250 watts over a 20 gal?

[DustinKeating]

Would it be a good idea, or even feasable to put 250 watt MH pendant over a 20 gallon?

If not, could i raise the pendant around 24" in order to disperse and lessen the effects of the halide bulb?

 

[Mushroomman]

Yes it would, if your growing light loving corals like sps or some lps, I was thinking about a 250 watt over a 25 gallon, its 10 watts a gallon, but that really is unneccessary, and kind of a waste. But it is possible. Or you can go 175 watts, that would be 8.75 watts a gallon, or maybe even lower that to a 150 watt. Its up to you. Just be careful the light doesnt heat up the water.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

a 150-175 will be more than enough, you could put it like 12-15" from the waterline

 

[wayne]

What do you want to grow. It may be desirable, but prob not.

 

[DustinKeating]

Right now i have a bunch of softies (leather, shrooms and zoo's) But only because that's the only corals i could keep with my previous lighting. I'm getting this 250 because its the only thing available to me (for $80). I imagine it will make my tank more suited for sps and lps, but i'm really happy with that. I love lps corals and i can see the attraction in sps, although i dont share it quite as much as most others.

I think i'll bury my zoo's and other softies in the lower most level, and plan for some more light intensive corals. Think this will work, or will i have way to hard a time dealing with heat, evap, etc.

 

[Managuense]

the only way i can think of you actually able to maintain temperature would be to run a sump....possibly even a larger one than your main tank for extra water volume.

i would think that that much MH would raise your temp too high even if it were a foot or more above your tank.

 

[jammerz]

i put two 250 MH over my 80g + 25g sump. and it raised my temp 5 degrees. I think 1 would boil a 20g.....just my thoughts

 

[DustinKeating]

Ahhh crap. I really hope i can make this work. Putting in a sump is not an option, i live in canada so might be able to maintain some sort of balance. If i leave the tank at room temperature it's usually somewhere around 70-72. I assume the MH couldn't raise it more than 8 degrees, i could be wrong but that seems a little intense.

I was planning on mounting 2 computer fans on both sides of the tank, would that be enough to keep it under control?

 

[S.Reef]

You could do it...its very challenging maintaining a stable water temperature and you have to watch out for bleaching.

 

[wayne]

It can be done, but your lps will likely bleach. SPS, zo's , softies will love it. Just because they tolerate lower light doesn't mean it's their normal env

 

[DustinKeating]

yeah, i think i'm going to do my best to find a 150-175w. I think it would be all around better, and easier to handle.