Metal Halides

[ReefHusker]

Good evening fellow reefers! I am returning to the hobby after being away for a few years. I am in the process of removing a wall for the placement of a 465 gallon (approximately) aquarium as a room divider. The dimensions are 108” x 36” x 27”. It will be a SPS dominated tank. I will be running metal halides. Friends of mine are calling me “old school” but it’s what I know and I don’t see any reason to change what I know works. I welcome your thoughts on how high above the waterline to mount them. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[cocoReefer]

Depends how many and what watt you are setting up

 

[ReefHusker]

4, 250 W

 

[Chrisv.]

I love metal halides. I do not even slightly believe that 4 250s will be enough on a 108 inch tank.

 

[cocoReefer]

27” is pretty deep. Id start at 12” off the surface, but expect to be able to adjust them

 

[cocoReefer]

I love metal halides. I do not even slightly believe that 4 250s will be enough on a 108 inch tank.

I second this. Maybe some reefbright strips also. Give you options for dawn/dusk too

 

[ReefHusker]

In addition to the halides, I have six, 36” t5s. I will certainly entertain adding extra halides.

 

[ReefHusker]

Thank you!

 

[Chrisv.]

What's the center brace situation on the tank? That thing is going to be a beauty. 9 feet will be awesome.

 

[Coling]

What reflectors and bulbs are you going to use? And what kind of coral do you plan to grow in your tank?

 

[cocoReefer]

What reflectors and bulbs are you going to use? And what kind of coral do you plan to grow in your tank?

Sps dominant is what i read

 

[Coling]

Sorry, just realized you stated SPS dominate.
My tank is 99% Acropora and I'm running 2x250 watt Radium bulbs in Lumen Max Elite reflectors along with 2x54 watt T5s and 4X 48" Orphek LED bars. My tank is 48x30x24 and my I'm getting 250-550 PAR from the sand bed to the top of my rocks. Based on that, I think you may need more lights than you're planning to go full blown SPS. Maybe at least another halide fixture and some additional T5s or LED strips on the edges, 36" is a pretty wide tank.
You may be able to find reflectors that have a wide enough spread to use 4, but those probably won't focus enough light to give you decent PAR towards the bottom. Luckily T5 and halide gear is cheap these days since everyone is going in the LED direction. Just my thoughts.

 

[biecacka]

You could possibly use the old lumenarc reflectors. They were 22/22/9 in diameter and cover a huge area. I believe at 10-12 inches you would get plenty of punch to get the par you needed near the bottom. What do you think @jda ?

corey

 

[Chrisv.]

You could possibly use the old lumenarc reflectors. They were 22/22/9 in diameter and cover a huge area. I believe at 10-12 inches you would get plenty of punch to get the par you needed near the bottom. What do you think @jda ?

corey

Love those old luminarc 3 reflectors. I used 2 on a 48 inch tank with 400w radium and t5 actinics. A bit overkill.

 

[Mr Fishface]

I got to use metal halide for a little while and loved it. If you can deal with the heat I think it's a great plan! Like you said, why fix what ain't broke?

 

[biecacka]

@Chrisv. I used two of them on my 48x48x24 at 250watts each. worked great for me. in fact I kept them for a “just in case” moment. Haha

corey

 

[Chrisv.]

@Chrisv. I used two of them on my 48x48x24 at 250watts each. worked great for me. in fact I kept them for a “just in case” moment. Haha

corey

Haha still have mine too! They are fantastic lights. I hope to use them again someday.

 

[Chrisv.]

@Chrisv. I used two of them on my 48x48x24 at 250watts each. worked great for me. in fact I kept them for a “just in case” moment. Haha

corey

How high did you hang them to light that large of an area?

 

[biecacka]

About 14 inches up. However, I also put a majority of my rock work in a 36x36 area and that is where I focused the light.


corey

 

[ReefHusker]

I think I’ll upgrade to 4, 400W bulbs. With the bracing, I have 4 open areas measuring 20” x 29 1/2”. The bulbs are Hamilton Technologies, Cayman Sun.