need some lighting advice....

[ConUSsd]

alright everybody, i just acquired a new (used) 125g tank. i need some lighting advice. i'm not going to be setting it up until i move into my new house in the fall, but i figure i'll start acquiring all the equipment i need now.

but how many watts for mh, how much actinic, how long should i run them for each day, and how high should i mount the mh's above the tank. the canopy is pretty low to the tank now, maybe about 5-6 inches maximum height above the tank. the canopy can be easily added onto height wise so how much more should i go?

all your .02 opinions count! thx. oliver

[wwxc]

Kind of depends on what you want to be keeping in the tank.

[brahm]

Yea tell us what your goals are for the tank, what you want to keep ect.

[ConUSsd]

in all honesty, i haven't really decided. as of right now, i'm only keepin softies; zoos, xenias, shrooms, polyps, etc. so for this tank, i haven't really decided what to do. any ideas? i definitely wanna start getting some sps' for this new tank but haven't really decided on what. sorry it's vague but at this point anything goes! :D

[skkyy]

Well I say the more the better, cause you don't want to have to keep upgrading in the future if you settle for less now. And it looks like your going to be keeping sps, so I'd say halides for sure. Should consider 250 DE, there the way to go if you don't want 400w which is a killer in electricity. The general rule of thumb is 24" of coverage per bulb. Hope that helps

Son

[nalbar]

you need to tell us how tall the tank is.


nalbar

[ConUSsd]

tank dimensions: (approx) 72" long, 16" deep, 24" tall

[nalbar]

three 250w MH's for a bright tank, three 175w for a low light. that would be my guess.

go to AW and check out that square one they have. they have a clam WAY at the bottom.

nalbar

[ConUSsd]

thanks nalbar! i definitely appreciate it and will check out the tank at aw. also thanks skkyy for the advice also!

i've been doing some reading out there about the mh and hqi lights. are there any major drawbacks or positives in using either a single end or dual end light?

[brahm]

heat! Make sure your canopy is tall enough or your pendant is high enough, depending on your lights / location fans & or chiller might be needed.

[ConUSsd]

what would you recommend for a canopy height if i were to run a couple of 250's? i'm definitely going to be installing a fan in the canopy. how high should i mount the lights above the tank?

[skkyy]

Well I have my 250 DE's over 8" above the surface, with a clip on fan blowing in the sump my temp never reaches above 80. I'd say go with DE's, there comparitive to 400w in intensity. I've got SE right next to DE and you can see a major difference in intensity, and my corals colors seem to pop under the DE's, compared to the SE's.

Son

[brahm]

11"-12" canopy will let your lights hang about 8-10" from the surface

[ConUSsd]

thx brahm, now i know exactly how much to add on to the canopy to have the proper clearance. :)