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what is the difference between metal halide and halogen lighting? can u use halogen lighting for aquariums. it seems to be a lot cheaper and the watts are = or more. please let me know. i am using stock lighting which are only two 24" floresants for a 65 gallon tank. i know if i want coraline algae and coral to grow i need more.

welcome

think halogens are not used could be for two reasons, 1. they produce a ton of heat, i think more the mh. 2. and the most important is the Kelvin on halogen are low, you'll need something in the 6500k to 10000k to start, even higher if you want a blue light.

they should work on a fish only tank but you'll need to deal with the heat.

 Halogen lights aren't safe to be used 8-10 hours every day. Esp over water. They might produce harmful rays too.

agree with all the post above. the thinking that I have is if someone isn't already doing it then something must be wrong with it.

when I first got into this hobby I was also thinking of mercury vapor lights since I could pick them up at Home Depot. NOT!

 

btw, welcome.