help setup a 180

olkeller · 02/06/2008, 02:34 PM

my sister her name on here is montein she wants to setup a 180 she has tons of freshwater experience but she is too shy to ask she rather sit on here and lurk she has questions about equipment like lighting skimmers pumps and sumps hopefully she will get on here and ask. but ill start she wants to know what kind of lighting she needs

Avi · 02/06/2008, 02:51 PM

Well, a 180-gallon tank is, as far as I know, generally about
72" x 24" x 25". If that is the case regarding sis's intended 180, then I'd say she should get a metal halide lighting. IMO, three bulbs of 250-watts each would probably be fine, but to be absolutley certain there'd be no limitation on what kind of coral she'd be able to keep, three 400-wattt MH bulbs would be an even better choice. I'd suggest that you use 14000K bulbs.

If the tank is 48-inches long then the greater depth would definitely require 400-watt bulbs, but only two of them in that case. So that the lighting over the tank can be timed to go off gradually, instead of all at once, it would be good to have some additional actinic lighting that could be on a seperate timer...Those can be T5s, PCs or even HO flourescents.

sufunk · 02/06/2008, 04:35 PM

I have an AGA 180g and it's 72x24x24.

I have a coralife aqualight pro-hqi light fixture. Not the greatest fixture in the world but i got it really cheap! It has 3x150w halides and 4x96pc actinics. Like Avi said, 250w halides would guarantee she could keep anything but they also make a tank hot and would almost definitely require a chiller which is pretty expensive. My 150's only heat the tank enough so that i dont need a heater and use a small 3" radio shack fan about 1-2 hours a day to keep it cooled.

I have a ton of sps in the tank all doing very good but i do have to keep them high in the tank. If they are in the middle or bottom, they wouldnt do well with just 150's. I have a ton of lps and softies in the middle and bottom all doing great with just 150's. If anything, they are too much light for some of them.

Imo, 150's are fine, 250's would be a little better but would probably require a chiller. Imo, 400's are too much. Unless you want sps on the bottom, 400w halides is unnecesarry and probably too much for alot of other corals.

I have a sump/fuge with an asm-g3 skimmer. Again, not the greatest skimmer bbut reasonably priced and does a good job. I dont have a ton of fish but i feed them and my corals heavy and have always had zero nitrates with just monthly water changes.

My powerheads are Tunze 6000's. They are expensive but great. If you can splurge for them , i highly recommend. If not, there are a million other viable options especially the hydor koralia powereheads.

02/06/2008, 02:34 PM	#1
olkeller Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 686	help setup a 180 my sister her name on here is montein she wants to setup a 180 she has tons of freshwater experience but she is too shy to ask she rather sit on here and lurk she has questions about equipment like lighting skimmers pumps and sumps hopefully she will get on here and ask. but ill start she wants to know what kind of lighting she needs __________________ What I think I know and what I actually know are two totally different things. Thanks, Kelly Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube

02/06/2008, 02:51 PM	#2
Avi Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Westchester County, NY Posts: 7,327	Well, a 180-gallon tank is, as far as I know, generally about 72" x 24" x 25". If that is the case regarding sis's intended 180, then I'd say she should get a metal halide lighting. IMO, three bulbs of 250-watts each would probably be fine, but to be absolutley certain there'd be no limitation on what kind of coral she'd be able to keep, three 400-wattt MH bulbs would be an even better choice. I'd suggest that you use 14000K bulbs. If the tank is 48-inches long then the greater depth would definitely require 400-watt bulbs, but only two of them in that case. So that the lighting over the tank can be timed to go off gradually, instead of all at once, it would be good to have some additional actinic lighting that could be on a seperate timer...Those can be T5s, PCs or even HO flourescents. __________________ I'd keep the whole ocean if my den were big enough Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef with 210 lbs. of live rock, Aqua-C EV180 Skimmer, Aquactinic double 250W MH with blue plus t5 support; 58 gallon freshwater planted tank using CO2 and T5s; 30-gallon cube with a few fancy goldfish; and a 110 gallon FOWLR

02/06/2008, 04:35 PM	#3
sufunk Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Davie, Florida Posts: 2,004	I have an AGA 180g and it's 72x24x24. I have a coralife aqualight pro-hqi light fixture. Not the greatest fixture in the world but i got it really cheap! It has 3x150w halides and 4x96pc actinics. Like Avi said, 250w halides would guarantee she could keep anything but they also make a tank hot and would almost definitely require a chiller which is pretty expensive. My 150's only heat the tank enough so that i dont need a heater and use a small 3" radio shack fan about 1-2 hours a day to keep it cooled. I have a ton of sps in the tank all doing very good but i do have to keep them high in the tank. If they are in the middle or bottom, they wouldnt do well with just 150's. I have a ton of lps and softies in the middle and bottom all doing great with just 150's. If anything, they are too much light for some of them. Imo, 150's are fine, 250's would be a little better but would probably require a chiller. Imo, 400's are too much. Unless you want sps on the bottom, 400w halides is unnecesarry and probably too much for alot of other corals. I have a sump/fuge with an asm-g3 skimmer. Again, not the greatest skimmer bbut reasonably priced and does a good job. I dont have a ton of fish but i feed them and my corals heavy and have always had zero nitrates with just monthly water changes. My powerheads are Tunze 6000's. They are expensive but great. If you can splurge for them , i highly recommend. If not, there are a million other viable options especially the hydor koralia powereheads.