mh and LR

[billyzbear]

I just got a 400w mh. I going to put it over my 32g tank that is 18" deep and 30" long. Is this over kill? I plan on mounting it 7" from the water with 4 fans to help cool things in a canopy. Should I also remove galss from top of tank? Could I have heat problems? The bulb I looking to get is a Hamilton 14K. It didn't seem too blue. Suggests?

With this deal I got 20 pounds of LR. The owner put it in a bucket with fresh water for two weeks. Is this rock worth dealing with?

 

[taikonaut]

400W over a 32 gal. is fine, but be prepared for heat problem in the summer, if not right away. I have no idea about Ham. 14K. Do a search and see if anyone got a tank pic with that bulb....

The rock is not LR any more because it is soaked in fresh water. Treat it like base rock. It should be fine to use as long as it is clean.

 

[PeeJ]

Yea...no longer live rock. Yes you should defeinately remove the glass lid. Your temp will already be high enough with the 400 watt, let alone when you kill your evaporative cooling with the glass.

Many people talked me out of the 400 watters for this exact reason. With an 18" deep tank, 250 watter would be plenty. A 250 watt on an HQI ballast makes almost as much Par as a 400 watt.

Just something to keep in mind. Hope that helped.

 

[billyzbear]

I got a good deal on it. 200 for the 400w with reflector and ballast. A hang on filter, prizm pro, 2 power heads, JBJ 2x36w pendant, 20g tank, a bunch of additives and tests. I got the LR but not sure if I'm going to use it or not. I've got 30 pounds now but was thinking on setting up the 20g.

I looked on this site www.cnidarianreef.com. The one he is useing is a 250w. Would it look like this? Would it be better for heat if I mounted the light higher, say 10".

 

[billyzbear]

Hopefully this link will work http://www.cnidarianreef.com/.

 

[PeeJ]

Should look pretty close to that. I don't see any reason why it woulnd't.

Just curious..do you know why he ruined the live rock?

 

[billyzbear]

Not sure, I think he had slime on it. He did give me some slime remover. Maybe he didn't know better. The light is new but has the wrong bulb in it. The bulb that's in it is for growing plants, 3000k. He told me he didn't have time to keep up the tank and he never put copper in it. You think it was a good deal?

 

[PeeJ]

Sounds like your all set. Might want to affirm that the balast you have will fire that bulb.

 

[billyzbear]

I checked the ballast already. So, what hieght should I mount the bulb?

 

[PeeJ]

Better ask someboyd else on that. I've alwyas heard like 8-10 inches.

 

[ChrisRD]

The best height to mount a MH lamp is going to depend on the reflector and what size/shape area you're trying to light with it.

In your case (having a 400 watt lamp over a small tank) heat will probably be the limiting factor, so you may have to mount the lamp a little higher than ideal...

 

[billyzbear]

I guess I'll have to do it to find out.