180 Gallon Lighting

[khalid]

Hi all,

 

I am going to set up a 180 gallon tank once I am done redoing the basement and and basically trying to gather all the parts. I am planning to use Ice Cap Double ended pendants but am not sure what kind of wattage to run on this full SPS tank. The following are the options I have been thinking about and with all of these I will be running at least 8 T5 with individual reflectors.

 

1) 3x250 Watt

2) 4x250 Watt

3) 3x400 Watt

 

What do you guys think would be the best option?

 

Thanks,

 

Khalid

[amay121]

3 x 250 is good enough.

[www.fishnreef.com]

Khalid,

Are you going to use 8 T5 plus the MH? It might be overkill. Agree with Amay that 3 x 250 Watt is good for daytime, plus some T-5 supplements for actinic. You may want to design out the actual physical space requirements for all the elements to make sure they fit as you expect.

[Coral Hind]

Need more info.

 

What wattage T5's are you going to use?

What are the dimensions of the tank?

What Kelvin rating are the bulbs going to be?

[steveoutlaw]

Khalid - I had a 210g tank (6" higher than the 180) and I ran 3 x 250w single end with generic spider reflectors and 2 x 6' VHO super actinics. I was able to grow SPS and keep clams on the sandbed.

 

Also, if you are looking to run radiums you may want to stick with single ended bulbs. I know that they don't make a 250w in DE.......not sure about other wattages.

 

Good luck!

[khalid]

Thanks all for the great feedback!

 

Need more info.

 

What wattage T5's are you going to use?

What are the dimensions of the tank?

What Kelvin rating are the bulbs going to be?

 

 

I was thinking of running 4x39 Watt T5's on Ice cap 660's along the front and the back of the tank with the MH in between. The MH bulbs I will probably be using and Phenix 14's on Magnetic ballasts. The tank is 72x24x24. Should look like this (sorry about my crappy artwork).

___________ ___________

___________ ___________

___ ___ ___

l___l l___l l___l

___________ ___________

___________ ___________

 

Ok when it post it changes the picture but the MH will be evenly spread out inbetween the T5's

Edited February 16, 2010 by khalid

[epleeds]

depending on what type of T5 bulbs you are going to be using, have you thought of just two 80 watt bulbs. they are 5 or 6 feet in length and if your using just for supplements they would save you some $$ in bulb replacement.

 

also keep in mind I have never used MH so i my idea might not work...

Edited February 16, 2010 by epleeds

[zygote2k]

How about 12) PAR 38 LED bulbs on swivel sockets?

[khalid]

depending on what type of T5 bulbs you are going to be using, have you thought of just two 80 watt bulbs. they are 5 or 6 feet in length and if your using just for supplements they would save you some $$ in bulb replacement.

 

also keep in mind I have never used MH so i my idea might not work...

 

 

That is a option I have as well. I want to use a mix of Geisman actinics and aqua blue+. I have to see if the are available in 80 watt version.

[khalid]

How about 12) PAR 38 LED bulbs on swivel sockets?

 

I haven't thought about doing that mainly becayse I haven't seen a setup running it yet and don't know what it would look like. Also not sure how clams and SPS's would do. Have you finished setting yours up Rob? If so how's everything looking and doing? Also, what kind of light spread are you getting?

Edited February 18, 2010 by khalid

[zygote2k]

I use 3) 40 degree lamps and I have them centered over the tank and all the SPS that I care about in the lighted area. The new tank has only been up for 2 weeks, so I can't honestly tell you yet if the corals like the light. They have full polyp extension and readily feed. I have one SPS frag that has changed color from a pink limeade look to a bright pastel yellow. In a few more weeks, I'll be able to tell you how much new growth has ocurred. If you like, stop by and take a look.

 

With our current lighting themes, (MH and t5's etc.) the whole tank is brightly lit. With the 40 degree lenses, only certain areas are brightly lit, and the outlying areas are shadowy. In my opinion, the spotlights give a more realistic look and feel to the tank.

 

The main argument to using LED's is the lack of bulb replacement and lack of heat. I can put my cheek against the bulb surface and it only feels warm. The PAR 38's are about $100 per bulb and you still need to make a fixture, so the initial outlay can be a little pricey, but any adequate light system for a 180 will be upwards of $600.

Edited February 18, 2010 by zygote2k

[khalid]

Ya it is a great savings that I'll have to keep in mind but I think I have to wait a little longer to see how peoples tanks do with them. I'll definitely need to hit you up to check out how it looks soon.

[watson_barrett]

I was thinking of running 4x39 Watt T5's on Ice cap 660's along the front and the back of the tank with the MH in between. The MH bulbs I will probably be using and Phenix 14's on Magnetic ballasts. The tank is 72x24x24. Should look like this (sorry about my crappy artwork).

___________ ___________

 

 

I don't think you are going to have enough room to have 8 t5's and a MH in a 24" deep tank. What reflectors are you thinking of using?

 

3x250 SE with 4 T5s or VHOs should do the trick and allow you to keep anything you want in there. If you are going to run 20k bulbs you may want to think about going with 400's though.

[Coral Hind]

Yes, it all depends on what style reflector / fixture he uses. If he uses DE as he mentioned in the OP then it would work. If he used a SE LumenBright L then he would barely fit one bulb on each side as you mentioned. I would go with 2 x 80w lamps if it was mine.

[OldReefer]

My last tank was a 180 and I regretted going with pendants. Much less PAR than my previous tank running moguls and VHOs.

 

Based on all of Sanjay's data, the best possible PAR is 3-PFO parallel reflectors with moguls. I am amazed from the data how much less PAR comes out of many of the DE fixtures. Just something to think about. Some of the old-school stuff really rocked.

[khalid]

My last tank was a 180 and I regretted going with pendants. Much less PAR than my previous tank running moguls and VHOs.

 

Based on all of Sanjay's data, the best possible PAR is 3-PFO parallel reflectors with moguls. I am amazed from the data how much less PAR comes out of many of the DE fixtures. Just something to think about. Some of the old-school stuff really rocked.

 

 

I'll take a look into that, thanks. The reason I was going to use the double ended pendants is because I already have them sitting int he basement in my fish stuff pile and it wouldn't cost me anything.