mh question

[viet-tin]

will 2x250w mh be good enough to keep sps and clams happy? or should i get 3x250w?

 

[viet-tin]

i have a 100 gallon 60"x18"x21". The lights will be hanging about 12" above my tank.

 

[tizzo]

How many feet across is your tank? If it's 4 feet, then 2 lights should suffice. If more then I would go with 3.

 

[tizzo]

You beat me to it!!

 

[viet-tin]

thanks for the response. Just wanted to know if getting 3 would be a waste.

 

[viet-tin]

which would serve better as actinic supplimentation, vho or pc?

 

[russianspy]

I got my new DE HQI MH

Done gloating

 

[russianspy]

I say VHO as an atinic supplement, Has better color, cheaper over time, And is the same spectrum as PC but better color, so My choice VHO

 

[viet-tin]

heres another dumb mh noob question. would it be better to mount my lights vertically or horizontally?

 

[tizzo]

Do you mean up/down like pendant style, or do you mean from to back, when you say verticle??

 

[viet-tin]

it will be in my canopy so i was wondering like
____ . ____
_ _ _ or l l l
____ . ____

 

[viet-tin]

so i guess like pendant style?

 

[viet-tin]

if i were to get 2x250w mh and 2x110 vho would that be enough for sps and clams?

 

[tizzo]

Considering you're depth, if you put the clam closer to the light instead of in the middle, I would say they should be OK.

 

[reefer44]

i would really recomend 4 ll ll (in that arrangement)
or 3 _ _ _ (in that arrangement)
if they are DE bulbs i would try to get them 10 inches from the surface if you have 4...and about 8 inches if you have 3
(if you go with four i would have a set of 10k and 20k in each pair.....total cost would be about $600-800 and you wouldn't need actinics...........and if you go with 3 it would be about $500-$700 including actinic)
also if this is your first tank...i would read and read about sps tanks....they are not for a someone who doesn't want to spend close to 2 hours a day in maintanance and researching...
this could help you too
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/130371/what-corals-you-can-get-with-what-lights
Brad

 

[viet-tin]

WOuld 3x250w 20,000k be ok?

 

[viet-tin]

sorry for al the questions...just want to make sure i get my moneys worth and that i buy things right the first time.

 

[fishman830]

i would have them _____ instead of ||

 

[marvida]

If you go with all 20K's it might be kinda blue.

 

[dragonboy]

2X250 is good enough I have 100 gal and I'm using 2x250 unless you have a really wide tank then you would use three. 20,000k is more on the blue side if you want a crisp white look go with 10K or 14K follow with some actinic supplemntation.