mogurnda April 20, 2007 Share April 20, 2007 I will be devoting about half of a 40 breeder to getting frags off the floor of my main tank. What I want is to get enough light for good growth and color, but saving money on electricity, inital outlay and keeping heat down are factors as well. The space will be about 18X18, and lamp height is completely flexible. The corals would be acros, other SPS, gorgonians. At the moment, I am thinking about a 250 watt retro with 14000 lamp. Total cost about $200, and has the advantage that I am using 250W SE lamps on the other two tanks, so I could swap out lights to try different things. That seems like overkill, so I have also been thinking about a 175 HQI or even 150. What are people using, what would you suggest? WHat about T5s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets April 20, 2007 Share April 20, 2007 I think t5s would be a great option! Especially if you concerned about heat, but I am still not sold on the "savings" side of them. i have a 24"x24" prop/zoa/LPS display and i am lighting it with a 14K 250w MH. I love it! I have no complaints. I will switch to an XM 20K on the next bulb switch. here are a couple pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 April 20, 2007 Share April 20, 2007 i would do the 250w for the reason you listed above. I am actually in the same boat as you and just set up a 20g nano/frag tank and am doing the 250w mh over it. I will test the temp fluctuation this weekend since i will be around to monitor the temp swing. I will let you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 20, 2007 Author Share April 20, 2007 The corals definitely look sweet in that tank. What are you doing for flow in your prop tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets April 20, 2007 Share April 20, 2007 Thanks! Tunze Nano stream. It shares the same water as the 75 SPS tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 April 20, 2007 Share April 20, 2007 i will be going sumpless but have two powerheads, hangon skimmer and filter for flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets April 20, 2007 Share April 20, 2007 i will be going sumpless but have two powerheads, hangon skimmer and filter for flow. I've tried this with and without a skimmer and I just don't like the results. Colors never seem to be the same as compared to the main tank. i think it is very beneficial to hook them all into one system if you can. If not, use the water from the main tank to do a water change on the prop. Does that make sense? i think I said it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 April 20, 2007 Share April 20, 2007 i used to have mine hooked into the main system and like it because it makes it easier but like to have different setups in case one has a problem. You can also QT corals easier in a smaller tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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