MH questions

[Cichlid-Man]

So after i get back from further training and in a stable place i'm planning on setting up a 30gal salt. At least i think its a 30....30L maybe? Anyways, i'm trying to gather most of the equipment now, or at least have a general idea of the direction i am going so when i get back its basically plug and play.

I've come to the lighting portion of the setup. I know i'll be wanting to keep a variety of coral in the tank, especially SPS. Thus, i want MH's.

One question i have is would you suggest something like 2 150w MHs over a tank like mine? 36" long and about 16-17" deep. MHs generally have a 24" light spread right? I figured going up to 250w's would be overkill?

Oh an i am looking at retrofits, none of this fancy and expensive complete hood system things. I want lights that i could possibly use on an upgrade tank later on too. Just incase, you know how it is.

2 150ws on a 30gal? Yes, no, maybe?

 

[Mushroomman]

good to see you around matt

in my opinion 2 150's would work just fine... if you do look into going halides that would be one of the better routes. 14000 is a decent spectrum but in my experience doesnt provide as much eye popping colouration that the higher K's can kick out. However if you were looking to keep the lights if you upgrade, youd probably want alot more power than the 150 watts can give you. Great for this tank, not so great for a sizeable upgrade.

a single 250 would work if you position it just right, but still the corners wont be as bright and the whole tank wouldnt have the good balanced lighting feel that comes from multiple units, there would also be shadows at angles where the single unit cant reach. Basically it will perform its function but will not look pretty.

retrofitting and making your own blending halides and maybe actinics or something would be a great idea, get the power of the halides plus the added aesthetics of actinics

also another option would be t-5's... from what Ive seen personally and have been told by friends in the hobby longer than I have, t-5s rival halides as long as you have at least 6 bulbs in a fixture, and can have better overall coloration because you can get different bulbs to blend rather than one with the one spectrum. The problem with that is the width on a 30 is only a foot and a 6 bulb fixture is usually about 15 inches, leaving some overhang on the sides, but besides that, it would be one option worth looking into, one Im considering for my tank

just thought Id throw in my experience because I went just halides and am now looking to improve the setup aesthetically, would rather have you do it right and be pleased then in my situation. I really think youd be fine with the 2 150's, Id like to see what others think.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I'd love to go 250w for future upgrades for sure, but the problem is 1. 2x250w over a 30gal seems a bit much? and 2. Key word is future upgrades, who really knows what the future holds. So thats good, i think i'll just go with duel 150s for now. And possibly some T5s added to it a little later.

With the MH fixtures i'm looking at being only 6" wide, i could probably squeeze 1-2 T5s on each side.

Thanks for the response, and its good to be back around for a short while.

 

[TRe]

if you wanna use it for future upgrades im with mushroomman that 150w will be useless .... right now i only have 2x 250w over my 6' 125g therefore i belive 1x250w over your 36" tank should be fine and not overkill at all espesially if your planning to keep sps... one thing i would suggest if u decide to go that route is invest in a lumaric reflector to spread the light more evenly....btw i picked up my retrofits from hellolights.com and was totally happy with them you could also throw on a 36" t5 retro fit setup for another $100 that MH/T5 combo will let you keep anything you want and can always be used on future setups...aside from the lumaric reflector you can do everything for about $250 shipped