Some Advice Please?

[cadbury]

I have a 180 Acrylic Reef with an acrylic top. I have 4 six foot VHO's installed right now. I would like to get some SPS coral, nothing to difficult, the problem is I can't really get Halides because I can't install them in my Acrylic hood, they would get too hot, but I love the way they make the tank look, like the shimmering effect? My other alternative is adding 2 more 6 foot VHO"s? I would love some advice on what my options are?

 

[spsfreak100]

I would like to get some SPS coral, nothing to difficult,
Most SPS corals are considered difficult to keep
As far as lighting goes, I would always recommend halides for keeping SPS (and tridacna clams). If it's impossible to install metal halides into your existing hood, I would recommend either getting a different hood installed, or possibly use a pendant (as SquishyFish stated).
Graham

 

[beth]

These are in a 4-110 VHOs 48" long each.

 

[beth]

2

 

[m.rogers]

I would go down the road that spsfreak told you about doing some people have luck with sps under VHO lighting but i for one would never try it do what you have to for adding MH light to your setup.
Beth very sweet looking pics of your corals how long have you had them under the VHO lighting.
mike

 

[cadbury]

Those look great Beth, love the way they look. I have a hinge in the back, so I guess it would be considered removeable? The other concern was....would the acrylic get too hot with a MH hanging over them and in time would they warp? I did'nt want to take that chance.

 

[the claw]

Most likely you will be wasting your money buying SPS without a lighting upgrade. Its so much better to have them under MH, and the other effects MH has like the shimmering, can't be beat. I had to get a different hood to have my MH. It was 200 bucks well spent. Especially when you start adding up what SPS corals will cost you.

 

[cadbury]

Ok, I have a question as well, for you that have MH, how long do you run them on a given day?

 

[cadbury]

So if I were to get MH would I just maybe start off at 1 hour a day and work my way up so I would'nt bleach the coral?

 

[cadbury]

Sounds good, thanks for all the help to everyone!!! I really appreciate it.....

 

[garycarr]

so what is the suggested method when going in the other direction, putting a new coral in a established tank with MHs?

 

[spsfreak100]

The best aclamation process, in my opinion, would be to start out the halides 2 hours a day. Add 30 minutes every 2-3 days, depending how the corals react, until you get to your normal lighting period (usually 8-10 hours). Adding an hour at a time can often shock the corals, therefore it would be best to add 30 minutes at a time.
Graham

 

[beth]

The pinkish coral in that pic is a pectina and it really does not like high light.
I do agree that many SPS must have the MH's. But with some research and care you can get some specimens that do fine with VHO's. One thing I would consider is to make sure that the coral you get is coming from a tank that was strictly VHO so that the coral is not stressed and deprived going from a stronger light to less light.