Lighting Suggestions!!! Again...

[greasemonkey]

I recently bought a 75 gal tank with stand and would like to hear everyones suggestions on lighting. The tank is 48" long 21" tall 18" wide. I plan on keeping sps eventually, but will start with some mushrooms, and capanella leather I already have. Which is better for this tank 175 watt or 250 watt? Also I will be using pc lights for dusk, dawn but how much wattage should I use?

I will be building my canopy in the next few weeks, and Im not yet sure how high off the water I should mount the bulbs.

Also, any links to articles that yall think I should read would be appreciated.

James

[DeletedAccount]

I know folks will be jumping in with hard facts and articles for you. We have a few awesome ones with that...

But personally, I would take a 250 MH. They are recommended for tanks to a depth of 24 and SPS will not complain.

[CD]

James,

Don't make the same mistake I did. Go with 250's right off the bat.
I am currently using 400's over our 75G. Started with 175's, then went to 250's.
If SPS are in your future, 175's will keep them alive but won't do much for the coloration.
As for the canopy height, whatever can get the lights around 8-10" off the water, IMO.

Chris

[cailan]

i've considered getting MH a few times but how bad of an effect do they have on the electric bill? i've heard some people say they were real expensive and others say they weren't real bad.

[CD]

i've considered getting MH a few times but how bad of an effect do they have on the electric bill? i've heard some people say they were real expensive and others say they weren't real bad.

It depends on what you consider bad. I haven't broken down the exact cost of running the lights because I probably don't want to know.
I can tell you that it would cost less for me to run 3-250 watt metal halides for an hour than run my chiller for an hour.
IMO, I really don't think it adds too much to the bill by the time you account for the pumps, powerheads, and other electronics in the system.

Chris

[Richard]

Just be sure to put those shrooms low in the tank. A somewhat shaded area would be good. They won't appreciate sitting right under a 250w halide.

Check into coralvue retro's since your building your own canopy. If your don't already have the pc's, look at a T5/MH retro. A 4' retro with two 250's and T5's would work great. The capnella should like the strong like too.

There's a calculator somewhere on the web for figuring out the monthly electric bill. Maybe someone remembers the link.

[starboard]

I guestimate around $30 for my set of 250 DE halides and 4/.-T-5 actinics.

[greasemonkey]

CD, isnt that alot of heat for a 75? It would certainly be bright. 250's was what I was leanin towards. I was worried about heat with 250's.

I have planned on placing 2 fans on each end already. Is this too much? I will wire them so I can turn them off individually if necesary.

Richard, why t-5's over pc's? Just curious, and does your store carry them?

[Polkster13]

I use to have PC's on all of my home tanks and I recently purchased T-5's from Greg at 360Reef. The bulbs last longer and are more energy efficient. I have also noticed a significant difference in my corals, especially my cat's paw. It was pink when I bought it. Put it under the PC's and it turned brown. Changed to T-5's and it turned pink again. So just from that experience alone, I will not keep corals under PC lights again.

[CD]

CD, isnt that alot of heat for a 75? It would certainly be bright. 250's was what I was leanin towards. I was worried about heat with 250's.

I have planned on placing 2 fans on each end already. Is this too much? I will wire them so I can turn them off individually if necesary.



Greasemonkey,

That probably would be alot of heat for a 75 if we had an enclosed canopy but we have a hood and open top tank. The 1/3hp chiller certainly doesn't hurt either. I suspect that if you had a few high flow fans in the canopy, you would probably be OK though. GaryP. just uses fans to cool his tanks and I don't believe that he has any heat issues.

Chris

[Polkster13]

Just make sure you keep your central A/C going. It will help reduce the humidity (which will help lower the temp) and your fans will be blowing cooler air over your tank (which will remove the heat from the bulbs and the heat from the tank). I would also only run the fans when the lights are on. Running them at night when the lights are off and the house gets cooler can cause a significant drop in your tank's temperature.

[greasemonkey]

I usually keep my apt. around 72 so that will help but what k temps should I get? I am thinking 10k or 14k. Havent decided on brand yet but Im thinking about ARO for my ballasts.

Here is a pic of the tank.