Lighting for my new 175 gal tank.

[soheix]

Hi, I just bought a new 175 gal tank with these dimensions:

L 72.5 x W 29.5 x H 24

I wondering what type of lighting should I invest in thats can pretty much do anything I want in the future.

A friend gave me an old 150watt aqualight hqi pendant which I was planning to let it just sit on top of the tank for now.

Thanks

 

[shavo]

you need something strong enought to go 24" deep. I am not a lighting "expert" but I wouldn't do anything less than 250 MH's to be safe if not 400 watters. We need a lighting expert to chime in here.

check out those polaris LED's if you have the money.

 

[WRASSER]

It really depends on what you are putting in the tank.

 

[soheix]

Right now I'm not certain what kind of corals I want to place, but I want some flexibility out of the lighting. Is there one that can almost do it all?

 

[FinalPhaze987]

a few people i now use 1 MH to every 2 feet of tank as a rule of thumb...so with your 72'' that would be 3 MH..

ours is 72'' but im only running 2 250w at the moment...there is a bit of a darker spot in the middle but thats where i place the corals with lower lighting needs..im planing on changing them out to 3 175w but im on a restricted budget at the moment..

as far as the wattage goes im really not sure..that would really depend on what your looking to keep in it..do some research on what your looking to keep and base your wattage around that..thats how we figured our out, but then again, im no expert...you may want to consult a lighting expert here

 

[mr_X]

how many straps are across the top? if 1 strap, possibly 4x 250 watt halides will be nice, with actinic suppliment.

if you have 2 braces, 3x 400 watt halides, with, or without actinic suppliment. i'd choose "with actinic suppliment". :wink:

get lumenarc reflectors with your halides, they will help tremendously. if you go with the 4x 250, you might have to get lumenarc mini's.

on my old tank, (125 gallon 6' long) i had 2x 400watt halides, with an orbit compact flourescent fixture as suppliment. ignore the fact of the "compact flourescent". what i wanted to point out is that my tank looked fine, unless i turned the orbit fixture off. then i had some shadowing under the center brace, and in the far corners.
so, i think 2 halides won't work for that size tank. :wink:

 

[ChrisRD]

As mentioned already, it's tough to give a good answer without knowing what you plan to keep, what your visual preference are (ie. do you like the daylight look or the bluer, 20K look?), where the top braces are (if any), etc...

Also, light output varies significantly depending on the specific lamp+ballast combination being used. Reflectors make a tremendous difference as well. For example, a mediocre 400 watt lamp with a poor reflector may get less light to your corals than a good 250 in a well designed reflector.

All that said, going with 250 watters in good reflectors like the Lumenarc/Lumenmax will give you a lot of flexibility. There are lots of lamp choices in this wattage and some of the better ones in those reflectors will provide enough light to keep anything in a tank that size.

 

[soheix]

The top braces are at every 1/3 of the tank, so every 2 ft o.c. I'm leaning towards having 3x bulb set up with lunmenarc/lumenmax

But, I'm wondering if 250watts will be underpower versus 400watts seem like everyone with at least 2 ft depth+ uses 400watts.

Are there any cons for investing my money into 400 watts? I'm just thinking that if I want a bigger tank in the future I can reuse the light.

As for visual I like the look of daylight with a bit of blue tint. I'm guessing 15k?

As for ballast any recommendations?. It seem like Ice Cap is a popular one.

Thanks for the help.

 

[mr_X]

the con is a rather large electric bill.

12 to 15k for a slightly blue look, depending on the brand of the bulbs.

i use sunlight supply ballasts. they seem to work well so far.

 

[ChrisRD]

But, I'm wondering if 250watts will be underpower versus 400watts seem like everyone with at least 2 ft depth+ uses 400watts.

Many reefers keep the most light demanding critters in the hobby (ie. shallow water acros, hosting anemones, tridacna clams, etc.) at the bottom of 2' high tanks under 250s, so I wouldn't consider that underpowered at all. Again, very much depends on the specific lamp+ballast+reflector combination you run.

Are there any cons for investing my money into 400 watts? I'm just thinking that if I want a bigger tank in the future I can reuse the light.

More heat to deal with and greater running costs. Also, some corals don't like to be blasted with light, so depending on what you're keeping some stuff will actually do better under lower wattage lamps.

As for visual I like the look of daylight with a bit of blue tint. I'm guessing 15k?

Beware - most lamps in the hobby do not appear true to their rating. One of the few 15Ks that is actually 15K is the new Iwasaki which is only available in a 175 watt version, but it's as bright as a good 250 when run on an electronic ballast.

As for ballast any recommendations?. It seem like Ice Cap is a popular one.

IMO IceCap makes good products and my experiences with their customer service have been excellent.

Check out these sites for more information on lamp output and color - might help you narrow down your choices:
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

HTH

 

[soheix]

I think I'm going to try (3) Lumenarc III Mini with 250w Icecap ballast. But I was wondering for the reflector is there any significant difference from using the double ended bulb vs. single ended bulb? I like the black lumenarc which is a double ended bulb.

 

[ChrisRD]

There are pros/cons to either style (Mogul or DE) but they both work. That said, considering how wide your tank is, I'd probably go with the Moguls and use full size reflectors.

Also, if you intend to use electronic ballasts, that's another reason to run Moguls. The IceCaps underdrive DE lamps which results in less light and possibly accelerated lamp wear. 250 watt DE lamps are intended to be run on magnetic "HQI" ballasts (ANSI M80 spec).

JMO

 

[soheix]

I went to Lumenarc today and bought three mini with the 250w Icecap ballast with 20k SE bulbs. They look great and penetrate all the way to the bottom clearly. Thanks for everyones help.

BTW the customer service at Lumenarc is great, and very friendly too.

 

[mr_X]

congrats!

 

[ChrisRD]

Good choice - very versatile too. :wink:

 

[sparau]

check out those polaris LED's if you have the money.

Hey Shavo - i googled "Polaris LED's aquarium" and only got some mention of little moon LED's - is that what you mean?

It sounded like you were referring to something that would replace the MH's?

(just interested in any other technologies atm as i am trying to work out the most efficient method of lighting...)

 

[mr_X]

he means solaris

http://www.solarisled.com/

 

[sparau]

ah thx mr x

as i suspected - great - 40% less power used than equiv MH

However they are SERIOUSLY expensive - lol

 

[cindre2000]

I just noticed the dimensions of your tank. That is a great tank!

Post pics!