MH Thoughts

[Darrick]

Ok, I have a fixture with 4 three foot power compact rated at 96 w each. This only gives me about 2.5 w/gallon with my 150 gl tank. I was thinking of adding some MH to bump up my wattage to around 4 or 5 w/gallon. Thought this would be a much better environment for my corals.



Does anyone have any suggestions on the best route for me or how I can easily achieve my goal? Also if you could make recommendations as to what type of bulbs and how to make a fixture. I'm not that familiar with MH setups.



Thanks in advance!

[Wind]

it depends on many factors, due to of course cost being the main thing !!..

i think MH are the way to go, but it depends what u want to keep. a 150 gallon is how long? what dimensions?


i would go w/ MH and use the PCs and supplementation... that's just me though. remember it is intesity of the light, rather than the wattage... w/ halides it's intensity can penetrate the water deeper /.. good luck..

[Darrick]

Sorry, should have included the dimensions in the first post.

6 feet long
2 feet height
1 1/2 feet from front to back

So, what type of setup are you reffering to? Can you give suggestions on how to set this up for my tank?

[Reefland]

darrick,

Right now you have an existing canopy that you would like to put your new lights inside of correct? How tall is the canopy (from the water surface to the top of the inside of the canopy)? Do you hae the tools to install fans in the canopy as well, most importantly a 4" hole saw?

Question number 2, what kind of budget are you working with? MH can get pretty expensive and I want to make sure we steer you right from the beginning.

Scott Z.

[Darrick]

My hood is only abotu 8" tall to the top of tank. Not a lot of room... Do they make MH fixtures that are this compact? As far as the budget, I haven't really thought about it. The only thing I can say right not is cheap.. Can you give me some ideas of the cost range?

[Poseidon]

I paid $470.00 fo 2 bulbs, 2 Icecap ballasts and 2 reflectors... That is on my 135... Oh ya, throw that watts per gallon crap out the window! Do a search on this board, you willsee just how useless that particular stat is... I think some LFS thought taht up as a way to make money!!

[Darrick]

Yeah, I'm starting to learn... Ok, so if I keep my CorlLife 72' fixture with 4 Power Compacts (2 Whites and 2 Actinic Blue).. If I add some MH lights, what would be necassary to light my tank sufficiently? If I stay away from the Hard Corals... Just medium light and below, maybe a clam or so?

[Reefland]

250w fixtures, either mogule base or Double-Ended, your choice. For that size tank, you should probably do 3 but if you focus on keeping your light demanding corals and clams under the MH, you could do 2 in the center and let the ends of the tank fade off to the PC's for less light demanding corals.

Scott Z.