Another lighting question

hkgar

Member
I have a 50 gallon tank lit with 110 watts of PC (2*55) and 234 watts of t-5 (6*39). I am considering going with 150 watt HQI plus 130 watts of PC. I know I lose 64 watts, but would I be better off with the HQI MH?
Thanks
Gary
 

bang guy

Moderator
The HQI will light deeper into the water. That might be better, might not. It depends on what you're keeping. Have you considered 250 HQI? About the same size and cost....
 

hkgar

Member
Bang Guy
What I was cosidering is the Aqualight Pro, it comes with one 150 HQI and 2 65 watt pc's plus 2 lunar bulbs. Maybe I should reconsider and go with a hanging pendant HQI of 250 and use either my t-5's or my pc's. I think I would use the t-5 fixture as that has 234 watts and the pc fixture is 110.. I'll lose the lunar but thatis a small price. I only have soft corals now - colt, button polyps, mushrooms, green star polyps and one green plate. I'd like to had some hard corals, acropora and motipora, so the 250 plus the t-5 probably is best. a total of 484 watts in a 50.
 

bang guy

Moderator
You'll definately want the MH for Acropora. The Montipora can do OK without it but you have to place it up high.
 

verde_ad

Member
What are the dimmensions of your 50 gal. The reason I ask is because an HQI fixture will really only cover about 2 sqaure feet effectivly. If your tank is longer then that then you will have to get two or keep all of your light demanding corals under the halide. Just something to think about.
 

caillou

Member
I put 2 x 250 HQI's on my 90 which would probably be the same length as your tank. I felt after much research and good advise from people here the 250's were the way to go. Little bit more $ but not that much when your making the switch to MH.
 

hkgar

Member
My tank demensions are 18 x18 x 36
If I need two fixtures, how about two 150,s rather than two 250's? Seems that 500 watts might be overkill for a 50 gallon?
 

howieumd

Member
Bang Guy, I have a similar question. Right now I have a 72 gallon bow with 2X250 10,000K and 1X150 20,000K HQI's. I'm upgrading to a 240 gallon, which is deeper. The dimensions are 72X24X31. I was going to get 3X250 10,000K MH and 2X96 Acitinic PC's. Are the 250's sufficient for 31'' in depth, or do I really need to look for 400W's? Thanks.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by hkgar
My tank demensions are 18 x18 x 36
If I need two fixtures, how about two 150,s rather than two 250's? Seems that 500 watts might be overkill for a 50 gallon?
I think you're right. Sorry, I thought you had a hex for some reason and they need a good punch to get to the lower levels.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by HowieUMD
Are the 250's sufficient for 31'' in depth, or do I really need to look for 400W's? Thanks.
Probably. If you keep your light loving corals in the top half you can get by with 250's. If you want to be able to keep clams on the sand then you'll need the 400's. The guideline is 24"+ should have 400's and you're well beyond that.
 
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