Power Compact vs. Metal Halide

[cslawso]

Is it necessary for Metal or will PC work for my 37 gallon cube tank. I want polyps and such. Dont really want stonies, maybe some anemones and stuff. Dont really know what all I can have together. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[pclown]

Go with MH lighting. You will be happier in the long run. Anemones do better under MH. You can keep some anemone's under PC's (4 - 6 watts per gallon) but you will be happier with the MH.
Also how deep is 37G cube?
Thomas is a good person to ask about lighting and anemones.

 

[sufunk]

i have 2x65 PC on my 36g and my polyps and shrooms do great. The shrooms were growing like weeds even with my regular 40 watt lighting i had at first. I have 2 anemones in my tank and they seem to be doing pretty good. I dont really have enough lights for them according to what everyone will tell you but so far so good. I tried to have them closer to the light but they like being near the bottom. I really havent had them long enough to know( less than a year) theyre doing good and planning to upgrade. The downside of MH's on a tank that small is heat. It will heat your tank alot more than the PC's i think. I definitely dont want a chiller on a tank that small so im waiting for a bigger tank to get MH's.

 

[hagfish]

A 150 or 250 watt MH on that tank shouldn't cause heat problems. There are lot's of tanks that size and smaller running MH with no chiller. Fans can help out a lot. I had a 250 watt MH on a 20 gallon for about 6 months and the temp was fine.

 

[sufunk]

really Hag? maybe i got bad advice. How high off the tank were the lights hanging? Id like to get MH but being in Ft. Laud. our tank would sit at like 75 degrees normally without even PC's on. With my PC's and Ph's running it will sit at almost 78 without a heater on.

 

[hagfish]

I had the bulb 12" from the water in a canopy that was almost completely open in the back. I think the ambient temperature in the room is a factor many don't consider. It's usually 70 degrees in my house. The MH brought the tank to like 81-82, which some may feel is a little high, but that is with no fan. It was only a couple degree's different than when I had PC's.
Do your PC's have a fan? Keep in mind they are pretty hot too and they are usually only an inch or two from the water surface.

 

[pclown]

I run a 150W MH on a 24g tank with no heat problems. Also w/anemones it takes a while before the lack of light takes it toll. Thomas on the Clownfish & Anemone will tell you what is best for anemones. My tank stay between 79.5 and 81 degrees. I dont want my tank to get any lower than 79 degrees.

 

[thomas712]

Something could be rigged for sure with regards to MH lighting, a metal halide pendant light would be great.
However if your just looking at getting say a Bubble tip anemone then PC or VHO should do fine. Softies and some LPS would do well under the same lighting, depending on what you get.
I for one really don't have a heat problem either with my 500watts of MH lighting combined with my 440 watt VHO, it does get warm in the canopy though. I even have fans build into the hood but rarely use them. For some though it is an issue.
Does this 37 gallon cube have its own canopy or not?
Thomas