halide lighting for q 55gal tank

[corallover23]

is 800 watts to much for a 55, it will be mounted to a canopy, each lamp is 400 watts i was going to buy 2 is this ok?

 

[corallover23]

i want to be able to keep any coral, i will place lower light corals at the bottom of the tank.

 

[schnutzzy]

I have sunpod 2x 250's on a 72 bowfront and it is awsome. It should be ok, but how the tank will look IMO will depend on the K rating 10, 14, 20 on how blue you want it and how fast you want stuff to grow.

 

[jrthomas40]

i think that it is overkill...you can keep anything you want with 2x250s and wont have to worry about heating issues to much or power bill being super high...i have 2x250s on my 90g 15inches above the water have have no problem with keeping anything

 

[jrthomas40]

you will be able to keep whatever you want but in my opinion it is way OVERKILL you can get the same results with 2x250s or even better yet 2x 175s...and you will still be able to keep whatever you want...i have 2x250s on my 90g 15inches about the water surface and can keep it all...my low light corals thrive at the bottom of the tank and higher demanding ones in the middle-top...save yourself some money on the powerbill and the cost of the setup/replacement and go with a lower wattage bulb

 

[spiderwoman]

IMO that is overkill for 55g. You will have to keep the light way off the surface and have big heat issues.
I'll have 2x400W on 150 and I was told that it's almost too much.

 

[jrthomas40]

even on that 150g i would still do either 3x 250s or 3x175....i would ONLY do a 400w bulb if i had a REALLY deep tank

 

[corallover23]

ok i am going with 2 175watt 20k fixtures for my 55. thanks for all the help

 

[jrthomas40]

ok cool....not of caution...if you already have tank inhabitants fish/coral you will need to light acclimate them before blasting them with the new intensity of the halides by either using door screen or something else that will kind of shade the light for a few days until they get used to the light....and it is always best to try to keep your halides 8-12 inches off the surface of the water

 

[corallover23]

NOPE THIS IS FOR ANOTHER TANK LOL, I STILL HAVE TO START THE CYCLE, I AM ORDERING ALL THE PROPER STUFF BEFORE I EVEN START.

 

[mr_x]

good choice. you would have ended up bleaching everything in the tank with those 400's.

 

[corallover23]

I KNOW YOU SAID 55GALLON IS HARD TO AQUASKAPE BUTTTTTTTTTT,
I LIKE THE SIZE AND I GOT THE LIGHTING FOR A REAL GREAT PRICE!