Carl November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 (edited) Who has a large FOWLR with low lighting, and perhaps some MH shimmer as well? I want to have relatively low light, in a tank that is 36 inches tall (by 9 feet) . I also would like some MH shimmer. What is the least amount of light I can use? Could I get away with 3 70w MH lights? plus 4x4 supplemental VHO's or 4-6 t5's?. Would 3 175w MH lights be enough? -Carl Edited November 7, 2007 by Carl
jason the filter freak November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 Light doesn't matter to fish, you could easily go 150 watters I wanna see this beast
Carl November 7, 2007 Author November 7, 2007 (edited) Light doesn't matter to fish, you could easily go 150 watters I wanna see this beast I'm working on it...I'm keeping my eye out for 3 used MH lights for the tank. I keep seeing 400w for sale...but I think that will be way too much for what I need. I'm trying to figure out if I can get away with 70w or 175w, so I can purchase them! Edited November 7, 2007 by Carl
steveoutlaw November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 Carl- I wouldn't go with anything less than 250w. With a tank as deep and as wide as yours and only going with 3 bulbs on a 9 foot tank, you need to make sure there is enough light so you can actually see the fish.
Brian Ward November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 I think the 175W might be OK - you'll be bright on top and dim in the bottom. I'd consider going with 4 across the tank instead of 3 - you only really get a 2' spread from each reflector, so 3 would leave you with a lot of dead space. however, if you can mount them high enough to get a better spread - 3 250W would probably work.
davelin315 November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 Carl, why kid yourself? You know that after a few weeks you'll want to go full blown reef... If you're just looking for shimmer, just get some LEDs. The MH won't really do much in the way of lighting your tank for you unless you get a better one and the coverage won't be that great. If you simply get some LEDs you'll accomplish the shimmer because of their intensity. I'm about to experiment with some holiday LED lighting on my tank to see if it's able to light it up. I'll let you know what happens. Oh, and my suggestion is to go as low as possible if you're going to just shoot for shimmer. LEDs don't penetrate that far so the less light you have the better so that you don't end up with lots of nuisance algae. Heck, if the type of lighting is not a problem, then just get yourself some halogen worklights or outdoor flood lamps. You can use the VHO lighting to supplement and get the color adjusted to what you want. That'll accomplish shimmer and effective lighting for your tank for being able to see your inhabitants. Plus, the halogen bulbs do produce some usable PAR as well.
zotzer November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 Heck, if the type of lighting is not a problem, then just get yourself some halogen worklights or outdoor flood lamps. You can use the VHO lighting to supplement and get the color adjusted to what you want. That'll accomplish shimmer and effective lighting for your tank for being able to see your inhabitants. Plus, the halogen bulbs do produce some usable PAR as well. I am SO GLAD you mentioned this. People keep talking about supplementing T5s or other flourescent sources with "shimmer". I've thought about just regular (also very inexepensive) halogen, and wondered if anyone has successfully used them. Tracy
discretekarma November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 Where are your center braces located? Is there only one brace right in the middle or multiple? How wide are they?
steveoutlaw November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 Where are your center braces located? Is there only one brace right in the middle or multiple? How wide are they? His tank has 2 braces so there is a total of 3 openings on a 9 foot tank.
dbartco November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 I think 3 175 with good reflectors and a little height will work. Addition of flourescents dilute the shimmer effect.
jamesbuf November 7, 2007 November 7, 2007 Considering that bulbs for the 175 and 250 are about the same price, why not just go with the 250s? Just trying to help.
Carl November 8, 2007 Author November 8, 2007 (edited) Thanks for all your feedback...it sounds like 75w and 400w are out. It's either 175w or 250w. Like Steve said, I have 3 openings over 8'3", plus an additional 9 inches being a full-side-overflow. So if I go MH, it will be 3 bulbs. Dave - I'm looking forward to your experiment...keep me posted. And I assume I'll be able to grow "something" if I use 250w mh...at least some stuff toward the top...and I'll have to find some shrooms that like it dark toward the bottom. James - trying to conserve energy and electricty cost...if I"m going to put fish in there that destroy corals - like triggers - I won't be successful with corals...so I just assume use less electricity with the 175 vs the 250. What I think I'll do, is set the tank up...and after I have water in it...borrow someone's 175w and/or 250w for a day or so to see how it looks. In the meantime, I will continue to accumulate equipment. Although, I've had bad luck trying to purchase that Sequence Barracuda...twice now... Edited November 8, 2007 by Carl
dandy7200 November 8, 2007 November 8, 2007 DE bulbs produce more shimmer than SE. I would do 4ea 150w bulbs. For a FOWLR I wouldn't even bother with actinics, just run something like a 12k reeflux bulb and be done with it. I have a few M81 ballast that have never been used that I would let go pretty cheap. http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageA...D&ProdID=39
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now