3x 400W MH - too much?

[david1980]

Hi Guys

I'm getting ready to set up my tank (8'x1.5'x2') and got a hold of a 3x400W Giesemann Spectra. Questions:
Would that be over-kill, i.e. bad for my tank if I can hang it 15" above the water (I know about light spillage and will deal with it)?

If over-kill, can I replace the 400W ballasts with 250W and use 250W bulbs?

Tank will be mainly SPS...

BR
David

 

[BoneXriffic]

I think 400s would work great. I like your style.

 

[david1980]

You don't think it'll be too much light in the aq?

 

[120reefkeeper]

I think you'll be fine .

 

[BoneXriffic]

Not really, i have a 4x2x18inch tank with dual 250w and 4x 48inch 56watt vhos. On an 8ft tank that will be nice coverage

 

[morgan175]

Make sure you have a chiller. I use 250's and need it.

 

[Hans24hrs]

At 15 inches above I think you would be fine, but might be worth renting or buying a PAR meter to see if you need to raise or lower the height. Also I think it would depend on what kind of coral you are keeping

 

[david1980]

@morgan175 I keep my room relatively cooly, so will see if it works without one. Otherwise of course I'll get one.

@Hans24hrs good idea, thanks. Although 15" ist the max I will be able to raise the lamp. I'm planning to keep mainly SPS and the reef structure relatively low. I've always wanted to buy a par meter, so here is my WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor)

 

[Rattooth]

Dedicated breaker?

 

[david1980]

Thanks @Rattooth That I will look into. I'm posting from Switzerland and not sure how it compares to the US. But I will definetly run a test to see if it trips the breaker... Or why were you mentioning it?

 

[Rattooth]

Correct. I thought it might trip breaker , depending on what else shared the same circuit .

 

[Breadman03]

You might consider a dimmable electronic ballast.

 

[Reef Pets]

A 400w for every two feet of tank is what I've used for years. So your certainly won't be too much light especially if you're going with 20K such as a Radium which is highly recommended! They have an awesome crisp blue appearance.

 

[Elegance Coral]

According to my apex, my 400w MH's draw about 3.5 amps each. Three would pretty much use up a standard 15 amp breaker. I would check the size of the breaker. A 20 amp would give you some wiggle room. Never needed a chiller though.

Yes, you can change ballasts, and bulbs to convert over to 250w with no problem. My 250w draw about 2.5 amps each.

 

[luke33]

Should be great for sps, but you'll need some fans or a chiller to control the heat, and expect to have high evaporation rates, so get a large ato reservoir (i would say 40-60g, atleast thats what i'd use). But I like the idea, only reason i don't run mh's is due to the amps they draw and the evaporation.

 

[Reef Pets]

As Luke stated, there will be a decent amount of evaporation. One upside to evaporation is that you can use a Kalk stirrer to keep your water very stable.
Allow all of the top off to go through the stirrer. No dosing is need!

 

[david1980]

@Breadman03 Do you have any recommendations?

@Reef Pets I'm not a big fan of the ultra blue tanks. As a diver, it just seems un-natural to me... I was thinking Ushio/BLV in the 10 - 14k range with Actinic tubes to accent. Regarding dosing, thats good input, I was planning to go Triton on the tank, but will look at this again.

@Elegance Coral thank you very much, I'll check what my breaker is and if its at the limit (another AQ running plus all the other tech), I might get him to soup it up a bit...

@luke33 good input, thanks. I'll try and make the ATO reservoir as big as possible, but would prefer a larger fuge over a larger ATO. I dont mind adding water frequently.... It it starts to bother me, I'll figure something out.I am planning to have a 4ftx17"x1ft fuge.

BR
David

 

[david1980]

any more thoughts?