[B_R_A_D]

I just got from work a free 1,000 W MH Light fixture and Ballast..... Is that way too much light? I got a 55 gallon custom tank thats about 4 feet tall???? I have nothing in the tank as of yet but would love to keep a variety of corals, echinoderms, and a couple of fish........ If its too much for my tank.... let me know......

Thanks

[Reefland]

It's not too much light, but probably too much heat. If you can figure a way to keep it cool then go for it, but it's going to be hard without external ventilation and probably a chiller.

[B_R_A_D]

cool...... thanks..... i think im going to build it into my hood and put a couple more fans to help with the cooling of the light..........


Thanks Again...... you guys are the greatest......

[Reefland]

It's going to take more than a couple of fans to cool it. I think it would need to be vented outdoors (or at least out of the room) with some sort of DIY ventilation hood and even then, you might still need a chiller. I would not put it any less than 24" from the surface of your tank even after adding the ventilation system and chiller.

As mentioned above, it's not a matter of being too much light, although corals would need to be very slowly and carefully acclimated to the intense light as hardly anyone uses them (due to cost and heat). It is simply a matter of heat, heat and more heat.

[Reefland]

Here's a thread that is in our Equipment Archive forum that you might find useful about using too much light.
Too much light? Such thing?

Ninong discusses adding too much light to a captive reef.