upgrading the lighting of my 125?

[boomer]

My wife and I have a problem, we purchased 2 400w MH and 2 50/50 125w pc lights to retrofit into our exhisting canopy of our 125 gallon tank which is currently a fo tank (fish only). Our canopy doesnt open totally in order to service it as it is so in order to do water changes we must remove the top. Now with the retrofit fixtures we have yet to install the problem is now even more apparent that the lights are too close to the water; or are they (is 4" too close)? We will add three fans to our canopy inorder to keep the temp down, is a chiller necessary. Or should we just upgrade our tank see it being that its an odd shape 6'L x 18"H x 14"W, it has never been reef ready and has been funtional with our 2 emperor 400 power wheel filters, giant protein skimmer I believe its by aquarium enviroments (Magnum?), 4 maxi jets to circulate water, and 2 heaters. Does anyone think before we start getting into corals and invertebraes we should truely consider exchanging our tank for a reef ready and convert to sump. And if so what will keep the sump from overflowing if the power goes off. Truely dazed and confused thanks

[Reefland]

Hi boomer,

4" off the surface is probably too close. For 1 your not going to get the maximum amount of light coverage from the bulbs and it soulds like your already strestching using only 2 halides over a 6' tank; the general rule is that 1 halide will cover a 2'x2' area. Secondly there is the issue of heat and I would be surprised if a couple of fans would cut it from 400 watters. The only thing you can do is try but I would be very concerned with the temperature of the water directly under the bulbs a few inches below the surface. I think you would need a chiller but you would have to test.

It sounds like you are pretty dedicated in the hobby and looking at moving to a reef tank. If so, I would suggest you consider the upgrade. Going with a tank that has more width (18" minimum) that is drilled would be some suggestions. Using a drilled tank with a sump in concept sounds very scary but once you set it up and use it, you will see that it is very easy and foll-proof. In a nutshell, run your sump only half full and when the pump is shutdown, you will have enough romm to capture the drain water from the tank.

[charlie]

If it was me, I would go ahead and upgrade the tank. The 18" width is the minimum that I would go. I think the wider the better, it opens up alot more options for aquascaping. Maybe look at 72"x 24"x 24". If you are gonna upgrade, do it once and be done!!!
As for the 400w lites being only 4" of the top, in my opinion that is way to close. You could get by with only 2 over a 6' tank, but I don't think you will be happy. My 400w lites are 13" off the top, and I have heat issues in the summer. Of course, if I didn't have 6 of them it would make a difference
Scott has it nailed on the sump!!!!
Welcome to you, hope you enjoy it here.

[boomer]

ok i was pretty sure i wanted a better tank,so know i will do it before i get to carried away.as far as lighting,whats ideal?the new tank will prop be somewhere in the ball park what charlie suggested 72-24-24.we want to not be held back.(If you are gonna upgrade, do it once and be done!!!)4 400w too much?4 250w? to use with my pc.more pc? i would like a canopy but charlie has his lights 13" off the water. thats a huge canopy,so do i go custom far as stand and canopy?just need some suggestions to sort through my options. thank you

[Reefland]

That is an excellent sized tank. Since the height is 24" you could easily get away with 250w halides but since you already have 400w, you could add 1 more and cover the length of the tank well. You could go with 250's and place some DE's in a canopy only about 10" tall. Since some of the DE pendents are slim it would leave them about 6" from the water.

[charlie]

boomer, I think you could do 3 250w with a 24" deep tank. You have to remember, if you have a sandbed, the tank isn't 24" deep anymore. I probably overkilled my tank with 400w, but things sure grow nice.
I don't have a canopy, take a look in my gallery to see some pics. As Scott said, each MH will cover a 2x2 area.

[boomer]

exscuse my newbness but what are these de pendents scott is talking about?thank you for you knowledge

[Reefland]

DE = Double-Ended, referring to the type of socket for the metal halide bulb.

[charlie]

exscuse my newbness but what are these de pendents scott is talking about?thank you for you knowledge

Check out the lighting section at Marine Depots site, that should help you out a little.