Need advice please on Lighting.

saltylake

saltylake

Member
I have a 55 reef with mostly softies and open brains and mushrooms. I currently have Power Compacts over my tank. One blue and one white.
I am interested in adding Stoney corals... SPS.
So I am planning to get Metal Halides. What wattage and what "K". I was thinking about MH 250Watts and 12,000K. I wanted to get 400 Watts, but I thought that would be to hot. Do you think that 250 Watts without a chiller is possible in miami florida? I am interested in keeping the TWO Power compacts, and making them both blue and adding the ONE 250 Watt Metal Halide in the middle.
Is this possible and has anyone ever done this? Also can everyone reccomend good MH brands? Can I keep hard corals with this lighting in a 55 galllon?????????? Thank you for answer all my questions!!!
Also what is the differnce between 400, 250 and 175 watts???
Do the 12,000 K bulbs shine the same??? Does a 400 produce more light? Does the 400 produce more heat? Thank you very much and every single reply is grealty appreicated!!!!
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I'm a big fan of Iwasaki bulbs. The 250 will put out nearly the PAR of a 400 12,000K without the added power and heat. It will still be hot but MH heat is concentrated in one spot and fairly easy to disburse with a good fan. The Iwasaki 250 is actually a Mercury Vapor 6500K bulb. I think it would look great as long as you had the two Actinic 03 PC bulbs next to it.
It WILL grow any light loving coral (provided water is of pristine condition of course).
 
jjboods

jjboods

Member
As I've said in my other posts, my MH fixture hangs from the ceiling, but is very nice to look at...very streamlined. I never have heat issues and don't use fans. I don't have a canopy or covers. I have a 55 gallon with 2 150 bulbs. Rule of thumb is 1 bulb per 2 feet of tank lengthwise and 175W for up to 24" deep. If you have actinics, you would probably want 10000K not 12000K...just my opinion.
 
slick

slick

Active Member
I have to disagree with these guys here (sorry) Keep in mind I like the blue look. I would go with the 12,000k's I have 2 10,000k's on my 90 with 4 65w actinics and the MH's over power them.
 
jjboods

jjboods

Member
Slick,
Couldn't have said it better myself. When I bought my fixture, the store had 2...one with actinic PC's and one without. I liked the blue lookalso...but not enough to shell out an additonal $200. But the key here is...the look. It all depends what you like. My point was that with the actinics, 12K may not be needed. Personally, when my 10K's go, I will get 12K because I have NO actinics running.
 
saltylake

saltylake

Member
I am going to use either 10,000 or 12,000 k. I am still debating on the 250 or 400 Watts....
Do you guys think with enough air movement with fans, ic an get away with 400??????????? thanks!!!!
 
heero_huy

heero_huy

New Member
For a 55g tank (48" long) you will definitely need a dual mh setup since the coverage of them with a good reflector would be 24" x24".
The higher the mh wattage the more light intensity you will get. The wattage you choose all depends on what you want to keep. Dual 250w should be fine for most sps and clams. If you wanted to go dual 400w then you make sure that the room the tank's in is well ventilated and has ac especially in FL.
As for the type of bulbs to get for a 250w, avoid the 12k bulbs at all cost! These bulbs are primarily made by sunburst and are known to have lots of problems. If you want a good bulb that has the intensity and the color(bright white with a hint of blue) then go with an Aqualine Buschke bulb. You might or might not need actinics depending on your taste of lighting but it's also a good idea to have some actinics so you can have a dusk/dawn effect and don't shock the animals with the halides. These are somethings referred as 13,000k bulbs.
Another good option for a 250w bulb is the Ushio bulbs. These have a tiny bit more intensity then the aqualine but the color of this bulb is more of a white so you will most likely need some actinics to make the corals fluoresce.
If you wanted to go the dual 400w route then I'd get the PFO HQI ballast and some 400w 20,0000K radium bulbs. The PFO HQI pushes out about 430w and thus overdriving the radiums and giving it more a bright white with a good amount of blue thus elminating the "need" for actinics. If you go with any other ballasts be it electronic or pulse start, the bulb will have a blue look to it. The bad thing about the HQI ballast is that it overdrives the bulb so they don't last as long, around 9months.
A simple search a reefcentral and you will find that there has been a lot of discussion bout this.
Good luck
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by heero_huy
For a 55g tank (48" long) you will definitely need a dual mh setup since the coverage of them with a good reflector would be 24" x24".
IMO a 24" X 24" reflector would look really silly on a 13" deep tank. Just an observation ;)
 
saltylake

saltylake

Member
anyone else????????? Now i am even more confused!!!! 20,000 K??????????????? i am only going to get on ballast becasuse of the heat factor!!!!! ALL OPINIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!! THANK YOU SHOULD I GET THE REFLECTOR????
 
saltylake

saltylake

Member
jj and broomer, yes i am thinking about getting a bigger tank and my budget is 400 dollars.. Do you think that i can get away with one 400 watt 12,000 k bulb?????????????? thanks and please give me al the feed back!!! I am waiting for all the sharks out there to talk to me and give me there ideas
 
heero_huy

heero_huy

New Member

Originally posted by Bang Guy
IMO a 24" X 24" reflector would look really silly on a 13" deep tank. Just an observation ;)
I simply ment that the coverage of the halides would only cover an area of 24" x 24" not the actual reflector itself. Even the spider reflectors aren't that big. Common now.
NO, a single 400w would not suffice on a 55gal tank due to reasons already mentioned. Your ends will be pretty dim cause the halide won't cover that much area.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by heero_huy
I simply ment that the coverage of the halides would only cover an area of 24" x 24" not the actual reflector itself.
Oops... sorry, I misunderstood you. My mistake. Peace.
:eek:
 
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