metal halide wattage for 75?

karnivorous · 11/29/2009, 01:17 AM

ive got a 75 waiting to be setup, its your usual oceanic 75, i gues its about 20 inches deep. anyway, should i go for 175w or 250w? ill be looking to keep some sps dowm the road, but not a ton, so the top of the taank will be plenty of space for them. is there any other benefit to the 250w over the 175w that im not aware of?

Lps157 · 11/29/2009, 01:27 AM

I'd definitely go with the 250. You may want that little extra wattage down the road. There also seems to be greater bulb choice with the 250.

aaronnohren · 11/29/2009, 09:46 AM

Go with the 250w. I have a 250w 14,000k on my 40g breeder and my corals are loving it. Can't see a reason why you wouldn't want to with your 75. Better to spend the money now than to upgrade later on down the road and have to reinvest.

mfinn · 11/29/2009, 10:58 AM

I'd go with 2x250 watt with a couple VHO or T-5 actinic.

Zebodog · 11/29/2009, 12:13 PM

Go with 250W.

For what it's worth, you'd probably find that a top quality 150W HQI will put out more usable light than a comparable 175W. The DE and associated reflectors do a better job of capturing usable light than the SE bulbs; or so I've read.

Roy Arena · 11/29/2009, 09:16 PM

Are you going to run a deep sand bed? If so you can get away with the 175's.

danceswithfish · 11/30/2009, 01:18 AM

250w. Better for sps. If you decide you want to keep more sps you will be ready.

11/29/2009, 01:17 AM	#1
karnivorous Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: oakville Posts: 209	metal halide wattage for 75? ive got a 75 waiting to be setup, its your usual oceanic 75, i gues its about 20 inches deep. anyway, should i go for 175w or 250w? ill be looking to keep some sps dowm the road, but not a ton, so the top of the taank will be plenty of space for them. is there any other benefit to the 250w over the 175w that im not aware of?

11/30/2009, 01:18 AM	#7
danceswithfish Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: BC Canada Posts: 491	250w. Better for sps. If you decide you want to keep more sps you will be ready. __________________ Click on my name, "danceswithfish" then click on "visit danaceswithfish's homepage!" to see my 90g build!

11/29/2009, 01:27 AM	#2
Lps157 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: ABQ Posts: 244	I'd definitely go with the 250. You may want that little extra wattage down the road. There also seems to be greater bulb choice with the 250.

11/29/2009, 09:46 AM	#3
aaronnohren Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 89	Go with the 250w. I have a 250w 14,000k on my 40g breeder and my corals are loving it. Can't see a reason why you wouldn't want to with your 75. Better to spend the money now than to upgrade later on down the road and have to reinvest.

11/29/2009, 10:58 AM	#4
mfinn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Olympia. WA. Posts: 8,648	I'd go with 2x250 watt with a couple VHO or T-5 actinic.

11/29/2009, 12:13 PM	#5
Zebodog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mississauga, ON Posts: 692	Go with 250W. For what it's worth, you'd probably find that a top quality 150W HQI will put out more usable light than a comparable 175W. The DE and associated reflectors do a better job of capturing usable light than the SE bulbs; or so I've read.

11/29/2009, 09:16 PM	#6
Roy Arena Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Chandler AZ. Posts: 202	Are you going to run a deep sand bed? If so you can get away with the 175's.