Lighting Suggestion

[Phin]

When I got my tank setup I was able to get some dual 175W MH lights for next to nothing. I picked these up knowing I will need to upgrade. My tank is a 150 gallon 48 X 30 X 24. I would like to work on eventually getting some LPS and SPS corals. My question is with the deep tank should I go with a dual 250 or I have a lead on a used dual 400. Thanks.

 

[MikeB]

250 will be fine but 400 would work also.

 

[reefdan]

your lead may be negated by the fact you'll be using a lot more energy. a dual 250w will be able to properly light lps on the bottom of a 24 inch tank. maybe even higher light organisms like clams.

 

[bige11]

I always say that more is better. 400 Watt definitely (esp for SPS) :wink:

 

[Phin]

your lead may be negated by the fact you'll be using a lot more energy. a dual 250w will be able to properly light lps on the bottom of a 24 inch tank. maybe even higher light organisms like clams.

I guess that is where my question was coming in. I know the 250 will do great for a 24" deep but with mine being 30" I was wondering if it would be better to go to the 400w.

 

[FIXX198]

I run three 250's on a 220 gallon. tank is 6 foot long by 30 inches deep. i have sps and lps with no problems. I also have a clam in the sand bed doing fine for a year and a half now.
steve

 

[Hahnmeister]

My last tank was 48x30x21h, and I used a single 250watt Ushio 14,000K on a light mover (back and forth the center 24") in a PFO pendant. Flanking this, I had 4x 54wattT5HO, 2 true actinic 03, and 2 blue+. Corals loved it. I could grow SPS on the sand, and the light mover prevented the phototropism. All the lights were only about 5-6" above the water, normally too close for a halide to still get good distribution, but since it moved, this was not important. And no, the light mover doesnt make you dizzy or even look odd. It actually looked very cool.

SOME corals though just seem to color up better under 100% T5's, so I also made a 10x54wattT5HO fixture. This also worked very well and was very low profile.

Next... cool white LED's with T5's flanking for blue/actinic. Those new XP-G LED's can match the output of a 400 watt halide with only about 210 watts needed.

 

[Usefulidiot213]

250W will be fine for a 24 inch depth. It's around 28 - 30 inches that you really need 400W. 400W bulbs are great and of course would supply a lot more light, but you also use a lot more electricity and generate a lot more heat.. Of course keeping your water clear is really important as well. Make it easier for light to penetrate threw to the bottom.