125 lighting

[tsdid]

I am planning on upgrading to a 125 gallon and will be using metal halides an t5, my question is will 2 250 watt mh's and 4 48 in t5's be enough lighting, and will the lighting be even across the tank? I would like to be able to get away with this layout due to price, but I also Dont want to put up the lighting an see that the lightingis uneven. Also how high should I place them off the water, I woulnt be able to afford a chiller for a while so I don't want the water to get to warm

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by tsdid
http:///forum/post/2867575
I am planning on upgrading to a 125 gallon and will be using metal halides an t5, my question is will 2 250 watt mh's and 4 48 in t5's be enough lighting, and will the lighting be even across the tank? I would like to be able to get away with this layout due to price, but I also Dont want to put up the lighting an see that the lightingis uneven. Also how high should I place them off the water, I woulnt be able to afford a chiller for a while so I don't want the water to get to warm
If you have plastic bracing you will probably have shadow lines with only 2 MH.If im not mistaken the area covered by most pendants is 24"x24" .I'm assuming your tank is 72" long?

 

[aquaknight]

Yea, it will depend on bracing. My 125 is unbraced, and I use a 48" fixture, 2 175watt halides with 2 48" VHO actnics.
Here are couple pics I was able to dig up from when I started my tank. As you can see, there is a tad of fade at the end of the tank. I really don't mind that too much as the tank will never be completely stocked with corals. My biggest fear was having the lights dim in the center, as my two island aquascape has that part open, but the lights do great for covering there.
I don't think you would need to run a chiller. I have a couple big drop in pumps too (2 Mag18's) and a couple powerheads and my water stays under 80°.

Latest:

 

[tsdid]

what brands do not have braces? Im looking at the aqueon reef readys and they have braces. two I think. So the only way to avoid shadows with that is 3 mhs

 

[wangotango]

I think Marineland/Perfecto tanks have only one center brace. It's a lot thicker though.
If you were using good reflectors like the luminarc minis then two 250w bulbs should be fine.
-Justin

 

[aquaknight]

Originally Posted by tsdid
http:///forum/post/2869257
what brands do not have braces? Im looking at the aqueon reef readys and they have braces. two I think. So the only way to avoid shadows with that is 3 mhs
Mine is an Oceanic from 1987. Glass is 5/8" thick. Don't make 'em like they used to

 

[veni vidi vici]

You could use 2 for now,just get a 3rd when you can.You may not even have to get a third,your T-5s may cancel out the shadows.I cant say for sure but maybe some else has this type of setup will chime in.

 

[tsdid]

Marineland and perfecto are pretty much the same aquarium right? It is really hard to find marineland or perfecto aquariums around here, Does anyone know if marineland is better than aqueon? is the corner flo more effective than the mega flow

 

[maxalmon]

The aqueon (sp) All-Glass on the 125 have a plastic brace that is divided so that you have 3 sections (2 braces) which is perfect for the tank. I had this tank with 3 MH and had no problems with coverage. As for the corner vs megaflow its not that much of a difference other than asthetics.

 

[bnutz244]

Don't want to jack the thread but I have a question along the same lines. I have a 125 with just a single brace across the top dead center and I was thinking how the light coverage would be affected with a setup of 2 - 250 watt MH with 2 - 48' nova extreme t5s for fill in does anyone have any pics of their lights with a similar setup or if anyone could run a test for me. By turning off your center MH and show two MH fixtures on either side with antics or t5s if you have them to give an idea of coverage. I would greatly appreciate it I am on a budget (

economy) for a bit and I am really trying to get my reef conversion going. I have held this FOWL for about 18 months now I am trying to step it up to my finished picture of a reef tank going through a sad phase now as I am doing alot of prep work in the tank.

 

[wangotango]

Then again, if you went with T5 you wouldn't have to worry about the braces causing shaddows...
Just a thought.
-Justin

 

[mr_x]

here is a picture of 2 x 150 watt halides over a 6', 150 gallon tank. i use two 4' t-5's for actinic supplement.

as you can see, the shadow from the single center brace, is almost non existent with the actinics on.

 

[bnutz244]

thanks for the responses I really needed to see that.