Unsure on which lighting....

[RayAllen]

Ok some of you have been following along with my other thread and know im setting up a inwall approx 40g tank. Im a little confused on what lighting to go with. My problem is I dont have a lot of room to work with. The tank is 24x18x20, but I loose 4"s once its in the wall so I have 14" of width to play with and can hang a fixture up to 10" above the water. Ive been looking a T5, VHO and MH. Do you guys think a combo of 150MH with 2 24" T5 bulbs is good. One thing about MH is that the tank is in a closet and there will probably be heat issues, but a 150w wouldnt be as bad as a 250w and I could keep it cool with fans and vents I think. Now if I choose only T5s Im still baffeled on how 144watts (6 24w 24" bulbs) of T5s will light the tank as well as 300watts of 4 24" 75w VHOs which is also a option. Ive only used PC and VHO in my past reefs. Im very familiar with MH but just like several of you i am a novice T5 guy. Any input on this will be appreciated. MH, T5 and VHO oh my.

Thanks

Ray

[Kristy]

Remember how people keep saying that "watts per gallon" is not really such a useful indicator anymore with so many other variables, etc. I think you could not go wrong with T5s and they'd be your best choice, but someone more knowledgeable would probably be better at explaining why.

I can vouch for the colors that T5s have brought out in our reef and also that they don't heat up as much as other lights.

[RayAllen]

Yea, thats whats got me. When I got into the hobby it was all about watts per gallon. Having a hard time shaking that habit, lol. I love what you can do with T5 now, as you mike and I discussed you have limitless color options. You purchased those 250watters didnt you....... haha.

[cpreefguy]

How about a Lumenarc mini with a 250w halide?

[coraline79]

I think your t5ho + mh 150w sounds like a good idea, but I have 4 39w t5ho's on my tank right now and the color is pretty awesome.

[ErikH]

The big thing with T5s is keeping them cool and using the icecap reflectors. You can use a plywood board and retrofit them. Use some eye hooks out of the board with some plastic chain to adjust for height. Either that or you could make a hinge like a car hood. Make sure you use killz on all the surrounding wood to prevent mildew! Look on reefgeek at their icecap retrofits?

[RayAllen]

Not going with 250watt MH because im worried about heat. Erik Im way ahead of you. I took the killz to everything tonight and also framed out the hole and painted the tank sides. Look for updated pics tommorow on my 40g inwall thread

[Fish4life]

Ray Allen- I too was a little nervous when i changed from 400w MH to 6x54 t5's. Its been several months now and am very pleased with the change. tank is cooler, power bill is lower and my stone garden thriving. stick with a good brand reflector and ati bulbs and you won't have any complaints.

cheers,

kurt

[tony]

im with sean, i dont think a 250w would be too much at all. and those lumenarc's drooool

ive never used t5s though

[junkstang]

A single 175w mh is the way i would go.

[RayAllen]

I have a heigth restriction. If you look at my build thread you will see in the closet that the ceiling is at a angle because the closet is under my staircase. With that said the lights will be a maximum of 8-10" of the water. MH fixtures take up more space so it would be more like 8" off the water which is to close. I may be able to get away with the 150w If I can keep it cool enough in the closet.

[RayAllen]

Also I do not plan to keep any sps. This will be LPS and softies so the 150 supplemented with 2 24w T5s should do the trick.

[junkstang]

sounds like you already have a plan so why ask, but 8-10" off the water is good enough.

[RayAllen]

sounds like you already have a plan so why ask, but 8-10" off the water is good enough.

maast is here so we can ask questions and gain knowledge and here others ideas and opinions.

I asked because my question was to go with T5, VHO or Mh or a combo. Im still not 100% sure. A few have said T5 only will be the way to go so its now a matter of how much do I want to spend.

[tony]

my 250w is 8" over my 30 cube and i have no issues whatsoever

[RayAllen]

Thanks Tony Im glad to here that and especially since its over a 30g. Tony do you run the MH only or do you supplement with any thing else?

[tony]

Thanks Tony Im glad to here that and especially since its over a 30g. Tony do you run the MH only or do you supplement with any thing else?

250w DE reeflux 12k pushed by a coralvue ballast

zero supplementation and i have great color

ace even built a fan into my canopy but i have yet to have to run it in almost 2 years

[RayAllen]

250w DE reeflux 12k pushed by a coralvue ballast

zero supplementation and i have great color

ace even built a fan into my canopy but i have yet to have to run it in almost 2 years

Thanks you boosted my MH confindence a lot.:bigsmile:

[coraline79]

t5, t5, t5....j/k it will look great no matter what you go with. I just can't afford em, and I happened upon the cheaper t5 revolution.

[tony]

Thanks you boosted my MH confindence a lot.:bigsmile:

coming to my side of town any time soon?

seeing is believing :D

[ErikH]

I'll have to pick up the DE Reeflux. Never knew anyone had one?

[RayAllen]

coming to my side of town any time soon?

seeing is believing :D

I have to come by and see it sometime soon. Not buying the lights for a little while anyways. Shoot me a pm with your address Tony and we can setup a time for me to take a look. Always fun to see others tanks.

[tony]

I have to come by and see it sometime soon. Not buying the lights for a little while anyways. Shoot me a pm with your address Tony and we can setup a time for me to take a look. Always fun to see others tanks.


especially since mine is a cube also

pming now