Need Some Lighting Advice...

[Mort]

Hi All,
I am in the proccess of establishing my first reef and it has been running
for about 4 months now.
I will be upgrading to MH lights soon and this is where I could use some
advice.
First off, wattage... My reef is 75g. I plan on keeping clams and some sps.
I've read confilicting opinions on the 250W vs the 400W. I plan on keeping 2
10000K MH in a canopy and supplimenting with 2 48" VHO Actinic. My plans for
the canopy would put the bulb itself 9" above the water. I will have 2 4"
smart fans in the canopy.

Should I go with the 250s or the 400s?

TIA

~Mort

[Marc Levenson]

Mort, 250w bulbs are plenty for that size tank.

Marc


Mort wrote:

> Hi All,
> I am in the proccess of establishing my first reef and it has been running
> for about 4 months now.
> I will be upgrading to MH lights soon and this is where I could use some
> advice.
> First off, wattage... My reef is 75g. I plan on keeping clams and some sps.
> I've read confilicting opinions on the 250W vs the 400W. I plan on keeping 2
> 10000K MH in a canopy and supplimenting with 2 48" VHO Actinic. My plans for
> the canopy would put the bulb itself 9" above the water. I will have 2 4"
> smart fans in the canopy.
>
> Should I go with the 250s or the 400s?
>
> TIA
>
> ~Mort

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[kim gross]

Mort wrote:
> Hi All,
> I am in the proccess of establishing my first reef and it has been running
> for about 4 months now.
> I will be upgrading to MH lights soon and this is where I could use some
> advice.
> First off, wattage... My reef is 75g. I plan on keeping clams and some sps.
> I've read confilicting opinions on the 250W vs the 400W. I plan on keeping 2
> 10000K MH in a canopy and supplimenting with 2 48" VHO Actinic. My plans for
> the canopy would put the bulb itself 9" above the water. I will have 2 4"
> smart fans in the canopy.
>
> Should I go with the 250s or the 400s?
>
> TIA
>
> ~Mort
>
>
>
Mort,

The 250's should be fine on a 75 gallon tank. Unless you want all
bright light sps, then I would still suggest 400's, for a mixed tank the
dual 250's will be fine.

Kim

http://www.jensalt.com

[Rod]

as the other have said, 250s will do nicely, but if it were my tank, I would go
with 400s.. I know many people that have upgraded to 400s after using 250s for
awhile.
Rod Buehler
www.asplashoflife.com

[Marc Levenson]

If he had a deeper tank, I'd suggest the stronger wattage myself. However, it
isn't one.

Plus he may be considering (or should be) the cost of running 800w of lighting
10-12 hours a day vs 500w. My electric bill has been rather notable this year,
with deregulation and increased kilowatt rates.

Marc


Rod wrote:

> as the other have said, 250s will do nicely, but if it were my tank, I would go
> with 400s.. I know many people that have upgraded to 400s after using 250s for
> awhile.
> Rod Buehler
> www.asplashoflife.com

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Rod]

>
>If he had a deeper tank, I'd suggest the stronger wattage myself. However,
>it
>isn't one.
>

True. But I would still use 400s ;) (but thats me). I use 400s on tanks that
are only 12" tall.

>Plus he may be considering (or should be) the cost of running 800w of
>lighting
>10-12 hours a day vs 500w. My electric bill has been rather notable this
>year,
>with deregulation and increased kilowatt rates.
>

True again!
Rod Buehler
www.asplashoflife.com