need advice on upgrading.

[rwag]

I have a 72 gal bowfront 48 in. wide approx 22 in. deep. Yesterday my pc fixture stopped working.(4,55w) Half of it works half doesnt. Looking at switching
to metal halide . The system I am looking at has 2
175 watt mh along with fluorescent,they are upgradable to vho's or pc's also the mh's are upgradable from 5500k to 10000k-german or 12000k-sunburst . My questions are should I upgrade and what to vho,pc? 10000k,12000k?
And also my tank mainly consists of soft corals now. mushrooms,leather,star polyps,zooanthids,
xenia,etc. I would to like to keep sps,lps in the future, but will too much lighting be a problem with what I currently have in my tank?
Thanks in advance. RWag

[golfish]

RWag,
WELCOME TO REEFLAND

Your tank is kind of deep so I would suggest using 250 watt MH's (at least) Of all the bulbs you mentioned, the 10K's would be the best choice (IMO). I have used 12K's and don't care much for them. I use 4x55 watt PC's on my 150 and they seem to be ok. IMO, VHO's would be a better choice......

A better choice might be to run 2x250 watt Iwasaki bulbs with either 2 or 4 VHO's...............Or dare I say 2x250 watt HQI's For your tank size these might be the BEST choice.

I'll probably get flammed for suggesting HQI's but for your size tank they woul dbe a good choice.

Mark

[rwag]

thanks for the input mark, I thought 250w would be too much. Could you tell me what hqi's are?
also any input regarding how this increase in lighting will affect what I currently have in my tank would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.//Ryan

[golfish]

Ryan,
The 250 watt HQI's I wrote about are the Double ended bulbs. They burn a 10K bulb brighter then all the 400 watt bulbs except for the 400 watt Iwasaki. I use 2x250 watt HQI's on my 48" long by 24" tall x30" wide SPS\Clam tank. I have a few LPS, shrooms and zooanthids in there (no softies) The HQI's have a good color and do burn bright but don't cover my tand very well because its 30" wide. I also run a 400 watt Iwasaki and 4x55 wat actinic PC's. These lights would be a good choice for you. You can also burn the 10K mogul base bulbs with an HQI ballast (another good choice).

Your corals will need sometime to adjust to the light. It should be introduced slowly.

Mark

[RobG]

I just upgraded from 4 * 55W PC to 2*250 10K MH + 2 * 110W Actinic VHO.

I have some LPS, a couple frags of SPS, Shrooms, and a few softies. I started with 3 hours a day of MH and 12 hours of VHO and am slowly increasing the time the MHs are on by about 30-45 minutes every two days. The first couple of days, my shrooms looked really shriveled up, but they are starting to open up better under the MH now. Nothing looks like it's bleaching or dying, so you should be OK as long as you go slow.

The biggest change I've noticed is with my fish (1 yellow tang, mated maroon clowns and 3 green chromis). They hardly come out at all when the MHs are on. I'm sure they'll get used to it eventually...

Rob

[scubadude]

Originally posted by golfish
RWag,
Or dare I say 2x250 watt HQI's For your tank size these might be the BEST choice.

I'll probably get flammed for suggesting HQI's but for your size tank they woul dbe a good choice.

Mark

YOUR IN TROUBLE NOW

I back Marks opinions 99.9% The HQI's can be manipulated and better but its more of a DIY type project....its not something you can just throw together like a couple of iwasakis and a couple of VHO actinics (which is a simple DIY) HQI's require UV protection (tempered glass) and you are also dealing with heat issues. If you feel like diving into HQI's then you need to do your homework unless you buy a put together canopy, which as mark stated the spread can be undesired. If after reading this you still want to investigate DIY-HQI's more and have an hour+ to read then here is a good start.

Some DIY HQI

[rwag]

thanks for the replies. I think I am going to get
the 4 ft canopy w/2 mh and 2 vho from marine depot.I think I will go with the 250w mh.
what do you all think ? also should I upgrade to
a second fan?
thanks,Ryan
link to the light I am looking at

http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_mh_ht.asp?CartId=

[scubadude]

Originally posted by rwag
also should I upgrade to
a second fan?

Absolutely!!

[RobG]

One thing to be sure of is that the unit has separate power cords for the VHO and MH as well as switches.

My old JBJ setup had independent switches, but not power cords so there was no way to put the actinics on a different timer than the daylights. It drove me nuts. :eek3:

[rwag]

good point robg, I know what you mean I also have
jbj lighting. that is what I will be replacing!