Picked up a 40 gallon breeder from Texas Tropical this weekend(36" long). I think the depth is 18". I want metal halides, I was thinking 150x2, would anything bigger turn it into a hot tub? Tank is going to be reef, some fish.
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Lights for a 40 gallon breeder?
Picked up a 40 gallon breeder from Texas Tropical this weekend(36" long). I think the depth is 18". I want metal halides, I was thinking 150x2, would anything bigger turn it into a hot tub? Tank is going to be reef, some fish.
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It really depends on if you are going to have a canopy and what type of ventilation you use. 250w would work just fine with an open top and the ability to raise and lower the lights
My Reef is Alive and well Despite My repeated Daily attemps to kill it!!
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I'll be making a canopy once I buy the lights so I can customize it to whatever is necessary. Would 150x2 be underpowered then?
Honestly, look at buying the right lights the first time and not the second.250w on 18 inches of depth? Your corals will love you, but you need to make sure that whatever corals that you do get are acclimated to the light over a few days so they don't bleach! Make a nice TALL canopy, that way you can move around, add rocks etc without having to remove the canopy. I am sure you will hear stories of people burning an arm or two from not having sufficient room.
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go with the 250's using a good reflector either a retro pfo parabolic or lumenarc mini's. Have you thought about t5 lighting? I love my new t5's!
Cheers,
Kurt
75gal 6x54w t5's on icecap slr's 3 blue +, 1 pro color, 1 ge 65k, 1 uvl spuer atintic, iwaki 40rlt return, mak 4 on closed loop to om super squirt, mak 3 on etss reef devil, jbj artica chiller, aquamedic calcium reactor, DIY Kalk reactor, DIY media reactor, currently running half phospahte/half carbon.
Live in Uvalde, Texas. On the fish hatchery!
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Chris I thought your tank was 36 wide, 18 deep (front to back) and 16 tall, not 18, but I doubt it makes a huge difference.
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I don't remember, I'll measure later.
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PS. anyone got any MH's they want to sell me?
there's a dual 250 setup with pfo mini pendants for sale in the F/S/T forum.
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It also depends on what you want to keep in the tank. I have a 45g reef tank that is similar dimensions as yours, it's 36 long by 18 wide by 18 tall, and I run 2 VHO's (95watts each) and a 250watt DE metal halide. I think putting 2 x 250watt halides might be a bit of overkill, but that's my opinion.
If I had the room, I would have gone with a single ended 250watt halide as the smaller bulb and reflector of the DE limits how much the light spreads through the tank.
-Chris
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