Lighting Check

[wolffam]

I have a 135 gallon reef tank, no corals as of yet. I would like to change my current lighting to the following. (3) 250 watt MH & (2) 40 watt 03 blue actinic. Would this be be ok for most corals? Any other suggestions.

 

[b_ball12_99]

Depends on what you want. Some corals require low lighting.

 

[sonny]

I am planning my 135 gallon reef, which I have now decided to up to a 180 gallon, and I'm going with 400 watt MH, because I want to keep SPS corals like acroporas and montiporas and euphorbias. I read in the "Sea-Scape" flyer (put out by Aquarium Systems) a couple of years ago that the 250 Watt MH's are not nearly as efficient as either 175 or 400 watt MH. That has really stuck in my mind. You could also go with just 2 400 watt if you want to keep some lower light stuff (like on the edges and maybe the middle depending on how you space the lights), and you'll only have to buy 2 fixtures instead of 3. Consider going to VHO actinic, since you can get 72 inch lamps, and one 72 inch lamp is 160 watts, like having 4 40 watt lamps. Just a thought.
Good luck,
Sonny

 

[burnnspy]

You should either use 2-10000K MH bulbs or run 2 VHO actinic with 6500K MH to ensure you have enough blue.
You lights will support all regularly sold corals, only very colorful SPS corals will be slightly compromised in color.
Obviously low light corals need to be kept low in the tank or shaded by other livestock or rock work.
BurnNSpy