mh.. how long???

mr. tuna

mr. tuna

Active Member
hey, i am getting a metal halide/power compact fixture. it will have 250 watts of metal halide, and 2x55 watts of power compact. But my question is.. how long would i have to leave the metal halides on??
My tank is a 92 gallon corner (25'' deep).* i am going to keep 2 squamosa clams on my sandbed.
Thanks,
Adam
 
wannabfish

wannabfish

Member
is your tank up and running already? do you have any corals, fish or other inhabitants in it yet? if not the best thing to do would be to acclimate your tank to the lighting slowly, and increasing the length of time your lights are on over time. Also when your mh's are new, they will have a different spectrum of light for about the first 100 hours, which will have an effect as well. i think if you could give a little more info on the tank inhabitants it may be an easier question to address.
 
mr. tuna

mr. tuna

Active Member
I have:
* one hammer coral
* one branched hammer coral
* one gorgorian
* 2 true percs.
* 1 flame angel
* one bicolor angel
*3 damsels
* one dwarf lion
* one blue hippo tang
* one anthias
And a pair of coral banded shrimp.
I am going to hang my mh 10'' above the glass top.
 
wannabfish

wannabfish

Member
i guess my next question would be what type of lighting do you presently have, and how long are you leaving them on presently? just in opinion of mine would be to cut the duration of lighting in half almost. id say 3 to maybe 4 hours to start with. as you will see, mh is very intense light, and the abrupt change could easily bleach some of your inhabitants. then slowly increase your duration of light to your full time of your choice, and one that seems to be most enjoyed by your tank inhabitants as well. a good guess would be 8 to 10 hours. you will also notice a huge difference in the look of the light as they begin to age. your spectrum will turn from a red to a nice blue in due time usually fully in 100 hours. Good luck and im sure you will be happy with the results of your new purchase.
 
mr. tuna

mr. tuna

Active Member
oh ok.
thanks for the advice!!! :D :D
.. and i have a 2x65 watts of pc now, and i leave it on 12 hours a day.
 
spmnarciso

spmnarciso

Active Member
mr tuna, how are your hammer corals doing with that little amount of light, if you don't mind me asking? Or is that why you are upgrading your lighting?
 
dburr

dburr

Active Member
wait... the metal halides should be on 9-12 hours!!
IMO, I would stay to the low side and use the atinics to fill in for a full 12 hours a day.
 
mr. tuna

mr. tuna

Active Member
oh ok, my hammer is doing really good. He is open, and he is actually very happy with that amount of lighting. the reason why i am upgrating is so that i can keep a squamosa clam, and some corals low near my sandbed.
 
spmnarciso

spmnarciso

Active Member
Has your hammer grown? And do you have it up closer to the light? Correct me if I am wrong you only have approx. 1.2W per gallon. I thought you couldn't have anything other than mushrooms and some zoo's, with that amount of light? The reason I'm asking, not to bust your chops, but I have about 2.5W per gallon and I was wondering if I could add more variety.
If anyone else has any opinions about this let me know.
Good luck with the new fixture. MH are great from what I've seen. I would love to add some, but I would have to redo my hood.
 
goliath

goliath

New Member
1 more thing.If i were to see you in person i would punch your teeth out just because you look like morone
EDIOT
 
spmnarciso

spmnarciso

Active Member

Originally posted by goliath
1 more thing.If i were to see you in person i would punch your teeth out just because you look like morone
EDIOT
Who are you talking to like that?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top