need info on lights?

[moneytank]

going to be looking for lights next and need some help/advice

tank is 36" long and 24" deep. planning on putting sps in it. i want to run dual mh., or maybe 3 mh's
should i go with 175, 250, or 400's?
with or without power compacts, vhos?
any info or help pointed in the right direction would be great
oh, tank is glass and has a small, maybe 1" wide center brace

thanks

[TheOtherGuy]

Lots of ways to go but if it were my tank I would do the following:

2-250 Watt MH
Single Ended or Double Ended.
DE is brighter but bulbs cost more.
2 36" VHO Actinics

[GaryP]

What is the width of your tank?

[moneytank]

What is the width of your tank?18"wide

36" long x 18" wide x 24" deep

[GaryP]

A general rule of thumb I like to use for lighting an SPS tank of around that depth is 100 watts/sq. ft. So, if you tanks is something like a 65 gal. it should be around 18" wide and gives you a surface area of 4.5 sq. ft. That gives us 450 watts of light as a minimum.

2 X 175 watt MH = 350 watts
2 X 36" VHO actinic = 190 watts

Total = 540 watts = 120 watts/sq. ft.

[GaryP]

I think one of the main things I would suggest, based on some of the recent experiences of the folks here, is to not scrimp on the reflectors. They can make a big difference. We spend a lot of money on lights and electricity for our tanks. The reflectors make sure the light gets where it will do the most good, on the corals.

[TheOtherGuy]

Ohhh. Misread that then.

I thought it was 24" wide only 18".
On 18" wide tank then you probably cannot fit 2-pendants and 2 VHO bulbs.

So let's start over.
Are you looking towards a fixture or retro kits?
And also what kind of livestock are you planning on doing?
And reflectors are important as Gary mentioned.

[GaryP]

Mark, I have 2 MH and 2 VHO on my 125 and its only 18" wide.

[TheOtherGuy]

Gary. Do you pendants or retros (no fixture).

My Pendants are kind of wide and it would be tight to put VHOs. I could do it, I need to find single bulb reflectors.

[GaryP]

OK, I did some checking and the Luminarc is out. Its 19" wide. I found a couple of other options though. PFO makes a DE pendent that is only 7.5" wide and Reefstar has one that is 10.25" wide. I found those on Hello Lights. I'm sure there are a lot of other options. My SE parabolic reflectors on my 125 are 13" wide.

I was thinking about putting Luminarcs on my new 180, but I guess I'll have to rethink that after I looked at them. I don't think they will fit with all of the VHO bulbs I want to load on there.

Actually, I had a 6 ft. reflector made and I was thinking about just making the whole hood one giant reflector.

[TheOtherGuy]

My pendants are 10.5" which leaves me 7.5" or 3.25" on eitherside to put vhos. Not much room. Next tank will be 24" deep.

[JimD]

Why is the Lumenarc out? I ran an LA3 reflector and three VHO's on my 36L"x16Tx18"W prop tank with no problem so the Luminarc would definately be my choice.

[moneytank]

i am looking for some sort of retro kit, as the tank is built into the wall with the back side in a closet(if that makes sense). so the width of the fixture is not that big of a deal as long as i can still get the light directed into the tank

[JeremyGlen]

I have one of the PFO de minis in my hood and my tank is only 14" wide. I have 2 28W PC bubls stuffed up in there too.

First, you need to ask yourself, How and I going to cool this built in tank? Very important question.

I have a little 25g with a big 250 on it. It is in an open room with 2 4" fans in the hood, 5 1" holes drilled close to the water surface for cooling, and a fan that sits on the floor in front and blows over my sump. With the apartment at 75, I have to have all this to keep my tank around 80. Be prepared to invest in a chiller before you get your lights.

As for the lights, 2 250s would be perfect. You will need 250s to get light down the entire depth of the tank if you ever decide to get a clam or corals near the bottom. Might as well get a big light in stead of having to buy all new stuff when you feel you need more. Hellolights.com is about the cheapest place to get most of you equipment, almost always cheaper than new on eBay. Running the PFO DE Mini pendants lengthways would leave enough room for a VHO bulb on each side.

[Richard]

Gary. Do you pendants or retros (no fixture).

My Pendants are kind of wide and it would be tight to put VHOs. I could do it, I need to find single bulb reflectors.

Mark, Just use the vho's without a reflector. The bulbs have one built in so that will direct most of the light downward. You'll lose some light that way but I think you and your corals would be happier with the actinic VHO's along with your 10k MH instead of just the 10k MH's.

Also, then you could reduce your mh photo period to 5 or 6 hours and that will eventually pay for the vho's just off your electric bill.

I use one actinic and one 50/50 so I don't have a completely blue tank when the MH's are off. Seems to work well.

[JimD]

PM sent, please reply asap. Thank you.

[dwdenny]

What about T5 lot less heat then MH. All be it a little more expensive. Just trying to give all the lighting options.

[GaryP]

Why is the Lumenarc out? I ran an LA3 reflector and three VHO's on my 36L"x16Tx18"W prop tank with no problem so the Luminarc would definately be my choice.
The info on them say they are 19" wide. Hard to fit into a hood over an 18" tank. Maybe there is a smaller model.