How much light is too much?

[md8410]

How much light is too much? I want to get some metal halide lights for my tank so I can have corals but you can just about get a 400 watt setup for the same as you can get a 175 watt setup(almost) on E-bay. Therefore it would make better sense to get the biggest one my tank can handle since I know I will end up getting a bigger tank soon, but since this is my first saltwater tank I wanted to start small first at least untill I learn the ropes. My tank is a 39 gallon Eclipse tank it is 30 in. long by 24 in. tall and 13 in. wide. I know I am going to have to build a hood for it but that isn't a problem I run my own ******** trim business and I work with fine woods such as oak and mahagony all the time. I also figured I would just get a canister filter because when I get rid of the eclipse hood the filter is built in to it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[slick]

Well the first thing that comes to my mind is if all your filter equipment is going to be removed then your going to get a mini cycle. Unless you have a good amount of lr. Now as far as light goes. I would not put 2 400w MH's over a 39g tank. One might be ok but 2 would be too much IMO. A 400w is also going to put out a lot more heat than a 175W

 

[md8410]

I have about 25 lbs of live rock and my tank finished cycling about a week ago. It has two damsels and a hermit crab and a lot of life on my life rocks, have seen a little tiny star fish, worms, feather dusters, some kind of snail(or slug), and lots of coraline algae. I am wondering if the damsels might have eaten my little star fish though because I only saw him the first day I bought the live rock. I am planning on doing the hood, the lights, and the filter at the same time before I start stocking the tank with fish so if I get a mini cycle it wont matter. So a 400 watt MH wouldn't be too much? Also if I buy one on ---- and it comes with a standard new bulb do I need to get a 10k or 12k or will the standard bulb work? Thanks for the help!

 

[sebae0]

the bulb your gonna get off of ---- is only going to be a 4300k bulb which imo is to yellow for saltwater. i got dual 250 mh off ---- at a very good price but had to get new bulbs for the color i wanted.