metal halide on a 65 gal

jjmccloud2011 · May 12, 2012

hello all
im new to the site and fairly new to reef keeping ive had plenty of saltwater tanks but only one other reef it was a 29 and not so succsesfull but im hoping to start up again and not cut corners my question is i have a 65 gallon glass tank (36x18x24) i think lol not 100% on the 24 being the height but i think im close anyways i wanna use my halide retro fit i have a 400watt and a 250watt could i just use one of those or both since it three foot in length id like to have 2 150 or 250 but this is what i have already and was wanting to use them perferably only one cause im scared of light overkill and the heat issue but i dont want any dark spots and also im worried about the center brace shadow so does anyone have any info or advice for me id greatly appreciate it thanks so much looking forward from hearing from u guys

strange33w · May 15, 2012

I used 1 250 watt halide over a 36 inch tank and had no dark spots. Just get a good reflector and your light coverage should be fine.

revsgirl · May 15, 2012

:bump:

usfpaul82 · May 15, 2012

hi. I had a 65 before my 90 and I used 2 x 250w halides mounted in a tall canopy in spider type reflectors. PLENTY of light, I had a staggered lighting schedule. Both halides were only on for 3 hours at the same time. Anyways, I probably wouldn;t use that 400. If I were you i would probably set up 1 250, maybe sell the 400 and get another 250.

jjmccloud2011 · May 16, 2012

Thx guys just wondering why not the 400 is it overkill for the 65 also how bad would the center brace shadow be and would heat be an issue inside the canopy sry to ask so many questions guys just wanna get it right this time lol thx for the replies

usfpaul82 · May 16, 2012

400 would probably be overkill and if set up in the center of the canopy, the brace would cause a pretty large shadow. using two 250s, you can put them on both sides of the tank which would reduce the shadow. You might get a small one, but nothing major. Heat will be an issue with 2 x 250s. I mounted two 4" fans inside my canopy, 1 blowing in and 1 blowing out to circulate fresh air into the canopy. This helped quite a bit and without the fans, I would have probably needed a chiller. It will also depend on how tall your canopy is. Mine was very tall at about 13". If your canopy is not very tall, then the heat will be even more of an issue and the fans might not cut it.

shred5 · May 16, 2012

3 Foot tanks are hard to light with just one metal halide light. I had a 40 breeder many years ago lit with a 250 halide and two vho lamps. A halide is good for about 2 feet, I figured I would just put low light stuff on the ends. After a few years though my sps all had grown toward the middle of the tank with less growth on the side of the corals away from the light. Just didnt look right. Honestly on odd sized tanks like this i would go with a good t-5 fixture or led.

jjmccloud2011 · May 17, 2012

Thx guys one more question sry to be a pain but could I get a T5 fixture big enough to have some sps corals or would I be limited to lps and softies without the halides thx again

usfpaul82 · May 17, 2012

I have never used T5's but many many reefers do and have great success with SPS. I imagine it just depends on how many bulbs you use. You might have some issues with sps or clams along the bottom portion of the tank though.

reefknight · May 17, 2012

I agree that attempting to use a single MH, regardless of wattage, will result in shadowed ends of your tank. I had two 250w MH on my old 90gal along with a couple of t5's and had great color and growth, but also heat and an electric bill. I had to run a chiller as well and it really sucks up power! When I set up the new tank I bought an ATI PM 10x54w and am glad I did. Great color and growth and almost no heat transfer and lower electric bill. Don't be fooled by t5's, they have power. I intially bleached many of my SPS's and lost a few LPS due to increased light. The ATI fixture is a true beast!

jjmccloud2011 · Jul 28, 2012

well i went ahead and tried to 400 watt first just to see how bright my canopy is about 20" tall so i could have plenty of room ive got it mounted 16" from the bottom of the bulb to the water it covers both ends good and suprisingly hardly any center brace shadow but now im worried its to high off the water and wont be enough lighting all the way to the bottom i would think so being 400 watts lol im just parinoid like that cause the tanks not super bright like i thought it would be but its well lit i just cant tell if its enough or to much should i lower it closer to the water or leave it alone is there any ways to know if it will be enough without any corals in the tank anyone???
oh yea its a 20000k bulb if that matters or not idk i heard it may be less likely to burn since the par is lower then a 10000k but thats just what someone told me i have no idea to be honest still kinda new to the halide stuff lol