Guest clownfish4 July 29, 2004 Share July 29, 2004 I currently have a 55g with 1 65w PC daylight bulb and 1 65w PC smart bulb(half acitnic and half daylight). I plan on upgrading to a metal halide, but need to know what size to get. I was thinking about getting a 175w, is that enough to house most hard corals? The tank is 20" high and I have a 6" sand bed. The light would be about 5" off the surface of the water. I do not have a heat issue, so I just need to know about intensity. Thanks a lot! I was also thinking about keeping both of the power compacts on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greatwit July 29, 2004 Share July 29, 2004 imho: you might need to get 2 mhs, unless you want lots of shadows in your tank(recommned 1 per 2 ft). 175w or 150w hqis should penetrate enough, but for a little more money you can get 250w mhs with more bulb options and the ability to be used if you upgrade later on. many 250w ballasts will fire both se and de bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller July 29, 2004 Share July 29, 2004 i agree you will need 2 bulbs for a 4 foot tank i have 2x250 over my 75 gl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 July 29, 2004 Share July 29, 2004 Hmm.....I really don't want to have to run two. What about if I get a 250 and center it and run my 2 PC's over the entire tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctreptow July 30, 2004 Share July 30, 2004 I have one 175W over my 29G. The tank is 30" long and I do have shadows on the edges. If you can deal with the shadows it should do. I know Icecap has the spider reflector which is supposed to spead the light more evenly over a longer distance. My 175w came with a spider reflector which I didn't use but it seems like it would work nice. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cjm033 July 30, 2004 Share July 30, 2004 if ur gonna get a hallide get a 200 there like the same price as the 175's n 25 more watts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller July 30, 2004 Share July 30, 2004 if you really only want one bulb and dont mind the ends of the tank dark just make sure you out your coral in the middle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KABALA July 30, 2004 Share July 30, 2004 Chris, Just curious if you still have the spider reflector and if so interested in selling it? Let me know. Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 July 30, 2004 Share July 30, 2004 Well, I can't exactly afford a second halide right now, so I would be stuck with one. What about bending the edges of the reflector out a little bit? Will that give a wider area? Also, with the pc's on, how bad would the shadows be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller July 30, 2004 Share July 30, 2004 Don't center the light over the plastic brace. If you have a plastic brace in the middle I would think it may get to hot and pop it. At the very least, the UV would quickly make it brittle and pop it. I use 3 - 250s on a 220 and now have metal braces since the plastic ones popped. Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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