New Lighting Upgrade Need Advise

[weathermen]

Hi all,

just a real quick question, I won't to loose the interpet T5's and invest in an Arcadia Series 4 slimline overtank luminare!

the choice is 250w halide with 2 T5 24w blue's
or 150w hailde with 2 T5 24w blues,

the 250w is £449
the 150w is £349

the tank is 75g with no stock, only have inverts mushrooms, Malu, green carpet! could I get away with 150w or will I need 250w?

Purchasing tomorrow so any quick response will be real cool!

 

[Crazy fishes]

It depends on what corals you wish to keep and also the dimensions of your tank, in particular the depth. SPS, generally speaking, need the most light so you may need 2x MH again the wattage depends on the dimensions of the tank. Ski is the man for this. He was saying to me that with lighting what really matters is the PAR (photosynthetically active (or some say available) radiation). Metal halide is certainly the way to go with lighting; Ski has a 2 foot deep tank and he was saying that he could get 100PAR at the sand which is sufficent for soft corals and I think LPS but hopefully he will see this and give you some more definite info. Remember POST TANK DIMENSIONS or we can't definitively help..

Regards

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, is this a single halide and dual T5 tubes? Remember, 150 and 250watt halides really only cover a 2'x2'x2' area. Since your 75g is probably ~48x18x18, You can't do it with just one of these fixtures, you'd need two. You could get away with retrofitting your own single 400watter over the center with dual 48" T5s, but nobody like Arcadia or other commercial lighting manufacturer makes a system like that (to the best of my knowledge).

And as to which one to purchase... Unless you're planning on really high-light SPS or the harder-to-keep nems (carpets, gigantea, etc), the 150watt model should be fine on a tank only 18" deep. I use dual 175's on my tank (no flourescents) which is 2' deep and don't have a problem growing any/all LPS. I have a few SPS, but their growth is slow and their color poor, likely due to the merely moderate lighting.

 

[weathermen]

Hi ya

thanks for that, my tank is 36 x 24 x 24, I think it might be better to go for the 250w and then add more light later! looks like I'm going to be spending more than I thought

cheers guys

 

[Crazy fishes]

Can I suggest that you can use ordinary metal halide units like those used in theatre, building and commercially. You just have to change the bulb and it can work out a lot cheaper although you may have to sacrafice some of the aesthetics. I have found to such units either 70W or 150W and they come with the aquarium bulb. I believe they are about £85 for the 70W or £90 for the 150W. You have a choice of the bulb colour either 10000, 14000 or 20000 Kelvin and then you just have to work out how to suspend them above your tank. If you had two of these I believe you would have plenty of light for a lot of different corals.

Just an idea

Regards

 

[weathermen]

Um interesting,

I haven't orderred yet! I'll have a look on the net and see what findings i get!

thanks

 

[weathermen]

I've been looking and I've seen this

Marine Lux T5 & Halide Complete Retro Kits

are these good? I have about 10cm of room in my hood, will this be ok! my misses really, and I mean really doesn't want anything hanging from the ceiling, could this work?

I feel lost at the moment

looking more into this I have found this T5 250w Halide 610mm Retro Kit and T5 400w Halide 610mm Retro Kit should I up it to 400w, it's in the budget? plus they come in 10,000K 14,000k and 20,000k, what do I go for!

I need knowledge! why does this hobby have to be so complicated at times

what do you think?

 

[Crazy fishes]

I feel lost at the moment

I need knowledge! why does this hobby have to be so complicated at times

These are familiar feelings and I believe they never really leave you no matter how much you know. If we look at it like this: Ski's tank is 24" deep the same as yours is. He has two 175W metal halide units giving enough light so that he can support all soft and LPS corals at the bottom of the tank. At the top 6 inches or so you should be able to support some SPS frags. Aim for this if you can get two 150W metal halide units that is good enough, less than Ski's but certainly enough. As Ski said before one halide unit is sufficient for a 2'x2'x2' volume of water and your tank is 36" so you definitely need two units. Are you happy with this? I hope this helps. I'm afraid I can't post any links since it is forum policy not to sorry!

