which halides should I add to setup?

[gio17vani]

I have a 100g 72x18x18 tank and want to keep everything from zoos and anemones to clams and sps in the future. I have decided on xm 10ks but dont know if I should use 2x400 or 2-3x250mh's. Placement of the corals will be bottom to middle of tank and supplement will be with 4x96w actinic pc's. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I'm not quite sure which wattage would be best and want to do it right the 1st time. Thanks Sean

 

[bigdave]

I would go with 3x250W MH with XM 20k with no supplement actinics. They have a real nice clean white with a hint of blue. Use a good reflector and I think you will be happy. Dave

 

[gio17vani]

Only thing is I already have the 4 actinics mounted in my canopy and would rather leave them. I would also consider the 15ks but have yet to see any par ratings or test results. I really like your tank pics those wouldnt be the 20k bulbs in there would it?

 

[bradreef]

the 15k are close to the 20k in par from what I have seen.. but it wont matter in a tank that size. you will be able to grow anything anywhere. 3-250watt. still less power than 2-400's

 

[bc_slc]

I would do either 3 250watt DE pendants or 2 400watt SE pendants. The reason is the DE pendants are focused and you will need 3 or it will look funny - however with the SE pendants the light will be spread out better. If you insist on the actinics, then I would run 10-12k bulbs as you will get better growth and good coloring with the actinics. If you run 20k with the actinics everything will likely look too blue.

 

[Jeff]

I would definitely do three 250DE in a tank with those dimensions. You will get a more uniform light spread and 250s are more than enough power for that depth.

 

[Elmo18]

Hmm...yeah I guess I would prefer 250 SE MH setups with either 10k XMs or the 15k XMs, or a brand of about the same kelvin rating. What reflectors have you decided on?

- Ilham

 

[jlehigh]

I have a 72" tank. You will not need 400's as your tank is not very deep. It will be difficult to cover all 6' with only three lights though. You will more than likely have shadowed areas.

Go to Sanjay's website (Sanjay is the furmost expert providing spectral and plot analysis on Bulbs and reflectors)

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

Scroll down to the articles covering reflectors. Look at the shape of the lighting plot and plan your lights according to what you want. Only Luminarc3 reflectors will get you 24-30 inches of coverage though pendants do tend to have an oval distribution which will suit your width dimensions well IMO .

 

[gio17vani]

I hope this is legal if not I apologize for linking.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3212&item=2360247615&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V
is for 2x400 with no reflector or bulb for $230 shipped. add a reflector and bulbs would still come to around $400

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46314&item=3980321267&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
is 2x400 including bulbs and reflector for $300 shipped but I have not heard great things about this brand/company.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3212&item=2360248703
3x250 with 72" reflector no bulbs for $410 shipped

I'm basically broke so the 400w is more funds friendly but if it makes a difference having 3 vs only 2 I'll bite the bullet.

 

[bc_slc]

you would probably be best with 3 reflectors on a 6 ft tank. Your best bet if you want to save some money is buy them used from someone breaking down a tank. Decide on what you want, and wait for them if necessary. Especially if you are broke now. Don't cheap on the lights or you may regret it and have to do it over again later with what you really want. I would plan to buy lights once in your life....pick the right ones.

Mat

 

[gio17vani]

you would probably be best with 3 reflectors on a 6 ft tank. Your best bet if you want to save some money is buy them used from someone breaking down a tank. Decide on what you want, and wait for them if necessary. Especially if you are broke now. Don't cheap on the lights or you may regret it and have to do it over again later with what you really want. I would plan to buy lights once in your life....pick the right ones.

Mat

Sounds good. I guess I'll go with 3x250 xm 15k's with decent reflectors (spider or luminarc) and try to recoup some cost by selling 4 or 6 of my pc's. Does anyone have any experience with the cooltouch ballast?

