?Light Penetration?

[divetroop]

Which type of lighting system has more penetrating power? Metal Halides or Power Compacts? I have a 75gallon tall tank ( 31 inches high).

 

[hurt]

That's an easy one-MH all the way. With MH lights you can keep just about any coral or anenome. Something you can't say for PC.

 

[hurt]

For a tank as deep as yours, I would go with two 400's and you should be able to keep any coral/anenome-if that is your goal.

 

[chrisnym]

mhs are better, if you have the cash for em, get em now. you will thank yourself later on. i have PCs and i am planning on upgrading to MHs as soon as i save up for em.

 

[crazyzeus1]

Do the Halide lights fit into the same fixture as the Actinic lights? Or is it a whole other light fixture?

 

[chrisnym]

no you usually have to suspend them aboe your tank, to reduce heat exposure. i forgot the exact space between them and the water level. I would have a problem with them because i have a canopy

 

[crazyzeus1]

Originally Posted by ChrisNYM
no you usually have to suspend them aboe your tank, to reduce heat exposure. i forgot the exact space between them and the water level. I would have a problem with them because i have a canopy
Our current actinic lights sit on these "plexiglass" type plastic pieces that run across our tank. So they sit above the water about 4 inches. Is that what a halide would do as well?

 

[chrisnym]

i am pretty sure that the hallides have to be higher. i am sure someone who has experience with halides will answer your question.

 

[crazyzeus1]

Thanks for the reply.

 

[viper_930]

Halides run very hot and may melt or bend the plastic. MH are a totally different type of bulb so you'd have to get another kit anyways, unless you can retrofit it to run with your PC lights.
400 watters are good, but for almost the same intensity you could go with 250 watt double-ended bulbs to save on electricity.
You'd probably want to raise the lights up more than 4" to get more coverage. MH bulbs can only cover 2 sq. feet. There's pendants that you can hang from the cieling, or get a canopy for your tank and you can stil a retrofit light kit under there.
I have a hood (metal) and it sits on stands above my tank. I have a 150 watt DE MH bulb and 2x65 watt PC lights. They only sit about 4-5" above the water, but I have a glass covering the hood with fans to redirect the heat.

 

[hurt]

You say your current setup of "actinic lights", that doesn't tell me what type of lighting they are. Actinics are just the color of the bulb(spectrum of light-nanometers), not the type of lighting. Do you have NO, VHO, PC, T5?
And yes MH do need to be higher off the tank. They put out some heat. I have 2 250w MH's that are 10K in color with 2 110w VHO actinics in my canopy. They are at least 9 inches off the water. Here are a couple of pics, hope this helps. The first is with only my VHO actinics on. The second is a pic with neither light on. And the third is a pic of my tank with both lights on-MH(10K) and VHO(actinic spectrum)

 

[viper_930]

This thread might give you some more ideas.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/172932/mh-pics

 

[crazyzeus1]

Does this answer your question:
36” Actinic White Fluorescent Light Bulb
36” Actinic Blue Fluorescent Light Bulb
That's what it is listed as on our invoice from the LFS who set up the tank for us. Otherwise, I don't know what I have. I should call them & find out...

 

[hurt]

Do you have any pic's of them? Then I could help you out

.

 

[crazyzeus1]

Do you mean a picture of the fixture that houses the lights, or the bulbs themselves? Sorry...I am really an intelligent person...but I have such a limited amount of knowledge about our reef tank!

 

[hurt]

The bulbs specifically, but the fixture will also help.

 

[crazyzeus1]

I just looked at the clock...it's 11:00 here & baby will wake me up at 5:00! Must go to bed. But I'll take some pics in the morning & post. Thanks so much for your interest in helping!