Regards

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, dual 150 halides and maybe a T5 tube or two wrould certainly do well for you. I probably waste a little light with my tank a little thinner than yours. Wished I could find a 3x2x2' tank when I was building my 65... Too bad they were all custom and horribly expensive and the 65 was given in trade for my labor help .

Retrofit kits are great for saving some coin, but remember, they're just bare reflectors, ballasts, and wires... You'll need a hood to install them in

 

[weathermen]

right, I see what your saying,

right I'm going to go for a 250w halide with two T5's and hang it from the ceiling, at least then I can have other lights laying on the top glass to boost the light,

thanks again

 

[Crazy fishes]

The single unit is certainly sufficient for the central two feet or so and you should have no trouble keeping coral alive with this lighting system. You could place the soft corals more to the periphery and keep the hard more central. Also remember if you put other lighting on top of the tank as well you will obscure light from the halide to certain points in the tank. Just a quick note have fun with your new lighting.......

Regards

 

[weathermen]

you will get rid of me soon and I will have a different question to ask, has anyone seen these?

Blau Aquaristic Metal Halide Lighting

90cm 2 x 250w with 2 x 39w T5 Atinic Tubes

The ideal illumination to maintain corals in reef aquariums.
Anti-corrosive anodised aluminium
Lightweight
Easy access to change bulbs
UV ray filtering crystals
Silicone interior wiring
External reactances
Can be hung or placed over aquarium (brakets not suppiled)


Our Price: £359.99

this spec looks great and once again don't need to hang! what's your feeling on these???

am I being a pest now?

 

[Crazy fishes]

You are not being a pest at all; asking questions is what this forums is designed for; to share knowledge and get educated. I have seen these units before, you found this on 1st4aquatics.com? Other than it does not tell what kelvin the bulbs are (i.e area of the visible light spetrum the bulbs peak at), this would be an awesome unit for your corals although your mushrooms are going to have a bit of a shock. With that much light entering your tank I would consider going SPS all the way with a few LPS at the bottom. If you create overhangs of rock you could put the mushrooms under there for a bit of shade and it should appreciate that. Incidently what pumps have you got for water movement? I am thinking if you did want to go SPS then other than lots of light they require lots of, ideally alternating, water movement. I am serious envious of you if that is the lighting you are going with; that is my goal to get enough money to get one for my 180L 3ft Rio. Students don't have this kind of money, if I have £35.99 that is a good day LOL. It is only because of credit cards that I can do marine at all!! Oh well one and a half years left and I will be qualified. Certainly go with that light system in my opinion; they do have an arcadia classica twin 150W that is 88cm long and costs £269.99. A little cheaper and you know arcadia make quality products even if they are expensive. But the one suggest is better for lighting.

Regards

 

[weathermen]

Hi Crazy fishes

thanks for your advice! as for water movement I have three korila 3's plus will be getting 2 seio's as well! the ocean runner from the sump also pushed a good current on the surface!

the Blau halide also do a 2 x 150w unit so that might be better than the 2 x 250w! I don't wonna push anymore than £380, i've done too much on this tank in the last few month's,

Oh yeah I found it on 1st4aquatics plus many more! they are a great price but are they worth it, that's the thing!

plus increasing to this ammount of light would it create more nasty algae?

what are you going to qualify in once you finish uni?

 

[SkiFletch]

Wow that's a LOT of flow. Definitely sounds more like an SPS tank to me

Remember, light is only a secondary contributing factor for algae growth... Availablility of nutrients is the primary and rate-limiting factor for marine algae growth. While shifting over to blue lights (14000K-20000K) will diminish the light that the algae can use (they prefer 6700K-10000K), the problem is not lighting, it's nutrients. Eliminate nutrients and you won't have algae even if you do prefer 10000K.