[jiggly75]

I am setting up a 120 gallon reef tank. I already have an extra Icecap 600 ballast. Will 4 vho's be enough light for soft and hard corals? I would appreciate any advice on this topic.

[kevinpo]

That light setup will be fine for most soft and LPS corals. Also for 8-10 SPS of the lower light intensities types. They will have to be placed within about 12" of the bulbs though. The bulbs should be placed as close to the waters surface as possible. If possible remove the glass covers from the tank too. They reduce the light transmission 7-8%.

HTH,
Kevin

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by kevinpo

If possible remove the glass covers from the tank too. They reduce the light transmission 7-8%.

Isn't it bad for the bulbs for the salt/water to get splashed/evaporated onto them? If it isn't, I'm gonna get rid of my glass covers too!

[kevinpo]

VHO's use special 3 piece end caps that are watertight. Normal output (NO) bulbs most of the time do not. Power compact (PC) lights do not either so for those types you need to protect the terminals by using the glass. Also PC's run much hotter and might burst if water is splashed on them.

Regards,
Kevin

[Sueet]

Kewl, thanks for the info, my 50 has vho's, and the glass is a pia, because of the way the canopy is built, I have to practically remove the canopy to be able to move the glass to get into the tank... if it is safe to leave the glass off, then that is what I will do... I assume I should just damp-cloth wipe the salt off ever-so-often? This will make one task much easier