finnally upgraded and need help

fly75

fly75

Member
I finnaly added a dual 175 watt halide retro set up to my 75 gallon. I still have 260 watt coralife pcs. I am currently acclimating my tank to the new lighting over the next couple of weeks. My questions are; Would there be any benifit of keeping the pc's on the tank or would they be fine with out? The pcs are about 6-7" deep over the top so I'm not sure if they block out any usefull light from the halides? The pc's are about 4" above the water and the halides are 9" above. My other question is am I still limited by my lighting or would I be ok with some acropora and c. clams (which is my ultimate goal)? Thanks in advance!
 
lubeck

lubeck

Active Member
Boy oh Boy is that a good question... I have been messing with my lighting since January.. I had the pc fixture and then bought the mh fixture.. this has given headaches let me tell you..
I ended up taking apart the pc fixture but before that i set the pc fixture as far back on the tank and hung the mh fixture toward the middle front.
to answer your question i would say yes the pc fixture is blocking some of mh lighting. But when you are done acclimating you shouln't have that much difference in height if you bring your mh down to 6". I will tell you, depending on what color mh bulb you get, the pc's will help out ALOT to bring color to your tank.
I would say go for it and see if you can get it just right without blocking either lighting, more so the mh.
you can keep sps and clams in your tank. But they must be kept high and your flow and filtration has to be suffiecient. how deep is your tank? you may want to research which clam is less light demanding, although if your live rock goes close to the top you could get a crocea.
 
fly75

fly75

Member
I went with 14k mh bulbs and love the color. The color combo with the 10k/actinic PC's along with the halides is also really nice. I thought 8-10" was the norm for hanging MH over the tank? Just not sure if I am gaining anything with keeping the pc's, with the exception of 260 watts wich adds to the watts per gallon. But does that add to what I am able to keep in the tank???
I really, really want a couple of crocea clams. I was trying to avoid needing things "only at the top" of the tank. I guess mushrooms and zoos would be good along the bottom?
When you say you took your pc's apart, did you gut them and make more of a retro installation of them?? Would you happen to have pics?
 
rick58

rick58

Member
Near the top is probably not as accurate as within direct lighting of your Halides. The 175s will penetrate your tank quite well from directly above. As you angle away from the lights the penetration weakens.
LPS - Without seeing the setup I would guess you would be able to keep most LPS nearer the bottom (preferably not directly under a Halide).
Soft corals just about anywhere.
SPS - anywhere with relatively direct light from the Halides. This could include some directly under the halides nearer the bottom of the tank and most of the top.
SPS/Acros - high and under the lights.
Clams - should be ok with direct light (even on the bottom).
The 175s will handle most of your lighting requirements and there is little need for the others except possibly for actinics.
I currently run 250w halides in a 24 inch deep tank. Mine are 9 inches off the water. I keep all of the above.
Hope this helps
 
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