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mr. fix it

mh lights

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hi all, glad to see were back in business, thank you marc and team. i have couple of questions regarding mh light. i'm slowly in the process of setting up a new tank, it's an all glass 180 gallon with built in overflows. while at my lfs we were talking about some of the things i have yet to buy. my lighting was brought up that i should go to 250 watt mh lights, as i had planned to use my coralife hood with 3-150 watt mh lights. i want to start collecting corals in the future, right now all i have is an assortment of fish and 12 bta's who think that they own the tank due to when thay all open up they take up a lot of room, but look awsome. all of them have split off from the original one i bought years ago. anyway does this seem reasonable since the new tank will be 6" wider, and 25 1/2" tall. i was looking at the icecap pendants with either the lumatek or icecap ballasts. also if i need to make a change are there any other suggestions for lighting. i have 3 mh lights now would i also need 3-250 watt, would 4 be overkill for a 6' tank. thanks.

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Lighting , ‎ Questions - Need some input

Comments

  1. Heathd's Avatar
    25.5 inches tall really isnt that tall. I think it comes down to whatt type of corals you intend to keep, and how high you will have the MH lights above the tank. I could easily see your 150mh light fixture being able to support demanding sps up top with lps and softies down low and in the middle.
  2. sedor's Avatar
    If you want to be able to keep anything, anywhere in the tank...then 3 250W halides would be required...but not in addition to what you already have. And yes, 4 would be unnecessary overkill. If you already have the 150's maybe you could get away with using those and adding something like 4 T5's in there as well...just a thought, personally I would just buy 3 new 250W lights.
  3. tiny2383's Avatar
    ive seen some really awesome things done with LEDs if cost of power is an issue. would require some work on your part if you get a diy'er kit. i just got one for my nano 29 that has mh with it. the heat and the cost to run it became a huge problem. so i opted for the LEDs from rapidled.com. you can really customize your lighting color and how it lights up. here are some links that may give you an idea:

    http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.p...s-for-DIY-LEDs
    http://reefbuilders.com/2010/03/09/d...e-xre-xpg-mce/
    http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.p...-pendent-build