Pure halide over softie tank

[Patrick.S]

So I'm starting to research lighting options for my reef expansion. My 10 gallon mixed reef will soon become a 75 gallon soft coral dominant reef. I love the movement that soft corals provide and though I can and do grow sps, I've never seen a reef more beautiful than MikeC's soft coral tank. With all that being said, I'm considering going straight halide for that natural look and shimmer. My questions are these:

My tank will be in the basement in a cold climate. Would I need a chiller? Running a chiller is basically a non-starter for me.

Will the heat the halides produce help offset the cost of running the heater, thus making the added energy consumption a wash?

Am I crazy to consider halides for a softie tank? Are they just going to bake corals that don't appreciate that much intensity? I'm thinking 2x250w over the 75 gallon.

Do you have a bulb recommendation to get a nice natural color without too much yellow or too much blue?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[KJAG]

From what you describe you shouldn’t need a chiller. And some of the fattest, most color rich Z’s and P’s I’ve seen have been grown under halides. 250 WRadiums are a good option for softies. I run mine on Boost mode via my ballasts and the color is perfect imo. Dimming then down produces a bluer actinic look.

 

[Crabs McJones]

So I'm starting to research lighting options for my reef expansion. My 10 gallon mixed reef will soon become a 75 gallon soft coral dominant reef. I love the movement that soft corals provide and though I can and do grow sps, I've never seen a reef more beautiful than MikeC's soft coral tank. With all that being said, I'm considering going straight halide for that natural look and shimmer. My questions are these:

My tank will be in the basement in a cold climate. Would I need a chiller? Running a chiller is basically a non-starter for me.

Will the heat the halides produce help offset the cost of running the heater, thus making the added energy consumption a wash?

Am I crazy to consider halides for a softie tank? Are they just going to bake corals that don't appreciate that much intensity? I'm thinking 2x250w over the 75 gallon.

Do you have a bulb recommendation to get a nice natural color without too much yellow or too much blue?

Thanks for the advice!

For soft coral only, I think two 250 watt halides may be overkill. Why not run a T5 setup instead. Not as much heat generated, and you wouldn't need a chiller, and you can even add in LPS later should you so decide. But if you did decide on halide, a pair of 20K's or 14K bulbs would be good.

 

[3mm3]

I highly doubt you would need a chiller. I didn't need one on my old biocube in Alabama with halide. I also didn't need one on my old 29g running dual halides (this one did used a fan though).
I say go for it. I like 14k phoenix bulbs personally. My dream tank (future build) is a zero edge with only pallys and halide.

 

[Midrats]

That's how all our tanks looked in the Nineties before the SPS craze. Everyone was much more interested in my tanks back then. My wife literally cries when she hears SPS dominant. That said, I prefer softie tanks under whiter halides in the 10 to 14K range. They just look better to me since there isn't as much fluorescence.

 

[Arcticreefer]

Here is a awesome softie tank under halides. take a look at this video, its pretty thorough and impressed me to go a similar route on my new tank thou im using 150w halide and 2xt5 fixture on a 165 liter qube.

 

[jda]

150w HQI are fantastic lights for a mixed or softie reef. They are low wattage, do not get really hot (fans can control on even the warmest days), have great output and you can get the awesome 14k Phoenix in this size. 14k Phoenix is crisp white with great pop... not yellow and not windex.

 

[Patrick.S]

Thanks for all the reply’s. I have a line on a pair of 250w ballasts with mogul bases and reflectors. Is this going to be overkill? Am I going to be producing unnecessary heat? My canopy will be very open and I could definitely run some little fans if I need to. T5 was my original idea but I’ve become befuddled by the natural shimmer of halide.

 

[jda]

250w on a 75g tank is a lot of light. People have done this, and more, but there will also be more heat. Do not underestimate how powerful 150w halide can be. Even 175w Halides are pretty nice now that Hamilton is making good bulbs for them.

 

[Dana Riddle]

So I'm starting to research lighting options for my reef expansion. My 10 gallon mixed reef will soon become a 75 gallon soft coral dominant reef. I love the movement that soft corals provide and though I can and do grow sps, I've never seen a reef more beautiful than MikeC's soft coral tank. With all that being said, I'm considering going straight halide for that natural look and shimmer. My questions are these:

My tank will be in the basement in a cold climate. Would I need a chiller? Running a chiller is basically a non-starter for me.

Will the heat the halides produce help offset the cost of running the heater, thus making the added energy consumption a wash?

Am I crazy to consider halides for a softie tank? Are they just going to bake corals that don't appreciate that much intensity? I'm thinking 2x250w over the 75 gallon.

Do you have a bulb recommendation to get a nice natural color without too much yellow or too much blue?

Thanks for the advice!

250w lamps are probably too much - you could probably get by with 50 watt halides with proper fixture selection (one that lights the tank and not the carpet.) Lamp kelvin is a personal choice - I always likes the look of 14,000K metal halides.