MH for acros/montis

[fishfood]

What is a good configuration of lighting for acros/montis? I currently have a 55 tub with 285watts of vho and a 175 mh. I recently had a conversation with someone who switched all 4 of his mh from 175's to 400's and said he lost a lot of color in the corals. I was considering adding another 175 to the tank. Keep in mind that the tank is 36" wide. Could I get away with one 250? I realize that all acros/montis will look different under different lights. I just don't know how much i want to spend if i can get some good growth and color under 2 175 or 1 250. I think heat is a limiting factor because i'm already at 83/84 with the 175 and vho's. I'll obviously add another or a couple more fans but dont' know if i can afford a chiller. I welcome all advise and opinions because i need to make the decission soon.

 

[wamp]

If your already that hot... I don't know if another fan will help a whole lot.
How deep is the tank?

 

[fishfood]

The depth is 18 in.

 

[fishfood]

How much extra heat will a 400 put on the tank if i go with just one? Like i said though, the individual i talked to liked the 175s better on his tank.

 

[fishfood]

So a 250 saki could be sufficient. I'd only put one on and put the montis in the areas of less light.
Currently in my tank i have 3 acro frags. One of them was about an inch long when i bought it and yellow/brown. It now has put out about 4 branches that are purple with green polyps. The other one was about half an inch and had about 2 or 3 branches. It was a greenish purple in the tank i got if from and is now a peach base with green to blue tips and green polyps and has grown to about an inch and a half. They were both bought in july or august. The 3rd one still hasn't opened and it is brown. I got it last weekend. I'm not sure if my growth is great on these guys but they seem to be doing well and i don't know what color they are supposed to be.
I just have to face the fact that 400's won't work on my current set-up(without a chiller). I'm just wondering if its worth a try to replace the 175 with a 250 and try it.
Thanks for the help mac!

 

[blondenaso1]

I think I would go with 2 175s for your setup. If you place one on each side of your tank it would give you a better distribution of light throughout your tank. I have one 175w in the center of my 55g and it produces a real bright area in the center of the tank. I hope to add another 175 in the future.
As for your heat problems, what is the ambient room temp in your house?? All the fans in the world won't help if you are blowing 78-80 air over the water. Also, how high are your lights mounted above your tank?

 

[fishfood]

With the tank being 36" wide one mh doesn't look bad. The lights are 9" above the water. I think my one problem is the location of the fan. It is on the back of the hood blowing in. I need to figure out how to put it in the side of the hood so it picks up cooler air. How do i go about putting the fan in the side without messing up the hood?

 

[wamp]

Tank depth does come into play.... (Not arguing the other facts mac which are dead on) If you have a shallower tank, you can get away with a lower wattage halide providing you place them higher in the tank. With a deep tank, you need the intensity to reach the bottom..
One of the most awsome sps tanks I have ever seen, lighting was 2 175 w 6500K bulbs. And of course the supplemental actinics.. He had more acros than you could shake a stick at and the colors were out of this world. Growth rates were also amazing. It was a 90 gallon tank but, was custom built to only be 17" tall. It was awsome..

 

[ironreef]

Theres more than lighting. I've seen many crappy tanks with 400w. here a mere 250w sps tank. http://www.filtermania.com/75gallonreef/ here's a mere 175w 24"tall http://members.localnet.com/~greatna...r/3yrbday.html Theres debates about spectruim also. Some say more par is best some say spectrium ect... I've heard that for years. I've always used Iwaski halides. Then one day I read AB 250 bulbs had 112Par??? Whatever but close and to Iwaski at the time 124 but the ab had alot more violet less blue. But they saythe spectruim give different energy = violet give corals . more enery than yellow ect.... My point is after reading that I tried one ab bulb and my sps after 4mo turned deeper puple and green in that area. So I changed the other. I was looking at the sps without any light and noticed the change. After one year I'm thinking of changing back to 6.5k and see it theres a diff. But maybe I won't the 10k looks better and only cost $15 more ea. So many debates on lights but I know for a fact MORE watts don't always mean better.

 

[fishfood]

Thanks guys, you have been a help to me, or maybe have confused me more, but I now have a better understanding of what i need to do, I think! Great tank Mac!
Ironreef- What are the AB bulbs you are talking about? I'm still unsure of what bulbs i will get regardless of the wattage.

 

[bobothewizard]

Id just like to throw my 2 cents in here. Length and depth of your tank is what matters most in your choice for lighting. You want to be able to have your light go through your tank with maximum efficency. With a 18" tank your right on the verge of 250w MH bulbs. If it was less then 18" 175's would be fine, also if it was 24" or bigger 400's would be a must. Watts per gallon has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with what lights you need. Its just a reference point, a bad one at that. Like i said before, light intensity from the TOP of your tank to the BOTTOM. Bottom is important here since you can/want to place stuff on the bottom besides just placing them on the top of the rocks. In my opionion VHO lights alone are junk, dont even bother with them but if they are used in conjunction with MH lights then your in business. I use my NO, not VHO mind you, as actinics thats it. So basically for the best lighting setup in my opionion would be this. 1 MH light for every 2 feet of length of tank. i.e. 2 for a 48" long tank, 3 for a 6ft tank. Watts depend on your depth of tank, 175w for a depth of 18" or less, 250w for 18-24" and 400w for 24" +
As for the temperature of your tank, thats on the border line of being too hot. Try running a sump on your tank, that will make a whole lot of difference. Also have one of those clip on fans blow across your sump.
Hope this helped.

 

[fishfood]

I have a 20 gal sump!

 

[bobothewizard]

In that case then your MH lamps are too close to your water.

 

[saltyrich]

Let me get this right, and in the process create controversy I'm sure. You currently have 285 watts of vho and a 175 mh on a 55? Right? Are you currently growing acropora and monti under your lights? I'm having wonderful success with acroporas and monti under 300 watts of vho only on a 30 tall! I would think that the only issue would maybe be what kind of bulbs should you run to maximize success. Would adding another 175 or 250 make things better? Maybe. Is it necessary for you to grow sps? I doubt it. What kinds of current will you have at the top of your tank? How much sps do you want? Seems like your lighting is quite intense now for a 55. Is it imperative to jack up the intensity to the nth degree? Just curios. It seems to me that your lighting is intense enough. You've already got vho and mh. Maybe you don't need to add, but reconfigure and have the right bulbs. Just my opinion. Many will argue that in order to successfully have sps, you have to have super intense mh. I don't agree completely with that. But, you've already got a good deal of light on your tank. I think I would closely access my bulbs to maximize what you've already got.

 

[jonthefb]

ok guys i am gonna chime in here. i am looking to replace the 3 250watt mhs over my 135 reef. currently i have 3 250watt 665k mh's and 2 160 watt vhos that are my actinics. i have no idea what brand the ballast is, it came with the retro lighing setup from custom sea life about a year ago. anyhow, i am looking at replacing the two bubls on each end with an iwasaki 250 watt 10K bubl and the one in the middle with a german 20K bulb. any suggestions. i have also heard many good things about the blueline bubls, but was just wondering about your opinion with what i plan on donig. i will still run the 2 vhos as actinics. do you think this will be too much blue in the tank? any suggestions would be appreciated!
good luck
jon

 

[fishfood]

I'm getting another mh setup regardless because i'm moving most of the coral in the tank to a 29 i'm about to set up and want to put the 175 in that one, so i figure that if i'm spending the money to get a new ballast might as well get the best one possible.
The bulbs are 9 inches above the water. I would put money on that fact that the single fan isn't possitioned properly to be effective.
I am growing some frags but the color isn't like i've seen on the mother colonies of these frags.