halide q@a

[pizzaguy]

Planning stages. On a 30" deep tank will 250 watt work or would 400 watt be better? Tank is 24×48×30 and I'm trying to only use 2 halide pendants like lumenarc etc. And maybe some blue led supplement like stunners or something along that line.

[YHSublime]

250W MH, and Reefbrite. Any additional T5 bulbs you can throw on the edges are a plus. My opinion.

[DaveS]

Depending on how high up your reflector is, 30" is a likely a little deep for 250W- especially if you are using the lumenarc.  You may also get lots of light spilling out. 

 

I have a 24x72x30 and 3 Lumenbright pendants 14" over the water with 400W was perfect.  You would get the same thing with 2 reflectors.

 

Once you get your SPS grown out, then maybe you could consider going to a 250 to reduce heat/power.  That was my plan but I never got to the point where I wanted my SPS to slow down...

[pizzaguy]

Here's my problem. The lighting will have to be in a canopy. Doesn't have to have a lid on it but the lights will be fairly close to the water. Basically this tank will be viewable from both sides kinda like a room divider in my living room. My ceilings in the living room are probably 20 feet or more tall so no chance they can be hung. So they have to be mounted to a canopy somehow

[DaveS]

If they have to be low like that, you won't get as much spread so the lumenarc may be ok. Your bigger problem is going to be heat. Maybe the 250w is a better option because of that...

[pizzaguy]

But will the 250 watt be enough to penetrate at least 3/4 the way down. Not in stone but most likely bare bottom with all sps half way up or higher. And maybe lps zoa on the bottom

[pizzaguy]

What other brands should I be looking at? Only experience I have with halides is with strip lights with t5 built in. So all the halide reflectors are new to me

[DaveS]

My guess is that with the reflectors that low, you should be able to do LPS and zoas on the bottom fine.

[DaveS]

Btw, I have one lumenarc you can borrow to test of you want. No 250w options though...

[Ryan S]

You're probably go to want/need a chiller with 250w or 400w MHs.

 

My old tank was 27" deep and the 400w worked great.  I didn't have it as close as you're planning though, mine was like 16" off the surface.

 

Personally I would use 400w's on any tank that is 27" deep or more.

[flowerseller]

I used 3 x 250w on commercial ballasts for 15 years, bulbs about 14" from water line.

I used full sized lumenarc reflectors and supplemented with 2x 160w 03's.

I changed bulbs 10-12 months.  

I used a chiller and of course UV.

2-3" white sand bed

I had plenty of sps but not strictly sps at all levels.

[Coral Hind]

I'd go with 250w 10k, maybe 14k, since the high light demanding corals can be placed higher. Not all SPS are high light demanding corals so some of the deep water acros or species like montipora, pavona, and hydnaphora, can be placed lower. I'd run ozone, even just one day a week, thru the skimmer to clear the water and allow light to better penetrate.

 

If you want a higher kelvin like a 20k you might want the 400w. You can also increase the photoperiod some to help the coral get enough energy.  

[pizzaguy]

Trying to avoid a chiller at all costs. I know easier said then done but I do have a ac register in the floor very close to the tank. May be able to do something with that.

I plan to use 14k bulbs most likely with blue led supplement.

Coral hind I know nothing about ozone. Don't even know what it's for. I will read up on that a bit.

Bulbs I can figure out but let's talk reflectors a bit. What's good what to stay away from. What options should I be looking at. And most importantly what is the absolute minimum distance the reflector should be from the water.

 

 

Off topic but check out the nitrate reactor I just built for my cube tank nitrate battle. Getting ready to post pics.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Fans do amazing things, everyone always says stuff about chillers. I ran 3 400w, 10k bulbs with 4 t5s and 12 Cree 3w leds with one fan mounted to the wall and I would have another on the sump during the summertime. My tank never got above 80 degrees. And I never used the heat in the winter. : )

 

I would use 250w 10 or 12k bulbs with carbon or ozone as well even radiums would be fine on a good ballast if your keeping acros up off the bottom.

I would keep the reflectors edge at least 4 or 5 inches away from the water to give the heat time to dispurse before it heats the water. 6 Or 7 is normally what I keep mine at to get good coverage, depends on your setup though. Research the best reflectors they are just as important as your bulbs and ballast combo.

[pizzaguy]

All sps will be in the top 2/3 of the tank. If anything is on the bottom at all it would be zoas or lps.

So would I need 2 or 3 reflectors?? Would also like to stay with 2 if possible.

Most likely will use 14k bulbs.

I'm starting the steel stand build next week so probably gonna come together pretty quick. Only thing I need to complete is lights and the stand build which will be quick.

