lights to ur tank if it is a open hooded one?
seems kinda hard to install lightings for me to see the fish at nights leh...
anyone can kindly give me some pointers on this?
thanks

[tawauboy]

open hooded as in no hood?
how about hanging the lights from the celing or making a frame to hang the lights from.

[hwchoy]

you can visit teo's 9ft to have an idea. or you can hunt around this forum for the teo 9ft planting pics.

[jazzben81]

thanks everyone for ur help!