 

[bc_slc]

I thought of something else as well. With the depth of tank you are looking at, you could easily get away with a SE system instead of a DE system. I think the best option for you would be a 250 SE system with electronic ballasts. You could save quite a bit of money over a 400watt or DE system and you don't really need the excess light. If you were 24" or 30" deep, then the comparison of a 400watt SE unit vs 250watt DE system is a better conversation.

Mat

 

[gio17vani]

I thought of something else as well. With the depth of tank you are looking at, you could easily get away with a SE system instead of a DE system. I think the best option for you would be a 250 SE system with electronic ballasts. You could save quite a bit of money over a 400watt or DE system and you don't really need the excess light. If you were 24" or 30" deep, then the comparison of a 400watt SE unit vs 250watt DE system is a better conversation.

Mat

Yeah I had planned on the se bulbs as they would save a bit of money I was just concerned with getting enough light for sps and clams without burning softies or zoos. Now my only project is how to aquascape my tank, have over 300lbs to work with but only plan to use 150-200. Anyone have any before coral photos so I can get a rough idea on what I'm trying for? I've seen alot of really nice tanks its just hard to see what the rock structure is underneath it all. Thanks Sean

 

[Elmo18]

Hi Sean. I think its great that you are planning ahead. You can definitely do your rockwork so that there are piles of rock that jut up closer to the lights for SPS and clams, and some lower where you can place your softies and zoos, or ricordeas.

You've gotten awesome advice from everyone here. Yup, and in my opinion, as I suggested up above, 250 Metal halides on E-ballasts will work on an 18" tank.

This will be a fun project!

- Ilham

 

[Jeff]

Another lower cost option, if you decide to go new, are the systems from Ocean Encounter

There systems are actually a few dollars less then the ebay one, when you consider that they include bulbs. They have a choice between there brand of 10,14 and 20K bulbs. You can compare there light bulbs to xm here Sanjays tests .

Unfortunately he does not have the XM 14k up yet, but the 20K look pretty close. There ballast also matches pretty close to an IceCap, but puts out a tiny bit more PAR.

They also have a 250DE package with PFO reflectors.
Just another option for ya.
Jeff

 

[Elmo18]

Yeah Vince at Oceanencounter.com is a great guy. Lots of great things coming from his store.

Sanjay also uses the EVC Tech bulbs on sale there. Can't go wrong with any of the EVC Tech bulbs I believe, and just pick a kelvin rating to your eyes' liking.

- Ilham

 

[Jeff]

You gotta love what Sanjay has done for this hobby. I haven't seen any of the EVC bulbs in person, but from his analysis you can see that the 10K has really high par but its even more yellow than the Iwasakis. That 14K looks real nice though.

 

[gio17vani]

Just one more question. I have noticed that the price difference is only about $20 to go 3x400 vs 3x250. Would this actually be too much light or would I be fine? I had planned to run about 1200w anyway with the 750 or 800 halide and 4x96 pc's originally. Also which setup is more electric bill friendly. Sorry for all the questions but the information is truly invaluable and I only want to do it once...the right way. Thanks Sean

Also decided to move my 55g upstairs into my bedroom last night. The 1000lbs up those stairs over all wood floors was the most fun I've had in awhile.

 

[Jeff]

I would call that overkill but if you want to go for it, you would not be the only one. I have three 250DE and three 100W T-5 on a 72X24X28. I can keep sps on my sandbed. I also use very efficient reflectors on both the halides and the T-5s. I also have to use a chiller on warmer days, really most of the summer.

I run AB 10k halides and if I was going to go with 20k I probably would have gone with 400 watters since most of the 20Ks put out about half of the PAR of the 10K. But, then again there are also bulbs like the phoenix that are about 20K and put out all most as much light as 10K, and as a plus they are not a Chinese bulb.

 

[gio17vani]

I forgot to mention that if I went the 3x400 route I would go 15k bulbs and scrap the pc actinics. It was with the 3x250 that I would have kept the pc's.