[pizzaguy]

I know graham just did a pretty in depth test on reflectors etc. Gonna check that out also

[gws3]

On my 90 gallon (48" L x 18" W x 27" H I think) I run 2x 250W radium on M80 in lumenmax elites.  They are only about 10" from water surface to the reflector.  Lot's of light, 800 par for colonies at the top.  No problem growing SPS at the bottom.

 

I think this would be plenty for your tank since you the biggest dimension you are trying to cover with 1 light is 24".

 

The conclusion I reached from playing around with reflectors and bulbs was that a 250w should go in a reflector with the spot light (lumenmax elite, lumenbright), but not a wide reflector like a lumenarc or cozumel sun... it won't have enough punch for sps.  A 400w is well suited for the larger reflector, and can be run in the spot light type if raised up a bit.... but I would save the 400w for when you are trying to cover a bigger area than 24" x 18".

 

If you buy a 250/400 lumatek/luxcore ballast and the reflector you want you can always go between 250w and 400w with only a bulb change.

[pizzaguy]

So those reflectors should cover 48x24?? Versus 48x18

[gws3]

Yes, I think if I had another 6" front to back on that tank it wouldn't be a problem with coverage. 

 

The lumenmax elite is no longer made and may be hard to find.  I personally like the lumenbright reflectors the most. The pendant is no longer made and was hard to find when I got mine a month or so ago.  I believe they are still going to make the reflector only... it was out of stock a month ago but I believe they (Coralvue) were going to get more by the end of september.

[matt]

On my 90 gallon (48" L x 18" W x 27" H I think) I run 2x 250W radium on M80 in lumenmax elites.  They are only about 10" from water surface to the reflector.  Lot's of light, 800 par for colonies at the top.  No problem growing SPS at the bottom.

 

I think this would be plenty for your tank since you the biggest dimension you are trying to cover with 1 light is 24".

 

The conclusion I reached from playing around with reflectors and bulbs was that a 250w should go in a reflector with the spot light (lumenmax elite, lumenbright), but not a wide reflector like a lumenarc or cozumel sun... it won't have enough punch for sps.  A 400w is well suited for the larger reflector, and can be run in the spot light type if raised up a bit.... but I would save the 400w for when you are trying to cover a bigger area than 24" x 18".

 

If you buy a 250/400 lumatek/luxcore ballast and the reflector you want you can always go between 250w and 400w with only a bulb change.

 

Graham, what kind of photoperiod do you run? I've bounce around a lot on lighting my new 90g (aka waffled), but what I've struggled with in considering MH is how to keep a prolonged viewing period if the reflectors are taking up most of the real estate above the tank. For instance, the lumenmax elites are 14.5"...so for me I have like 16" of water open from above on the 90g after accounting for trim. Are you just running a reefbrite or something else outside the photo-period of full bore MH?

[pizzaguy]

Good question. I'm also wondering if there is a ssupplemental lighting

[matt]

Good question. I'm also wondering if there is a ssupplemental lighting

You've got enough real estate with 24" width you could use any or all of T5, VHO, and LED to supplement. When I look at the market for MH right now, it seems geared to tanks of at least that kind of width.

[pizzaguy]

I do have plenty of room. I'm guessing 2 48" reefbrites would be the easiest solution

[pizzaguy]

500 bucks for 2 there has to be a cheaper solution for supplement

[matt]

Two evergrows...one on each end aimed across the length of the tank to the opposite bottom corner. On a long tank with room for this I think it could be interesting to try as a "cheap" supplement. It would let you fine tune for color as well. Not sure how well the heat sink and fans would perform like this though.

 

Otherwise, a 2x or 4x T5 retro may work for you. You'd still have bulb replacement, but with 4x you could tweak for color with bulb choice and you'd get pretty good coverage to boot.

 

OR, as I think about it...get a 2xt5 and one ReefBrite if your MH can technically do the job by itself. This only leaves two bulbs to replace, it's narrower than 4xT5, and you could have a photoperiond like...

 

Start: ReefBrite (windex flourescence and shadows)

Mid: ReefBrite + T5 (B+ and C+)

Mid-day: T5 + Halide

Mid: ReefBrite + T5 (B+ and C+)

End: ReefBrite

 

I say B+ and C+ with a ReefBrite just because that's what I do on a smaller tank and I really like the look. I like it better than P+ and B+ with it...but I have not tried B+ and B+ with it. You could also add the T5 initially and then add the ReefBrite a bit later to stagger the cost. The 2xT5 is better for a prolonged viewing period than just the LED windex look in my opinion.