lighting for a 65g????

ukcats

ukcats

Member
OK, here's the deal. I currently have a FOWLR tank. I have 2 actinic bulbs 18" 15 watt each and two 20k 15 watt bulbs. Thats a total of 60 watts for the tank. What kind and watt lighting would I need to get some coral? Mostly easy ones like shrooms. I was looking on ---- and I can get 192 watts of pc lighting for $147.50. My LFS sells the same thing for $250. I would like to here some opinions. Is 192 watts enough? Thanks.
 
mep

mep

Member
look at all possible future corals. save the 150 and get light(s) with no restrictions on corals
i to started out with pc but now i moved to mh
 
S

spsaddict

Guest
my 65 gal is gunna have (4) 55w pcs, (2) 175w mh, and (1) 400 w mh
 
ukcats

ukcats

Member
Would I find myself in a year saying..."why didn't I get more lighting"? If I go with MH should I get the 250? If I do will I need a "chiller" to control the heat? Also, how much would a chiller cost. My wife already hates the cost of my tank...but that ain't a bad thing!
 
ukcats

ukcats

Member
If I want 5 watts per gallon..doesn't that mean that I only need about 300 watt lighting? Would that limit the coral I could get?
SPS...am I correct in saying that you want over 1000 watts of lighting in your 65 gallon tank???
I am still pretty new but that seems like overkill...not to mention a power drain...lol.:notsure:
 
h2ocreator

h2ocreator

New Member
You need at least 5-6 wats per gallon. That is if you want to be serious! You are looking at around 390 watts. You would deffinatly make a mistake if you didn't go all the way the first time!
Becouse then you would be wanting more different kinds of coral.
 
ukcats

ukcats

Member
Well, with the 175 MH plus the 2-75 watt vho's that would be 325 watts or 5 watts per gallon. Right? Is that enough to accomadate most corals? I need to get this right the first time, my wife already told me NO...lol. Also, I want to purchase a canopy for it, does the light fixture just hang inside of the canopy or is there supposed to be a glass shield? And would I need a chiller, if so how much are they? Thanks again.
 
D

daniel411

Guest
What are the dimensions of your 65g tank?
For even light coverage, you "usually need 1 metal halide for every 2' of tank length. A common combination for 4' long tanks are 2- 150/175 metal halides with 2 atinic supplemental vho or pcs.
Watts per gallon is really just a loose catch all. Its not an acurate way of determining lighting needs. Tank depth, area, etc. are what really matters.
 
S

spsaddict

Guest
my 65? it is 36x18x24
and yes i will have over 1000 w of light over it... IMO i wouldnt do the 175s... get a dual 250w mh with dual vho for actinic suplementaion
 
S

spsaddict

Guest

Originally posted by UKCATS
Also, I want to purchase a canopy for it, does the light fixture just hang inside of the canopy or is there supposed to be a glass shield? And would I need a chiller, if so how much are they? Thanks again.

no glass canpy over the tank, that will inhibit light penetration.....
put a few fans in that hood and you should be fine.. i will have 4 fans over the 65. with a sump in a nice cool place :)
 
ukcats

ukcats

Member
The tank length is 36". I don't have a sump at the moment. So would I need a chiller. The tank is located in the basement and it never gets hot down there. If I would need a chiller how much are they?
 
ukcats

ukcats

Member
SPS if I would get that amount of lights that would be about $800-900 for just the lighting. Is there a less expensive place to get them. I have checked on ----. The cheapest I've found is about $400 shipped per unit. And thats for the 175's with dual vho's.
 
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