Lights for 120
- Thread starter misty7850
- Start date
oceana
Active Member
Originally Posted by misty7850
upgrading to 120 soon.. What type and wattage lights do I need. I intend to keep all kinds of corals. Do you all mix the MH with PC's, and or VHO's ?
i would run 2x400 MH and 2x110 VHO.
the actinic from VHO is much nicer the PC IMO
I run 3x400 MH and 2x110 VHO and love it
upgrading to 120 soon.. What type and wattage lights do I need. I intend to keep all kinds of corals. Do you all mix the MH with PC's, and or VHO's ?
i would run 2x400 MH and 2x110 VHO.
the actinic from VHO is much nicer the PC IMO
I run 3x400 MH and 2x110 VHO and love it
edwar050
Member
Oceana really runs enough watts to keep a mad mix of stuff. I like his lighting ideas/scheme but I imagine the wattage can be quite pricey. Currently setting up my 120 and running 1 20watt NO actinic 8-9 2 110 VHO actinic from 9-10:30 from 10:30 to 7 10K VHO from 11 to 4 175 Watt MH. I really like the mix of light for sun up/down and think it helps the corals adjust to the changing light as well as keeping the electric bill low. That and ARO ballast are pretty cheap. Midday I am still running 570 watts or 4.75 watts, and 220 Watt actinic. I plan on keeping a few SPS near the top of the tank. The two 400 Watt MH would be nice though -
acrylic51
Active Member
400W MH's are way overkill!!!!!!!!!! You will do nothing, but overheat the tank with that kind of light over the tank.....Do some homework and look around that 400W MH's are used, but in rare special occassions.......No real advantage to running 400W MH's unless the tank is super deep which it isn't....Check out Steve Wests' tank and yes he runs 400's but totally different reason.......250W MH's either SE or DE's would be plenty of light to keep anything you wanted......If you want the punch of a 400W MH why not go with the 250W DE MH which puts out the light the 400 would and it would save you electrically as well......
oceana
Active Member
Originally Posted by acrylic51
400W MH's are way overkill!!!!!!!!!! You will do nothing, but overheat the tank with that kind of light over the tank.....Do some homework and look around that 400W MH's are used, but in rare special occassions.......No real advantage to running 400W MH's unless the tank is super deep which it isn't....Check out Steve Wests' tank and yes he runs 400's but totally different reason.......250W MH's either SE or DE's would be plenty of light to keep anything you wanted......If you want the punch of a 400W MH why not go with the 250W DE MH which puts out the light the 400 would and it would save you electrically as well......
400's have there place. used to run 250's everything was great. then i went to 400's and the color and corals in my tank have gone crazy. every single shroom in the tank has split more time in the last 4 months then they have in 4 years. i can almost watch the sps corals grow by the day.
my lights are in hood mounted approx 15 inchs over the water surface. up until recently my tank sat at 84 at all times. this temp is fine IMO, now that i have alot more sps however i decided to drop the temp and to do that i needed a big ol chiller
400W MH's are way overkill!!!!!!!!!! You will do nothing, but overheat the tank with that kind of light over the tank.....Do some homework and look around that 400W MH's are used, but in rare special occassions.......No real advantage to running 400W MH's unless the tank is super deep which it isn't....Check out Steve Wests' tank and yes he runs 400's but totally different reason.......250W MH's either SE or DE's would be plenty of light to keep anything you wanted......If you want the punch of a 400W MH why not go with the 250W DE MH which puts out the light the 400 would and it would save you electrically as well......
400's have there place. used to run 250's everything was great. then i went to 400's and the color and corals in my tank have gone crazy. every single shroom in the tank has split more time in the last 4 months then they have in 4 years. i can almost watch the sps corals grow by the day.
my lights are in hood mounted approx 15 inchs over the water surface. up until recently my tank sat at 84 at all times. this temp is fine IMO, now that i have alot more sps however i decided to drop the temp and to do that i needed a big ol chiller
edwar050
Member
I recently saw a tank by a man in switzerland that runs 800 watts of t-5 and his sps growth blows halides away.
I agree with the 250 halides as well, they would prob be a better choice for most applications not to mention save on the electric bill and heating the tank w/o compensating a chiller. I think oceana's setup with 400 is nice bc of the simplicity of it. For example I am running 20 watt actinic NO startup, 110X2 watt actinic Vho, 110 watt VHO 10K, then 175 watt MH in my 120. Alot of light but hard as anything to cram into a 120 canopy.
I agree with the 250 halides as well, they would prob be a better choice for most applications not to mention save on the electric bill and heating the tank w/o compensating a chiller. I think oceana's setup with 400 is nice bc of the simplicity of it. For example I am running 20 watt actinic NO startup, 110X2 watt actinic Vho, 110 watt VHO 10K, then 175 watt MH in my 120. Alot of light but hard as anything to cram into a 120 canopy.
misty7850
Member
I think maybe I'll try the 250's considering, After all, 400's would be awesome I'm sure, but I need to keep my electric bill where I can handle the payments. Me and my little aquarium buddies, don't want to be put in the dark, cause we can't afford the light bill.. LOL.. thanks everyone.
oceana
Active Member
Originally Posted by misty7850
I think maybe I'll try the 250's considering, After all, 400's would be awesome I'm sure, but I need to keep my electric bill where I can handle the payments. Me and my little aquarium buddies, don't want to be put in the dark, cause we can't afford the light bill.. LOL.. thanks everyone.
this is true. our electric runs around 300.00 per month
but hey its worth it IMO
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
as you can see you can keep just about anything under halides.
I think maybe I'll try the 250's considering, After all, 400's would be awesome I'm sure, but I need to keep my electric bill where I can handle the payments. Me and my little aquarium buddies, don't want to be put in the dark, cause we can't afford the light bill.. LOL.. thanks everyone.
this is true. our electric runs around 300.00 per month
but hey its worth it IMO
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
as you can see you can keep just about anything under halides.
reefnut
Active Member
Originally Posted by acrylic51
My point Oceana was why run 400 SE MH's when they don't put out anymore light than 250 DE bulbs? And cheaper on the pocket in the long run
400w SE MHs do in fact produce more par than 250w DE... depending on the bulbs and ballasts. True the 250w DE MH is comparable to the 400w SE... but the 400w does out do them a little.
My point Oceana was why run 400 SE MH's when they don't put out anymore light than 250 DE bulbs? And cheaper on the pocket in the long run
400w SE MHs do in fact produce more par than 250w DE... depending on the bulbs and ballasts. True the 250w DE MH is comparable to the 400w SE... but the 400w does out do them a little.
acrylic51
Active Member
I stand corrected Reefnut, but many people still don't understand the relationship between the bulb, ballast combination in relation to PAR readings.......But can you honestly say the 400's are worth the extra heat and electrical consumption for what you might actually gain if everything is properly matched?
reefnut
Active Member
That depends on what one wants to achieve. I ran 400w SE 20k XMs on M59 ballasts which is real close to the same par output as some of the higher end 250w DE 10k ran on PFO-HQI ballasts... so I got the par I wanted plus the blue color I though I wanted. Turned out I didn't like the color of the 20k but a lot of people do.
I do agree that the 250w DE MH are the way to go. The bulbs last longer and in this size of tank they would do a great job.
I do agree that the 250w DE MH are the way to go. The bulbs last longer and in this size of tank they would do a great job.