could this be to much
- Thread starter teen
- Start date
drew2005
Active Member
Originally Posted by teen
im looking at mh lighting, its a 400 watt mh retro kit, this is what it looks like.
i was thinking two of these on a 55 gallon, 24" deep. would that be to much, do u think i should go with one of them?
Im guessing 2 would be too much. Your looking at about 14 watts per gallon. Might lead to algae outbreaks and way to much heat. Better off with 1. Whats the Kelvin rating? 10k, 14k, 20k?
im looking at mh lighting, its a 400 watt mh retro kit, this is what it looks like.
i was thinking two of these on a 55 gallon, 24" deep. would that be to much, do u think i should go with one of them?
Im guessing 2 would be too much. Your looking at about 14 watts per gallon. Might lead to algae outbreaks and way to much heat. Better off with 1. Whats the Kelvin rating? 10k, 14k, 20k?
drew2005
Active Member
Originally Posted by teen
i get the choice of a 10k, 14k, or 20k bulb. also, how high are these supposed to be mounted above the tank, and at that height do u think it will melt the support that goes across the top of the tank?
If you rnot going to supplement with actinic then go with 14k. These are made to be put under your canopy. Depends how high your canopy is.
i get the choice of a 10k, 14k, or 20k bulb. also, how high are these supposed to be mounted above the tank, and at that height do u think it will melt the support that goes across the top of the tank?
If you rnot going to supplement with actinic then go with 14k. These are made to be put under your canopy. Depends how high your canopy is.
viper_930
Active Member
One halide bulb will not cover the entire width of the tank. See if you can get 2x150 or 2x250 watt double-ended halides instead.
The bulbs should not be positioned directly above the plastic supports at the top of the tank. They'll block a huge amount of light and cast a shadow straight down the tank.
The bulbs should not be positioned directly above the plastic supports at the top of the tank. They'll block a huge amount of light and cast a shadow straight down the tank.
mudplayerx
Active Member
800 watts of MH on a 55 gallon tank would be a ton of light. You will probably have a difficult time looking at the sand in the tank without feeling blinded. I'm not kidding.
oceana
Active Member
I Run 3x400 MH and 2x110 VHO on our 140.
I know the tank is bigger but the depth is the same as yours.
If you have a canopy it needs to be a tall one. Mine is almost 20 inches tall.
I used to run 3 icecap fans and my temp sat at 84-up to a whooping 90 on some days.
Needless to say I had to blow anther 1000 bucks to purchase a chiller. Now my tank sits at what I feel is a perfect 81.
Here is what I like about having so much lighting.
1. My corals grow like a weed. IE I can frag a monti and within a week not be able to tell where I fragged it
2. On some if not most corals the colors that come out of them is nothing short of stellar.
3. Almost every single person that comes to see our reef comments on how beautiful the lighting effects are IE: shimmer and rays
4. You know how when you’re looking at a coral you look to see how much lighting it needs? I don’t. lol
5. Clams open up and change colors for the better from the moment they hit the tank.
Here are some things I don’t like
1. When you pull up to my home it looks like we are harvesting a nuclear reactor. Every window in the house is glowing with a blue hue.
2 the heat in that room can get rather high. The tank can be kept at any temp I want due to the chiller but the room needed it own air unit and I still can’t get it cooler then 72
3. I do still get algae on the glass. In a week I would not be able to see through it if I did not clean it every day.<-- not a big deal really
4. With all my tanks and electronics together my power bill tops 300.00 every month easy
5. BULB REPLACMENT MOUNTHS!!! I could almost by a new lighting system for what it cost to replace my bulbs
So if you ask me the good over powers the bad. If I baby sat your coral for a month you would think I fed them radio active waste when you got them back. lol
I know the tank is bigger but the depth is the same as yours.
If you have a canopy it needs to be a tall one. Mine is almost 20 inches tall.
I used to run 3 icecap fans and my temp sat at 84-up to a whooping 90 on some days.
Needless to say I had to blow anther 1000 bucks to purchase a chiller. Now my tank sits at what I feel is a perfect 81.
Here is what I like about having so much lighting.
1. My corals grow like a weed. IE I can frag a monti and within a week not be able to tell where I fragged it
2. On some if not most corals the colors that come out of them is nothing short of stellar.
3. Almost every single person that comes to see our reef comments on how beautiful the lighting effects are IE: shimmer and rays
4. You know how when you’re looking at a coral you look to see how much lighting it needs? I don’t. lol
5. Clams open up and change colors for the better from the moment they hit the tank.
Here are some things I don’t like
1. When you pull up to my home it looks like we are harvesting a nuclear reactor. Every window in the house is glowing with a blue hue.
2 the heat in that room can get rather high. The tank can be kept at any temp I want due to the chiller but the room needed it own air unit and I still can’t get it cooler then 72
3. I do still get algae on the glass. In a week I would not be able to see through it if I did not clean it every day.<-- not a big deal really
4. With all my tanks and electronics together my power bill tops 300.00 every month easy
5. BULB REPLACMENT MOUNTHS!!! I could almost by a new lighting system for what it cost to replace my bulbs
So if you ask me the good over powers the bad. If I baby sat your coral for a month you would think I fed them radio active waste when you got them back. lol
drew2005
Active Member
Originally Posted by teen
i have an open top, but now im looking at these lights, tell me what u think.
i would have two of them, one on each side of the tank. there 250watts mh, so a totla of 500 watts which is 9 watts a gallon.
The pendants would work for you. I looked into those also, but it was a pain for me to hang them above the tank. Plus you can adjust the pendants slightly for heat issues or whatever. With the fixture youll probably be about 6-7 inches off the water. If you dont plan on using actinic lighting with the MH i would get 14k bulbs. Plus its HQI bulbs in most pendants so thats good too.
i have an open top, but now im looking at these lights, tell me what u think.
i would have two of them, one on each side of the tank. there 250watts mh, so a totla of 500 watts which is 9 watts a gallon.
The pendants would work for you. I looked into those also, but it was a pain for me to hang them above the tank. Plus you can adjust the pendants slightly for heat issues or whatever. With the fixture youll probably be about 6-7 inches off the water. If you dont plan on using actinic lighting with the MH i would get 14k bulbs. Plus its HQI bulbs in most pendants so thats good too.
allen1973
Member
don't buy those.There cheap.I bought 2,had to send one back,and it took many emails and calls for them to send a replacement one,and they didn't even send a similar one back to me.If I had to do it all over again,I would've never bought those.People are a pain in the butt do deal with.Thats my personal experience.