Lighting for a 180gal tank

[sid101]

I got an offer today about a 180 gallon acrylic tank with pretty much everything but no lights, i will purchase this weekend this (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~action~view~idProduct~SL2121~idCategor y~FILTFIT58U~category~48in_Units~vendor~.html) lamp because is dirt cheap, now if i want some really nice lighting i would put at least 2 150w metal hallides right? i was thinking 14000k maybe two of these (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~action~view~idProduct~ES53601~idCatego ry~FILTFIMHPDDE~category~Double_Ended_Halide-Pendants-Metal_Halide-Light_Fixtures-Lighting-Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies~vendor~.html)( the revised version will full UV protection) or just 2 regular 150watt MH with Uv protection.

What do you think?

[travie]

I'm not sure which one you should go with, but I am sure that we need to know how deep the tank is to give good advice on what type of light for a reef tank. So how deep is the tank?

[Fishguy2727]

14,000K is a really good color.

I would go higher wattage. At least 175 if not 250 or 400, depending on what corals you want. If there is no center brace you could do three halides. In addition to the halides you would want some actinic supplementation like T5 HO w/ individual reflectors. The cheapest I have seen on ebay for 6' halide fixtures is $600 or so. Price depends a lot on quality (duh). So just keep that in mind when you find steals on ebay and the like. And if there is any chance you will ever want some more demanding corals you will want to buy it now, not buy okay lighting now AND high end later.

[sid101]

the tank is 72x24x24 i plan on having everything i can ^^, but i would like to be able to have any coral i would like, the tank has a center brace, is this (http://truvuaquariums.com/ma00180l.html) tank but from another brand "Clarity plus".

Check the links (the only words underlined) posted withing the words in my first post so you can see the t-5 fixture i'll have along with the metal hallide lamps.

[Fishguy2727]

That is a 180. A 150 is 72x18x28.

[sid101]

Yeah i made a mistake typing, i asked the mods to help me fix it, it's an 180 gallon tank not 150, so going back to the lights. what i was thinking was the fixture i linked to with is 8 t-5 54w tubes and 2 150W metal hallides at 14000k.

What do you think?

[Fishguy2727]

Are you going to put one halide on each end of the T5 fixture?

I would still go higher wattage halides.

[AABatteries]

I would go with this (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~category~Current_USA_72_inch_Outer_Orb it_3x150w_10K_HQI_MH_w__8x39W_T5_HO___24_Lunar_Lig hts_72in~vendor~Current_USA~SearchStr~~action~view ~idProduct~CU01074~idCategory~FILTFIMHMTMDMLM8.htm l) fixture, but I'm 95% its out of your price range.

EDIT: Cheaper (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~action~view~idProduct~ES53510~idCatego ry~FILTFIMHMPMDMLM8~category~72_Inch-with_Moon_Lights-Double_Ended_Halide-Halide_with_Compact-Metal_Halide-Light_Fixtures-Lighting-Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies~vendor~.html), but still a good amount.

EDIT II: Or two of these (http://fishneedit.com/250w-metal-halide-pendant-lig.html). And DIY in some VHO's or t5 actinics. If you go with them, be sure to replace the bulbs. Cocoa had something go wrong with his, forget what it was exactly.

[cocoa_pleco]

^^^^^^^^

that one looks good. you want 1 halide per 24" of tank. you can get away with 2 though, my 125g has a 250w halide/2x65w PC and a 150w halide/2x39w T5

[sid101]

Yes i would be putting the lights like this:

(MH) (===========T-5============) (MH)

Both MH lamps in such an angle not much light escapes both would be pointed a litle inwards, or clamping the MH on the sides and pointing them also
inward.

Since the T-5 lamps would be in the middle..... ah i just saw my error, since t-5 will be actinic and pink then they wouldnt help lighting much....

Hmm, getting away with only 2 MH would still amount for SPS?

[cocoa_pleco]

for SPS i would really get 3 halides unless you just position the SPS under/near the 2 halides only

[sid101]

my concern about 3 halides is that one should be in the center and this is an acrylic tank with a centerpiece bar in the top.

Check the link (http://truvuaquariums.com/ma00180l.html) again enlarge the picture

[cocoa_pleco]

shouldnt be a problem. one of my halides is near the center brace without problems. as long as you hang the halide at a appropriate height the center brace should not melt

[sid101]

Hmmm, what would that distance be? remember this is my first marine tank =)

[AABatteries]

What's wrong with pink and atinic? Its really not pink, more of a purple. They still coutn toward total wattage.

[sid101]

Well i did some more research regarding lighting, and did some experiments in cad to see how to arrange everything so i got some more questions.

Can i use regular MH fixtures? (not made for aquaria)
What about if i upgrade both MH lamps to 250 watts?

[Fishguy2727]

If it is actual metal halide and not halogen and the color is right (maybe that non-aquarium fixture can take aquarium bulbs) it would be okay.

[cocoa_pleco]

Can i use regular MH fixtures? (not made for aquaria)
What about if i upgrade both MH lamps to 250 watts?

you cannot use non-aquarium MH (industrial etc), on another forum someone asked and everyone said no. its something to do with the reflectivity and a few other things.

250w would be fine for the height of the 180. if you want only high light corals even 400w halides are a consideration

[sid101]

I dont want only high light corals but i want to have to meassure twice and cut only once when it comes to lighting, so i dont have to worrie about it when im buying corals.

i need enough lightpower to need only 2 MH lamps besides the 8 VHO T-5's (54 w each)