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lights for Ken Guin's 110 gal tank
Metal halide lights would be a very economical alternative to your
application. Your comment about the heat from MH lights indicates the
persistent wrong information on the net about this. The heating output
of all types of lights is always exactly the same as the amount of power
consumed by the lights. 99.99% of the energy consumed is converted to
heat one way or the other. When you have 200 to 300 watts of lighting in
your living room regardless of the type of lamp you use, you are going
to notice an increase in room temperature usually.
In terms of efficiency, only special T-8 fluorescents provide more lumen
output per watt of energy consumed. In terms of PAR efficiency, I have
not seen any data comparing MH and fluorescent phosphor technology. Some
types of lamps achieve high lumen efficiencies by concentrating their
output into the visual response spectrum. MH and other incandescent
bulbs radiate on a broader, more uniformly distributed spectrum. Metal
halide lights would provide more light energy than the VHO lamps for a
given power input. Pendants are also very convenient to work with as
they allow you much better access to the tanks and you can adjust them
up and down to change the intensity.
Steve in Vancouver where the sunny weather is still hanging in there.