is this too much light?

[made4water]

Im wanting to upgrade my lighting on my 46 g bow front. I currently have 2 96w pc. Im looking to get a fixter w 2 175w metal halide and 2 96w cf. Is this too much though? I want to do it right but i dont want to do too much. will i have any problems with this like excessive algae or plant growth or will i create a crazy evaporation rate?
Also what kind of metal halide 5.5K, 6.5K, 10K, 14K, or 20K? whats the difference?
I really appreciate any advice! Thanks

 

[fishfreak1242]

Originally Posted by made4water
http:///forum/post/2841481
Im wanting to upgrade my lighting on my 46 g bow front. I currently have 2 96w pc. Im looking to get a fixter w 2 175w metal halide and 2 96w cf. Is this too much though? I want to do it right but i dont want to do too much. will i have any problems with this like excessive algae or plant growth or will i create a crazy evaporation rate?
Also what kind of metal halide 5.5K, 6.5K, 10K, 14K, or 20K? whats the difference?
I really appreciate any advice! Thanks
2x175w metal halides should be enough. You might want to just get 1x250w metal halide instead of 2x175w. The differences in the bulbs is color. The higher the number the bluer it gets. Like 20k is pretty blue. 14k is more white with a blue tint, 10k is white, 6.5k is more yellow and 5.5k is almost red. I have a 10k bulb and find it to be a little too white. I prefer the 12 or 14k bulb.

 

[made4water]

Originally Posted by fishfreak1242
http:///forum/post/2841491
2x175w metal halides should be enough. You might want to just get 1x250w metal halide instead of 2x175w. The differences in the bulbs is color. The higher the number the bluer it gets. Like 20k is pretty blue. 14k is more white with a blue tint, 10k is white, 6.5k is more yellow and 5.5k is almost red. I have a 10k bulb and find it to be a little too white. I prefer the 12 or 14k bulb.
I appreciate the advice! Thank you!

 

[stanlalee]

I dont think its too much at all. the pc will allow you to view the tank without running the halides for extended periods of time like you tend to do when thats all you have (or you could run just MH and moon leds which is pretty much what I do for morning and night viewing). anytime you have high power lighting you have the potential for more nuisance algae growth than before but you shouldn't anticipate problems if you dont have any already. I use to have a 175w SE set up myself and I'd run one of the whiter high par 13-15k bulbs (Iwasaki 15k, aqualine AB 13k, Ushio 14k) with sunpaq 460/420nm dual spectrum pc. If you dont have fans now and you put some on to cool the MH you are definately going to see an increase in evaporation. on a 46g probably not that big a deal. having the pc will help with all those issues (evaporation, algae problems) because they will cut back on the time the halides are running (as well as help greatly with color while the halides are running).

 

[made4water]

Originally Posted by Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/2841652
I dont think its too much at all. the pc will allow you to view the tank without running the halides for extended periods of time like you tend to do when thats all you have (or you could run just MH and moon leds which is pretty much what I do for morning and night viewing). anytime you have high power lighting you have the potential for more nuisance algae growth than before but you shouldn't anticipate problems if you dont have any already. I use to have a 175w SE set up myself and I'd run one of the whiter high par 13-15k bulbs (Iwasaki 15k, aqualine AB 13k, Ushio 14k) with sunpaq 460/420nm dual spectrum pc. If you dont have fans now and you put some on to cool the MH you are definately going to see an increase in evaporation. on a 46g probably not that big a deal. having the pc will help with all those issues (evaporation, algae problems) because they will cut back on the time the halides are running (as well as help greatly with color while the halides are running).
Very informative! what would you suggest my light cycle be? I ve heard many say that the halides should be on during the day to simulate nature (dusk to dawn scenario), however thats when im at work! This is a problem because i want to see the tank while the halides are on. So when you ref. halides for morning and night viewing, it really caught my interest! So what is your cycle like?

 

[wangotango]

Originally Posted by made4water
http:///forum/post/2842693
Very informative! what would you suggest my light cycle be? I ve heard many say that the halides should be on during the day to simulate nature (dusk to dawn scenario), however thats when im at work! This is a problem because i want to see the tank while the halides are on. So when you ref. halides for morning and night viewing, it really caught my interest! So what is your cycle like?

Try 10 hours for your actinics (turn on one hour before, and off one hour after your halides), and 8 hours of halides. When you want the photoperiod is upto you.
-Justin

 

[cveverly]

If your 46 gallon has a center brace stay away from a single fixture. You will want one lamp on each side of the center brace. The light you have picked out sounds perfect to me.

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by made4water
http:///forum/post/2842693
I ve heard many say that the halides should be on during the day to simulate nature (dusk to dawn scenario), however thats when im at work! This is a problem because i want to see the tank while the halides are on
you can run your halides from 1am to 8am and off all day if you like as long as the tank gets at least 6hrs worth for photosynthesis. I run mine based on when I view the tank. Moonlights from 8am-12pm, halides from 12pm-7pm and moonlights again from 7pm-10pm. I do this because I'm at home during the day. If I work day shift I'd probably run nothing during the day, halides from 2pm-9pm and moonlights from 9pm-11pm.

 

[made4water]

Originally Posted by WangoTango
http:///forum/post/2842821
Try 10 hours for your actinics (turn on one hour before, and off one hour after your halides), and 8 hours of halides. When you want the photoperiod is upto you.
-Justin
Thanks Justin, I really appreciate it!

 

[made4water]

Originally Posted by cveverly
http:///forum/post/2842861
If your 46 gallon has a center brace stay away from a single fixture. You will want one lamp on each side of the center brace. The light you have picked out sounds perfect to me.

Wow I didnt even take that middle brace into consideration. You make a very valid point, and because of that i purchased the one with 2 175w 14k on each side..... Thanks alot!

 

[made4water]

Originally Posted by Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/2843272
you can run your halides from 1am to 8am and off all day if you like as long as the tank gets at least 6hrs worth for photosynthesis. I run mine based on when I view the tank. Moonlights from 8am-12pm, halides from 12pm-7pm and moonlights again from 7pm-10pm. I do this because I'm at home during the day. If I work day shift I'd probably run nothing during the day, halides from 2pm-9pm and moonlights from 9pm-11pm.

Thanks for the input Stanlalee! You make great sense!

 

[made4water]

Thanks to everyone you have all made this very easy for me. I went with the Hamilton 36'' with 2 175w mh 14k and 2 96w cf with 12 led moon lights. I cant wait untill it comes in. Ill be sure to post pictures. Thanks again.
Logan