300 Gallon tank lighting

[justincsumner]

So me and my wife are in the process of upgrading from 2 75 gallon reef tanks to a 300 gallon tank. Dimensions are currently 30" Tall x 24" Deep x 8' Long. We only have a few corals in our 75 gallon such as a few very small mushrooms, xeina, Green star polyps, bubble tip anem ect... nothing fancy yet. The lighting the previous owner had was for fish only as its just a retrofit ballist kit for 1 double bulb i beleive 54watt bulbs but i could be mistaken. im not at home to check at the moment exactly what it is but non the less it wont cut it. So my question is since i dont really know much about lighting is what is going to be the min amount im going to have to put into this tank to grow corals? any help would be appreciated. Im not opposed to a diy light fixture as long as it isnt to complicated. Im not the most handy man ever.

 

[rdnelson]

There a lot of more experienced people here than I am but I may be able to help you out a bit. I would say you need at least a 12 lamp T5 if you are keeping the nem. Basically that would give you two rows of 6 - 4' lamps. If you wanted to do a DIY, I could get you some warehouse High Bay Flourescent fixtures and they could be modified and then put into a canopy. I can get them in 6 lamp or 8 lamp for 4' T5. I modified one and put over my tank. You are welcome to come check it out if you like. I am not far from you. I live in NW Forsyth just north of Old Federal Hwy.

 

[justincsumner]

Now let me ask this....which is going to be better
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OOJZ8Q/ref=s9_simh_gw_p199_d0_g199_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0K2YYHXM227TNC5JSVZM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OOJZ8Q/ref=s9_simh_gw_p199_d0_g199_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0K2YYHXM227TNC5JSVZM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846</a>
or
[IMG]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OOMXFI/ref=s9_simh_gw_p199_d0_g199_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0K2YYHXM227TNC5JSVZM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OOMXFI/ref=s9_simh_gw_p199_d0_g199_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0K2YYHXM227TNC5JSVZM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846</a>

The difference is the bulb size, I know this is a cheap fixture but i could do something like this seeing how its as cheap as replacing bulbs anyways. I could put a total of 4 of these on the tank

 

[rdnelson]

If it were me I would go with the T5 HO lamps. They do a much better job and soon that is all you will be able to buy in Flourescent at that lenght.

 

[hud3339]

I would go 3x400w MH with phoenix 14k bulbs

 

[gnashty]

With a 30" tall you will need to punch it up a notch if you want to keep certain species on the sand bed

 

[stacy22]

I would think with 30" depth you are going to need 400W metal halides. Most good reflectors give about 24" coverage so you would need 4 of them.

 

[justincsumner]

on the 400W metal halides, where would be a good place to look at getting them?

 

[justincsumner]

Or what about led's like say for instance i leave the built in t-5 bulbs and put in an 48inch led strip on each side of the tank would that be possiable. If so how many watts would i need for something like that maybe.

 

[snowmansnow]

you can do T5 if you don't want to go HQI.

keep in mind that 1 t5 fixture may outperform another with the same number of lamps CONSIDERABLY based on how its made... cooling.. reflectors and so forth.

If you're going SPS and nem I would go with this T5. Your tank is only 6 inches deeper than mine and I keep sps all the way to the bottom with T5.

Here is the best price point T5 IMO.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/ATI/Powermodule_Fixtures/48_inch__10x54W_Powermodule_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI">http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/ATI/Powermodule_Fixtures/48_inch__10x54W_Powermodule_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI</a>

Some may disagree, but that is a KICK*&% fixture that would let you keep pretty much anything you want

 

[lilrobb]

To adequately light that tank with LED you'd be looking at 1700$...
For MH maybe 800...

The initially higher cost of LEDs is set off by lower energy consumption and no need for an expensive chiller...

