Too much light for my reef tank??? Is that possible?

cneman

cneman

New Member
I have an established 90 gal reef tank with several different types of corals and anemones. I have Pulsing Xenias, Star Polyps, Colt Coral, Mushroom Corals & Polyps, different Zoanthids, Ricordea, Montipora, and Grape Coral. I currently run two hoods with FOUR 65 Watt Power Compact bulbs in each one, for a total of EIGHT 65W bulbs (520 Watts TOTAL).
However, I just purchased another hood that has TWO 175 Watt 20000K Metal Halide bulbs and TWO 95 Watt PC Actinic Blue bulbs (total 540 Watts). Would it hurt if I ran two hoods on my aquarium? The new Metal Halide 540 Watt hood and one of my 260 Watt Power Compact Hoods or would that make TOO MUCH light at 800 Watts (8.89 Watts per gallon)? Any drawbacks that you can see?
THANKS!
Ed
 
dea_mt

dea_mt

Member
the only real way to have 'too much light' is if it's heating your water up too much but if that should happen you could get a chiller
 
R

reeffer

Guest
Originally Posted by cneman
Would I now be able to support more difficult hard corals and clams?
yes light wise you would be ok for them, clams need phytoplankton and good calcium levels(steady calcium levels) and excellent water quality...you may know that though
 
R

reeffer

Guest
Originally Posted by DEA_MT
the only real way to have 'too much light' is if it's heating your water up too much but if that should happen you could get a chiller
say hello electricity bill, chillers are like leaving your fridge open 24/7
 
cneman

cneman

New Member
Originally Posted by reeffer
what kind of fixture did you buy

It is a Ver 3 (whatever that means?) and has brackets that mount to the tank rim to keep it up off the water and is fan cooled.
 
R

reeffer

Guest
Originally Posted by cneman
It is a Ver 3 (whatever that means?) and has brackets that mount to the tank rim to keep it up off the water and is fan cooled.
never heard of it, did you get it for a good price? used bulbs or new
 
R

reeffer

Guest
Originally Posted by cneman
It is a Ver 3 (whatever that means?) and has brackets that mount to the tank rim to keep it up off the water and is fan cooled.
if you mount the MH fixture to the tank how are you going to mount the other(hanging)
 
cneman

cneman

New Member
It is brand new light & hood and was just under $400 and comes with brand new bulbs. It is an Odyssea. My old hood also mounts to my tank rim and will fold upwards if I need to access the tank. They should be just wide enough to fit back to back on top of my aquarium. If not, I will just use my ne Metal Halide Hood and still should be able to house clams and hard corals with 540 Watts (6 Watts per gallon) correct?
 
R

reeffer

Guest
yes as long as you have a MH you can do clams, i just got done with about a two month ordeal with Current, i bought there new current outer orbit 72" light it arrived broken, sent it back and as of thursday still hadnt got it back so i cancelled it and bought the Corallife version with 3-250 MH and 4-96 PC's very nice...
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
u dont need to keep the other hoods ur just wasting electrcitiy that u dont need to use .... with the MH combo u can keep clams and sps coral using the rest is just a waste.... PC wont help the clams out anymore than u having the MH's
id save urself the money and try to sell the others to someone else
i didnt catch if u were guna run a chiller or not...?? u may have to
yeah colts get big ive got one in my 100g reef that has grown huge and spread to surrounding rocks
 
R

reeffer

Guest
Originally Posted by murph145
u dont need to keep the other hoods ur just wasting electrcitiy that u dont need to use .... with the MH combo u can keep clams and sps coral using the rest is just a waste.... PC wont help the clams out anymore than u having the MH's
id save urself the money and try to sell the others to someone else
i didnt catch if u were guna run a chiller or not...?? u may have to
yeah colts get big ive got one in my 100g reef that has grown huge and spread to surrounding rocks
any pics my tank is empty and im just starting to plan out whats going in i have a 135 just to let you know

well not empty but coral wise it is...its already cycled and all that
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
heres a full shot of my tank its a 100 gallon my new lee mar 180 comes in this tuesday i just finished my stand and canopy for it
heres my 100 ive got lots of things in it hard to explain all but everything from softies to clams to lps and sps corals
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top