2 x 150W MH too much?

[fish]

I have a 37 or 39G tank with the plastic center brace so i need to two lights on each side of the tank to prevent a shadow in the center.

Would two 150W MH lights be too much for the tank, not enough or just right?

Would i need to only run the two MH's or also install some T5's for color or any other reason?

 

[ralph atl]

just right

 

[skriz]

agree...just right! It'll be a really nice setup.

 

[fish]

good, that is exactly what i was hoping for.

Now, do people usually accent the MH with blue T5's or is something like a 14K or 20K bulb enough to get the corals to really pop in color?

 

[Creation Reef & Aquatics]

Depends on the livestock in the tanks but more light is generally better. Good luck keeping the tank cool, use a bunch of fans or get a chiller and never worry about crazy temp fluctuations. If you get the new light, post pics so we can see! Some before and afters would be nice!

 

[fish]

Are 2 150's really going to heat up my tank that bad?

If that is true i might stick with the T5 setup i was planning. I dont want to run into heat problems.

 

[fish]

Ok, T5's it is then. I already picked out good quality parts for my T5 setup so ill just continue with those plans

Thanks guys

 

[fish]

the tank is 30L x 12W and i forget how tall, its a 37 or 39 Your idea is what i want to do, but i have the dreaded plastic center brace.

 

[fish]

I looked into doing that as well and i still might

I am out of town for 4 weeks though, so i have plenty of planning time for when i get back

 

[fish]

If i did go that route

Would i have the 150 in the middle and then 2 T5's in front of it running the length of the tank and then 2 more behind it that same way? Would i use all blue bulbs or a mix for the T5's?

 

[fish]

I like bluer tanks as well, and i do want to get into SPS corals as well for the coloration, but im still in the learning stages.

My tank right now is barely blue at all, i have 4x24W T5's 2 10K and 2 actinic.

 

[Creation Reef & Aquatics]

Sunlight Supply has their Tek Light, this unit uses individual parabolic reflectors for each bulb. This is a really nice fixture, I have an 8 bulb fixture set up over a 30" deep 150 gallon and am keeping every SPS imaginable and clams on the sand.

You will still need fans to exhaust air, even though the T5's are more efficient in the ration of light output to wattage, the heat produce from a watt of light from either T5's or MH is very close, you are just spreading the heat out a bit more with the T5's

I can hook you up with a tek light, just PM me. Call me if you have any extra question about my reef tank with the 8 lamp tek.

 

[fish]

dawgdude;193685 wrote: I would suggest a Pheonix 14k 150w halide, 1 Giesemann actinic (purplish blue), 2 Giesemann Actinic Plus (true blue) and 1 Actinic white. This will give you great color as well as good growth. The phoenix will take care of most of the white light to it will be bright enough but the corals will pop under the actinic.

I would like to do something like this since i am more of a DIY person.

Its either the idea you stated or use 5 Aquatinics reflectors for a all T5 setup with varying bulb colors.

I really cant decide though since i have seen awesome colored tanks with the correct arrangement of T5 bulbs.

 

[fish]

I have heard about this shimmer

I need to check out some MH tanks in person to see what all the talk is about.