Would This Be Ok?

[undautripedwar]

Is it possible to use a 60cm metal halide (1x 150W and 2x27W actinic) over an 80/90cm tank? Obviously the metal halide won't cover the entire tank and there would be more shaded areas toward the edges, but is this ok? To have areas of bright/dim light in the one tank?

 

[WayneVT08]

Well a 400 watt MH covers a 2 foot space, and I think its only something like 18 inches. Which is about 45 cms.

You know how many watts it is?

 

[Musho3210]

400 watts covers more than 2 ft i think, if held high enough (wasted light but more covering) it could probably reach 3-4ft.

150 doesnt cover much, i got it over my 20 gallon (24") 4" from the surface, i get some shadowed spots near the sides and edges. So i wouldnt use it for anymore than 24", if you have a 36" tank, get some PCs or T5s to help it out.

 

[undautripedwar]

400 watts covers more than 2 ft i think, if held high enough (wasted light but more covering) it could probably reach 3-4ft.

150 doesnt cover much, i got it over my 20 gallon (24") 4" from the surface, i get some shadowed spots near the sides and edges. So i wouldnt use it for anymore than 24", if you have a 36" tank, get some PCs or T5s to help it out.

Well the unit has 1x 150W metal halide and 2x27 W t5's. However, the tank I'll get will be at least 80 if not 90cm's so I dont think this will be the answer. I only want one lighting unit, so I think I'll probably get an arcadia overtank luminaire, 4x24W. Wattage is less but I think the coverage will be better.

If i keep the tank at 15" depth or less, would t5 lighting be sufficient for corals?

 

[Musho3210]

wattage = power consumption, not light, dont worry about the wattage.

How deep is it? 150+2 27's could possibly work

 

[emmsy]

would recommend a 14,000 k halide 250w for a 2ft deep tank, but 400w is a bit overdoing it but won't harm

Emma

 

[Musho3210]

would recommend a 14,000 k halide 250w for a 2ft deep tank, but 400w is a bit overdoing it but won't harm

Emma

if hes gonna use 2 27 watt actinic, i would go with the 10,000k unless he sacrifieces a tiny bit of growth for the deep blue color.

 

[emmsy]

would recommend a 14,000 k halide 250w for a 2ft deep tank, but 400w is a bit overdoing it but won't harm

Emma

if hes gonna use 2 27 watt actinic, i would go with the 10,000k unless he sacrifieces a tiny bit of growth for the deep blue color.

yes agree with that

Emma

 

[undautripedwar]

would recommend a 14,000 k halide 250w for a 2ft deep tank, but 400w is a bit overdoing it but won't harm

Emma

if hes gonna use 2 27 watt actinic, i would go with the 10,000k unless he sacrifieces a tiny bit of growth for the deep blue color.

yes agree with that

Emma

The tank will be 16" deep maximum, probably 15". The Halide unit I've been looking at is the following;

http/www.rocketaquatics.co.uk/baquavital...bes-p-1100.html

which will either be on top of a juwel rekord 96 (32x12x16) or a 36x15x15

 

[jeasko]

yes it will do the job but it wont be the best option, ideally you would want probably a 175w mh 10000k with 2 t5 actinic tubes or the same but with a 250w mh

either way there are going to be shady areas in the tank but this is not always so bad, what are you eventually going to try and keep in the tank? if you want SPS and LPS corals then MH will be needed but if you just want sofies then t5 will be sufficient (yes mh would be better but t5 will be ok) at that depth.

If you go with a single 150w unit you will just have to remember to put the light demanding corals towards the centre of the tank, some people dont like to do that as it determins how thier tank looks some people are fine with it.

A 150w may limited you slightly in respect of what you can put in there (for example a tridacnia maxima calm will need more light) but it all comes down to personal choice and waht you want to keep in there

 

[jeasko]

would recommend a 14,000 k halide 250w for a 2ft deep tank, but 400w is a bit overdoing it but won't harm

Emma

not to sure of this statement as it is possible to burn the corals, and with a 400w mh theres a real possibility of doing that!

 

[Musho3210]

yes it will do the job but it wont be the best option, ideally you would want probably a 175w mh 10000k with 2 t5 actinic tubes or the same but with a 250w mh

either way there are going to be shady areas in the tank but this is not always so bad, what are you eventually going to try and keep in the tank? if you want SPS and LPS corals then MH will be needed but if you just want sofies then t5 will be sufficient (yes mh would be better but t5 will be ok) at that depth.

If you go with a single 150w unit you will just have to remember to put the light demanding corals towards the centre of the tank, some people dont like to do that as it determins how thier tank looks some people are fine with it.

A 150w may limited you slightly in respect of what you can put in there (for example a tridacnia maxima calm will need more light) but it all comes down to personal choice and waht you want to keep in there

not anymore with todays technology, T5 is up to par (pun intended) with MH each with their own slight advantage and disadvantage. And with lps the less light the better IME.

 

[jeasko]

Mh and t5 act very differently in water and is well documented that mh will penetrate water better thus being a better light source for deeper tanks, t5 is getting better but is still no where near Mh in regards to performance, in appearance t5 often looks to be doing a better job but this is deceiving, as most of the reason for this is that the light source is near the same length as the tank giving even light everywhere.

For a tank thats 16" deep Mh will be a far better light to have where as a shallow tank would be better with t5 so each have an application that suit, as I said in my previous post it comes down to what you want to keep and personal preference.

 

[Musho3210]

you forgot to add the T5's pros, less power consumption while still spewing out a good amount of PAR in comparison to MH, more even light all around the tank if you want to keep the same type of coral all around the tank, and lastly, its very easy to get the spectrum you want and if you are running more than one tube, you have the dawn-dusk effect which to some people, helps their corals (i dont think theres any scientific evidence on that though), less heat concentrated into one spot, and longer tube life. If you want i could PM you a link to Sanjay's studies on both the lights (still not complete though), its an outside link so i'll have to pm it.

MH's LOOK like their doing a better job, in reality, they are even in advantages and disadvantages, and their average PAR is even. Plus both EASILY penetrates 16".... LFS has 4 72" T5HO bulbs on a tank thats 24" tall, the bottom is as bright as my 16" tall 20 gallon with a 150 watt MH, but the 72" tank has the light even all over the bottom of the tank, my MH creates shadows at the corners and edges.

 

[undautripedwar]

you forgot to add the T5's pros, less power consumption while still spewing out a good amount of PAR in comparison to MH, more even light all around the tank if you want to keep the same type of coral all around the tank, and lastly, its very easy to get the spectrum you want and if you are running more than one tube, you have the dawn-dusk effect which to some people, helps their corals (i dont think theres any scientific evidence on that though), less heat concentrated into one spot, and longer tube life. If you want i could PM you a link to Sanjay's studies on both the lights (still not complete though), its an outside link so i'll have to pm it.

MH's LOOK like their doing a better job, in reality, they are even in advantages and disadvantages, and their average PAR is even. Plus both EASILY penetrates 16".... LFS has 4 72" T5HO bulbs on a tank thats 24" tall, the bottom is as bright as my 16" tall 20 gallon with a 150 watt MH, but the 72" tank has the light even all over the bottom of the tank, my MH creates shadows at the corners and edges.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

I'm not looking to keep anything that requires too much lighting, just some soft corals mainly. I think I'm currently leaning towards an arcadia luminaire with 4x t5 bulbs - mainly because the price of an 80/90cm MH unit is a bit much, and the tank is only 16" deep (it may only be 15").


Would a 4x24W luminaire over an 80cm tank (16") deep be enough for some softies?