Is 1000 watts of light for 100 gallon too much?

[travis_]

Your coral is doing well in a bright tank, duh.

no offense, but you input it totally useless and missing the point altogether. Go green? well if that is the case we should all just shut down our tanks, shouldn't we! And hey, if you are less concerned about your coral's well being and more concerned in the cost of electricity, maybe you should replace your lights with low cost fluorescent flood lights. At 29 watts and $7.99 a piece you will be moving closer to being green with your system and hey, you might even be able to keep your corals alive while you are at it.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Travis, I used to light my tank with two 4 x 65 watt CFs, finally did the math and realized I could burn less electricity with 2 each 175 watt halides on my 72 and thus am doing so. Be that as it may, doesn't appear you wanted any other opinions and we are only talking preferences not rocket science..

Enjoy!

 

[jezzeaepi]

So far my tank is doing very well with the 1000 watts of light and I am seeing the most polyp extension when both 400 watt lights are on.

I get the greatest polyp extension when my lights are off, so maybe that means I should leave the lights off all the time....

I also doubt your gettingt he greatest PE from your LPS when they are being baked.

 

[returnofsid]

The topic of your post specifically asked opinions on if 1000 watts of light was too much. Several people have said it might be. How is that rude? You asked, you received.

Just because your corals are showing great polyp extension does not mean that 1000 watts is needed. I'd be willing to bet they would be just as healthy under 2X250 watt lighting, using half of the electricity.

As mentioned, most corals show the best polyp extension at night, so I don't think your lighting is the reason for your corals polyp extension. If your corals are showing great polyp extension, could be because there's lots of nutrients in the water and they're constantly eating.

 

[travis_]

The topic of your post specifically asked opinions on if 1000 watts of light was too much. Several people have said it might be. How is that rude? You asked, you received.

Just because your corals are showing great polyp extension does not mean that 1000 watts is needed. I'd be willing to bet they would be just as healthy under 2X250 watt lighting, using half of the electricity.

As mentioned, most corals show the best polyp extension at night, so I don't think your lighting is the reason for your corals polyp extension. If your corals are showing great polyp extension, could be because there's lots of nutrients in the water and they're constantly eating.

I appreciated all the input. It is the comment "corals do well in bright light - DUH! " that set me off I took as being rude and unnecessary. And as I keep repeating, I only have the 2nd 400 watt on during midday to stimulate the midday sun. I will experiment with different duration over time to see wht works best.

 

[travis_]

I get the greatest polyp extension when my lights are off, so maybe that means I should leave the lights off all the time....

Yeah, I think you should try it. Let me know how it works out for you

 

[Frankie]

Depends on what bulbs you're running and what you want to keep.

Nick

This has a major impact on what wattage your planning on and was a great response.
I am a Radium user and find that 250w Radium's on E ballasts do well over my frag tank and give me the color I am looking for. Bright crisp white. When I had this setup over my 120 the tank was much darker and bluer. I came to realize that it was the depth of the water causing them to be darker and will need to upgrade to 400w to get the same look and par as I do on the 12" tall frag tank. I do not think the answer was asked properly. It really depends on the lamps your planing on useing.

 

[mcvicker]

I think Frankie's comments are right on. As far as the energy cost difference between 250W and 400w MH it can be confusing to figure out. A 250W bulb on some ballasts will pull 330 to 350 watts, so certain 400w combinations are only 20% more electricity. Plus the overall par is similar between the two. So, while you spend 20% more on electricity you aren't overdriving the bulbs which means they will probably last longer, and I am not sure but may not fall off as quickly in intensity. On the other hand your 400W may be overdriving and running at closer to 450W which would be 80% more than a 250w bulb ran at 250w.

I attached a link of Sanjay's testing on combinations of lights. Check it out. You can figure out where your set up is actually performing as far as par output per watt. I know when I used two 400 watt lights I chose lamps (and reflectors which are hugely important) to not overwhelm the corals. Also attempted to limit the actual watts used with alternate timing (similar to what you are doing).

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/articles.htm

 

[travis_]

I think Frankie's comments are right on. As far as the energy cost difference between 250W and 400w MH it can be confusing to figure out. A 250W bulb on some ballasts will pull 330 to 350 watts, so certain 400w combinations are only 20% more electricity. Plus the overall par is similar between the two. So, while you spend 20% more on electricity you aren't overdriving the bulbs which means they will probably last longer, and I am not sure but may not fall off as quickly in intensity. On the other hand your 400W may be overdriving and running at closer to 450W which would be 80% more than a 250w bulb ran at 250w.

I attached a link of Sanjay's testing on combinations of lights. Check it out. You can figure out where your set up is actually performing as far as par output per watt. I know when I used two 400 watt lights I chose lamps (and reflectors which are hugely important) to not overwhelm the corals. Also attempted to limit the actual watts used with alternate timing (similar to what you are doing).

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/articles.htm

thank you both, this is very informative. For the reocrd, the lights I am using are meant for hydroponics and are rather industrial. When I compare the output (mainly in the form of heat) it is roughtly the same as other 250 watts I have put my hand other. Obviously not an accurate measurement, but must mean something.

 

[ULTAQUARIUMSVCS]

I been using 3 1000w mh over my 600g reef. Electric bill been pretty high for the last 2.5 yrs im down grading to 400w's some corals didnt like having soo much light.