[scubajames]

I just bought a 125g, and I'm trying to find out what mh & atintic setup you'd suggest

[Tereefic]

How deep is the 125 ? Just on the surface I would recommend 2 X 250 watt halides ( kelvin degrees based on your own preference ) and either 2 X 110 watt actinic VHO's or a couple of T 5 actinics ( also based on your preference.) That setup should allow you to keep most everything you would like. Lighting is based on what you plan on keeping. If you are planning a softy tank, less light may be in order. A stony tank would do well with the 250 halides. Some others may recommend 400 watt halides but I personally do not subscribe to that much light neeed on your size tank and smaller. That is just my opinion and I hope it helps a bit. Keep in mind that 1 halide bulb will cover a 2' X 2' area and 250 watt halides will penetrate well to 24 ". If you are serious about SPS and the tank is 30" or deeper, 400 watt halides could become an option. Basically there are several variables to consider when choosing lighting and more info on your setup would be helpful in helping you decide.

Originally Posted by scubajames

I just bought a 125g, and I'm trying to find out what mh & atintic setup you'd suggest

[scubajames]

I'M LOOKING TO KEEP AN ASSORTMENT OF CORALS HARD, SOFT, LARGE & SMALL. MY TANK IS AN ACYRLIC AND IT MEASURES 5' Lx18" Wx24 T

[jmoore]

Originally Posted by scubajames

I'M LOOKING TO KEEP AN ASSORTMENT OF CORALS HARD, SOFT, LARGE & SMALL. MY TANK IS AN ACYRLIC AND IT MEASURES 5' Lx18" Wx24 T

you should be fine with 175's depending on how far away you wont to mount mh. I think it would be neat to setup a tank 4' long or more with one mh and vhos on the other 1 to whatever feet and an attempt to get a cross section look. ie cut the reef down the middle and look at it from the side. put the majority of lr and ovbioualy all the stonies under the mh and then have the softies in the other section of the tank under vhos i think if you want to keep all kinds of corals this makes for a more natural look. Its an idea i have been toying with anyway sure its been done before just thought i would through it out their.

fwiw

Jim

[The R/C Man]

Welcome Everyone!

Well lighting is fairly subjective. My 25gal is 20 inches deep and I use a 250w MH and 2 65w PC Actinics. At 24" deep you can definitaly use 400w MH. I probably would. It will make a huge difference on the colors of your corals between the two especially any SPS that may be located in the substrate. Remember you can always raise the lights an inch or two. IMO it is better to be on the brighter side than not have enough....

[charlie]

Another thing you want to think about is heating issues, and how far off the top your lites are gonna be. On my 300 which is 24" deep, my 400w lites are 13" off the surface. If I drop them an inch, some of my corals start to bleach, and I have heating issues. Just something to think about.

[The R/C Man]

Good point Charlie.... If I remember correctly for ever inch you lower or raise your lights it changes the intesity 4 times. Help me out Kevin is that right. Anyway I have installed two fans on my 25 gallon canopy. One on each end that turn on with the MH lighting. I have also installed a window air conditioner to help maintain the tank temp. Even after the extra trouble it was worth it. IMO my corals look great and I have the colors I was striving for. Hope that helps.....

[Steven Pro]

Originally Posted by The R/C Man

Good point Charlie.... If I remember correctly for ever inch you lower or raise your lights it changes the intesity 4 times.

You are kind of close. You are talking about the inverse square law. I believe it is if you cut the distance in half, say going from 12" to 6", you quadruple the light going into the tank.

You could probably search Yahoo or something similar for inverse square law and perhaps add Sanjay Joshi name's to the mix for a thorough discussion.

[The R/C Man]

Yeah that is it..... Thanks!