Originally Posted by Fishsta
The tank is going to be a reef tank, he wants to load it with corals and anenomes. The fish that im going to stock it with are all reef safe fish tangs, jawfish, gobys etc etc. What is the difference between the 250 w and the 400w MH and what manufacture do you recommend? Also shouldnt i have some atinics along with the halides. Which bulbs int he halides? 14000, 10000, 20000???? Is there a good manufacutre that makes a retro fit kit with halides and atinics together? Thanks!
The difference between the bulbs are the depths it penetrates depending on the depth of the tank and depending on what type of stuffs are you keeping especially near the bottom of the sandbed and plus the light requirements of the corals, anemone, clams, etc. IF I remember right a 150g tank is more wide and it's around 4-5' in length? I would be looking at something a little bit bigger then a 150g tank if you decide to keep tangs, you need the length as well, right around 6'+ Maybe a 180g instead? 10k, 14k, and 20k is really up to you, 10k and 14k needs actinic supplement, but there are folks who don't use a supplement lighting and do just as good, IMO Actinics is needed. With 20k there is really no need for supplement lighting, but there's also folks that uses supplement along with it as well, IMO it isn't needed. There's quite a few that would make a retrofit kit for those combination lighting kit, a good place to start would be Hellolights dot com. I run my 250w SE MH 20k XM bulbs with ARO Electronic Ballast, but there's also other types of ballast available as well, just do your research to find the best ballast for your needs. I hope this helps.... :happyfish
