MH lighting

[ckwatson]

Whats a good MH set up for a 65 gallon with no canopy. The tank is 24" tall. I will be trying to do this a cheap as possible. I am pretty good with DIY so any ideas will be good. I was thinking two 75w lights will that be enough to get down to the bottom of the tank. I am also trying to keep the heat down I dont want to buy a chiller. I will also have some t5 supplemental light. I have a nova extreme that I would like to keep using. So the HM would just be to help get more par at the bottom of the tank.

 

[chull13]

I would do at least 2x150. I was thinking about doing 2x250 with that tank.

 

[george]

I've always liked the Hamilton Reefstar pendants. DE bulb for good par and excellent reflectors.

What wattage depends on what you want to keep where, but a 250 with a 10K bulb would sufficient.

 

[ckwatson]

the tank is 36x18x24 I think I would have to double check to make sure. I am keeping a mixed reef so I would need enough par to keep anything any where in the tank. Would one 250w cover the whole tank or would I have dark spots on the sides of the tank

 

[mufret]

ckwatson;176405 wrote: the tank is 36x18x24 I think I would have to double check to make sure. I am keeping a mixed reef so I would need enough par to keep anything any where in the tank. Would one 250w cover the whole tank or would I have dark spots on the sides of the tank

Does it have a center brace? That would be a potential issue if you were going to try and only use a single bulb setup.

 

[ckwatson]

yes it does have a center brace, that is why I was thinking of doing 2 smaller watt bulbs rather than 1 big one I just what to make sure it will get the light I need to the bottom with out burning up the stuff higher up in the tank.

 

[chicagoman_35]

I have 2- 250w MH ballasts for sale, they fire SE bulbs...

$30/ea.

 

[mufret]

ckwatson;176412 wrote: yes it does have a center brace, that is why I was thinking of doing 2 smaller watt bulbs rather than 1 big one I just what to make sure it will get the light I need to the bottom with out burning up the stuff higher up in the tank.

Using 2 setups will give you better coverage. You will need to look at all 3 components (ballast/reflector/bulb) of the set up to determine which will be the best choice for the types of corals you want to keep. Do you have a preference on the color you want to see? Will you be running any supplimental lighting?

 

[ckwatson]

I have a nova extreme that I would like to keep using running 2 10k and 2 460nm actinics t5s. I would prob run 10k MH bulbs I like just a little blue in the tank. I may run 12k in the t5 instead of the 10ks or replace one of the 10ks with an actinic. If I run 14 HM would I still need supplemental lighting

 

[george]

Ah, center brace == no single pendant.

In that case, I'd say 2 of the 150 Reefstars would be an excellent choice.

 

[george]

ckwatson;176421 wrote: If I run 14 HM would I still need supplemental lighting

Since you do have a deep tank and unless you do 2x 250w pendants, I'd steer clear of the 14K/15K bulbs. They look nice, but (generally) have the worst par of the MH bulbs. Either 10K or 20K is better. Technically, with either, you don't need supplemental lighting, except to provide a longer "day" without having the 100% intensity of the MH fixtures.