MH lighting advice for 125G tank

rnk9394

rnk9394

Member
I need your advice on my lighting purchase. I will be buying a 125G tank in the next couple months. My question is do I want to go with 2 - 250 watt MH bulbs or 3 -175 watt bulbs when I purchase a retro kit for my canopy. What is better besides just the watts differences.
Positives/negatives of each would be a great help
Thanks
Rick
 
cveverly

cveverly

Member
In my opinion two 250 watt is a better option. I have two 250 on my 125 and my tank is much brighter than my friends 125 with two 175 watt. The 250 seem to push the light much deeper.
Like I mentioned above, I have two 250 watt and I have 2 96 watt 50/50 between the MH to help fill any light voids in the middle of the tank and add blue color.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
General rule of thumb for MH and you can do a little research on manufacture specs is that MH should be placed every 2' so with the tank being 6' that would mean you'd need 3 theoretically, but you might try 2 and get away with it, but I think you will have major shadowing in the tank.
 
rnk9394

rnk9394

Member
I've read that you should have MH lights every 2 feet of tank length, but would 3 -175 watt bulbs work OK. I'm not trying to be cheap just want to get the most bang for the buck as my budget is not unlimited.
Again thanks for the info and help acrylic51
Rick
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
I take it the tank is 18" deep? If it's 18" deep you could slide by, but if it's 24" deep I would bite the bullet and go with the 250 you'd be happier in the long run...the wallet might not be at first, but it would pay off though
 
blemmy_guy

blemmy_guy

Active Member
i have a 125, and ive got thee 3 , 150 watt double ended, with 4, 96 watt actinics. and it has done wonderfull and looks great. Just an fyi. go with what ever you feel the best about yourself. I keep a lot of corals and so far they all look great under the 150's.
goodluck todd
 
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