Lighting on 180's?

adambaron · 11/23/2007, 02:53 PM

I am finally planning on upgrading the lighting on my 180 to something decent. I am planning on making it an SPS tank and planning on getting a hood with 3 metal halides and then some power compacts. My question is should I get 250 watt or 400 watt halides and also what is the real difference between daylight, blue and antic bulbs for the PC?

Thanks in advance

rigleautomotive · 11/23/2007, 03:01 PM

unless you use a chiller i would not go any higher than 250 and IMO 175 mogul is enough except for the most light demanding sps tanks.i ran 175 watt halides for 8 years with great results.recently i switched to 250 and now heat is an issue.the pc actinics are not as nice as vho imo,they have a funky look to some of the blue bulbs.

davocean · 11/23/2007, 04:09 PM

Really depends on tank depth, but I'll guess you are prob 24" deep so 250w would be fine.
30" or deeper would need 400w.
T5's would be a much better choice than PC's

adambaron · 11/23/2007, 04:27 PM

It is 24" deep. Thanks for the info Why is T5 better than PC's.

harryk · 11/23/2007, 04:37 PM

I agree on the T5's versus power compacts. T5's produce much less heat then power compacts and last much longer. also you should be fine with either 175 or 250 MH as long as its not more then 24" high.

Harry

davocean · 11/23/2007, 05:39 PM

T5's have a better par value, more light needy things such as clams can live fine under T5's, but under PC's not very well.
It's a much better combo.

Pike614 · 11/23/2007, 05:57 PM

I have the same question for my new 180g 24" deep tank, I decided to go with 3 x 250 SE Halides, and will add 2 VHO's one in front, one in back for dawn/dusk lighting. I ran my 250's for 3 hours over my 75g reef and only saw an increase of 1 degree in H2O temp...had a fan on the bulbs but otherweise it was not too bad in terms of temp increase.

JRaquatics · 11/23/2007, 06:06 PM

I am in the process of setting up a 180gal. I chose to go with 3 250w in Lumenbright reflectors. With these reflectors I was able to raise the height of the reflectors 15+ inches off of the water and still get great light at the bottom. This setup raises my water temp 1.5 degrees without fans and I don't run chillers. I am still debating if I want to run a VHO set I have. But MHO 250 will be more than enough if you run them in the right reflector.

Here is an older shot of the tank when I was figuring out how high the reflectors needed to be. As you can see I will have no trouble keeping clams on the bottom.

Pike614 · 11/23/2007, 09:13 PM

Is that a perfecto tank?

11/23/2007, 02:53 PM	#1
adambaron Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pooler, GA Posts: 208	Lighting on 180's? I am finally planning on upgrading the lighting on my 180 to something decent. I am planning on making it an SPS tank and planning on getting a hood with 3 metal halides and then some power compacts. My question is should I get 250 watt or 400 watt halides and also what is the real difference between daylight, blue and antic bulbs for the PC? Thanks in advance __________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move." -Douglas Adams Current Tank Info: 180 reef, 55gal african cichlid

11/23/2007, 03:01 PM	#2
rigleautomotive Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northeast Pennsylvania Posts: 3,705	unless you use a chiller i would not go any higher than 250 and IMO 175 mogul is enough except for the most light demanding sps tanks.i ran 175 watt halides for 8 years with great results.recently i switched to 250 and now heat is an issue.the pc actinics are not as nice as vho imo,they have a funky look to some of the blue bulbs. __________________ Dan Rigle President, * Reef Conservation Society TOTM December 2010 Coral Magazine Sept/Oct 2012 Current Tank Info: 180 gal SPS dominated display, 3 X 250 watt Radiums , lumenarc III minis , with VHO actinics, ETS downdraft skimmers, closed loops and 2 Tunze 6105 & 7095 controller,DIY calcium reactors DIY custom built sumps,since 1992

11/23/2007, 04:09 PM	#3
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Really depends on tank depth, but I'll guess you are prob 24" deep so 250w would be fine. 30" or deeper would need 400w. T5's would be a much better choice than PC's __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

11/23/2007, 04:27 PM	#4
adambaron Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pooler, GA Posts: 208	It is 24" deep. Thanks for the info Why is T5 better than PC's. __________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move." -Douglas Adams Current Tank Info: 180 reef, 55gal african cichlid

11/23/2007, 05:39 PM	#6
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	T5's have a better par value, more light needy things such as clams can live fine under T5's, but under PC's not very well. It's a much better combo. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

11/23/2007, 04:37 PM	#5
harryk Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 262	I agree on the T5's versus power compacts. T5's produce much less heat then power compacts and last much longer. also you should be fine with either 175 or 250 MH as long as its not more then 24" high. Harry

11/23/2007, 05:57 PM	#7
Pike614 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,303	I have the same question for my new 180g 24" deep tank, I decided to go with 3 x 250 SE Halides, and will add 2 VHO's one in front, one in back for dawn/dusk lighting. I ran my 250's for 3 hours over my 75g reef and only saw an increase of 1 degree in H2O temp...had a fan on the bulbs but otherweise it was not too bad in terms of temp increase.

11/23/2007, 06:06 PM	#8
JRaquatics Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: On RC Posts: 3,609	I am in the process of setting up a 180gal. I chose to go with 3 250w in Lumenbright reflectors. With these reflectors I was able to raise the height of the reflectors 15+ inches off of the water and still get great light at the bottom. This setup raises my water temp 1.5 degrees without fans and I don't run chillers. I am still debating if I want to run a VHO set I have. But MHO 250 will be more than enough if you run them in the right reflector. Here is an older shot of the tank when I was figuring out how high the reflectors needed to be. As you can see I will have no trouble keeping clams on the bottom.

11/23/2007, 09:13 PM	#9
Pike614 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,303	Is that a perfecto tank?