Brianemone Posted November 26, 2005 Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 ciao monelli I'm trying to decide what lighting will be best for my tank. i have decided that i will have 2x4' t5 actinics but have not been able to decide what halide setup too use. as you can see form my tank my rock stucture is fairly central and im quite high. heres some options, 2x150w 1x250w and maybe a 150 as well 1x400w?????????????????? i cant decide, the goal is max lighting focused on the rock structure for sps growth. any help is appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted November 26, 2005 Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 For the height and style of rock structure i would go 2 x 150w. Good thing about these is you can get the electronic ballasts for about $80 each. You can get lanp holders/reflectors that would norn be set into the roof, with these you can direct the light by i think 90 deg. So you could focus the light to the centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 26, 2005 Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 to full maximise the lightings, u need to use a good reflectors. If yours is a 4footer, u need atleast 2x150watts or 2x250watts... why not use a lumenarc? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 i was thinking of a luminarc style reflector for the 400w or 250w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 26, 2005 Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 lumenarc will ensure that u will have optimum lights and just by using 250watts, it will be more than enough to keep sps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 do you stock luminarcs Dr evil??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 [edit=cees]no commercial links, read guidelines[/edit] should have looked a bit harder to find these. these would be good for 250w DE?? or only SE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skuzza Posted November 27, 2005 Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 Wow they look cool.I wonder if the blue one would be affective. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 lol. i think they would look nice over the tank as well and should be to har to rig up a support thing as shown in the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 I love my 2 X 150's i just want to get my t5's on there two supplement. When i go bigger next year ill stick with all the ame lighting and no more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 i dont want my lighting to suffice, i want it to be perfect. i dont think 2x 150 will cut it on my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Did on mine for 3 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 can you tell a difference between the 250 and the 150 steve?? other than the whole uv thing your acros are looking great with the 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 I'd get a couple of 250's. Mainly because they'll be reusable for when you upgrade again Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 2x250 or 1x400w ive never seen a 400w in action so its a little hard to gauge the coverage. the 250s would be enough i guess but something in my head says get the 400 (probably because its a higher number) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 as you can see in this pic im heading towards a central sort of structure that could be covered by one big 400w or a bit more coverage maybe with 2x250's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 I recon 400's are overkill, i'll be downgrading to 250's at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 i guess the 250's will give a better coverage, what about 3x 150's that might work nicely. one centred up the top and then one on the left and one on the right, or doesnt the 150 have enough punch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 400's are awesome but you may have heat issues. You need a compromise between spread and power. I'd not go back to 250s after having the 400s. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 hmmmm darn it, time for some more options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 im very content with 150's to be honest. just put your lights lower down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 For the lighting, it really depends on what u will be keeping in future. If you intend to keep SPS in future, 250watts is a better choice so u wont keep on upgrading. Futhermore, if you uses 250watts, for future upgrade to 400watts, u can still u the reflectors and just change the ballast only. if you just wanna keep LPS, 150watts will do..... looking at ur tank, u need 2 units... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 looking at ur tank, u need 2 units... i will need two to get the coverage i need anb 250's are probably the way to go, dont feel like 2x400w is necassary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 dont feel like 2x400w is necassary I would agree with that. Especially if your running low nutrients. Plus you'd almost definitely have to get a chiller if you ran 400's. Another $900. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 yep claire would love that too. think i'll invest in a fan next month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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