 

[snowmansnow]

justincsumner;721789 wrote: Or what about led's like say for instance i leave the built in t-5 bulbs and put in an 48inch led strip on each side of the tank would that be possiable. If so how many watts would i need for something like that maybe.

for the time being I feel like LEDS (even DIY) would be price prohibitive unless you have a deeeeeep pocket you can reach into ... which is a real possibility u know I just don't think LEDs have arrived yet for the hobby in a way that is main stream accessible&gt;

Edit:

justincsumner;721781 wrote: on the 400W metal halides, where would be a good place to look at getting them?

I have owned these. They are cheap and do a great job. Very reliable, but they run HOT. Throw some pheonix 14k in them and you'd be set You would probably need 4 of them for 8'

http://www.marinedepot.com/Hamilton_HQI_Reefstar_Lighting_System_Double_Ended_Metal_Halide_Pendants-Hamilton-HT1411-FILTFIMHPDDE-vi.html

Edit:

LilRobb;721794 wrote: To adequately light that tank with LED you'd be looking at 1700$...
For MH maybe 800...

The initially higher cost of LEDs is set off by lower energy consumption and no need for an expensive chiller...

Even so... at 30" hes gonna need some SERIOUS LEDs

 

[dme330i]

Sometimes I think we over emphasize lighting (or other variables for that matter). The growth puzzle requires multiple inputs, most of which moderate each other. Here's my old 210 that was 30" deep. I ran 250W DE Phoenix 14k in a cheap Hellolights retro fixture (x3) - not exactly a PAR machine. I ran this lighting set up for color and to save on electricity, thinking that I would sacrifice growth.

To my surprise, SPS thrived even at the bottom. At the time of the photo, the tank was less than 18 months old and all SPS came in as frags.

All I'm saying is that there are multiple variables to consider. While lighting is probably in the top 2 or 3, I don't think 400W is essential to experience great colors and growth. IMO/E, stability is the number one factor to manage.

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[snowmansnow]

while I DO agree with this statement I also see a LOT of digita in this tank (which are cool, but require less light). I do see some acros, but they are along the top half... hard to tell exactly from the photo... but just saying what I THINK to be

as far as digitas and caps go you'll be fine w 250 at 30", most softies I can think of, and LPS would also be fine, but dont try an anemone or some of the more photohungry sps corals IMO

Flow is also a big factor in color and growth, call me crazy, but I know what I've seen in my own limited exp.

b

 

[justincsumner]

ok so you guys have made up my mind. Im going to try to find some cheap 400 watt metal halides or worse come to worse 250 watt. Thanks so much for the imput guys! I really appreciate the advice!!

 

[joshainga]

I have a roughly 400 gallon that I'm sitting on and trying to decide how i want to run it. The issue I'm having is with it being 36" tall and lighting options as i will be doing mostly softie and lps and maybe some sps at the top third of the tank, I'm not sure what route to go.

Edit: so i feel your pain on lighting options

 

[rdnelson]

Just wanted to throw this out there. Witnessed a par reading with LED on a 30" tank last night. Seems to me, PAR is not an issue if the right LED are used. I know that there will be a day (hopefully not too far in the future) when my tank will be lit with LED. If you want actual par levels, check with LilRobb

 

[justincsumner]

Ok so heres what i have so far. I bought 2 retrofit 400 watt MH lights yesterday and SET up my rockwork on one side of the tank( The new Baserock I have) And when i get it up and running completly i have abut 200Lbs of live rock from my other tanks i plan on putting on the other side leaving avally of approx 2 feet in the center of the tank with no rock just a large shipwreck peice that i have. Do you guys think that for now one halide on each side with a few t-5 bulbs will suffice for a little while I plan on getting two more 400 Watt halides but im waiting on another good deal. I might even go with 2 250 watt if its a good deal. Most the coral we have at the moment is soft.

 

[stacy22]

I think this would work for the corals you have. It may look aesthetically "uneven" to you though.

 

[livingroomocean]

Running AI on a 30 inch deep tank with no problems at all... they are running at around 50% .... Par is not an issue at all ... I was bleaching corals left and right with the AI until I realized less is more with them ..