• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

A

Anonymous

Guest
Got a 55 gallon tank, 2 175 watt 10k bulbs. Possible to do SPS with this? And I mean sucessfully not just putting all of the corals on the tip top of the rock.

Glenn
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Sure. The only problem you'll probably encounter is in the coloration of some corals. 175w halides are plenty for survival and growth (I've kept acros, montis, pocillopora and hydnophora under 175 watters in the past), but a lot of acroporas in particular probably won't color up as well as they would under more intense lighting. Not really a problem, just something to plan around by buying corals that are known to retain their coloration easily.
 

davelin315

Advanced Reefer
Location
Virginia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I agree. Actually, some acros will keep their colors, and some will get enhanced coloration. It all depends on your color temp as well. When I ran MH, I had 3 175W over my 125, all 6500K with 2 additional 40W actinic NO tubes. My sps pretty much remained the colors they were when I bought them. I have heard that the 6500K actually have a higher PAR than the 10000K, but don't remember where I heard that (probably somewhere here). I think all corals will change a bit in color if you move them from one light to another light, and from one tank to another, at least to some degree.
 

NaH2Ofreak

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
P724968.jpg
SM58353.jpg

[ October 27, 2001: Message edited by: NaH2Ofreak ]

[ October 27, 2001: Message edited by: NaH2Ofreak ]</p>
 

Mac1

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Rover,

I run 250 Watt Iwasaki's over my reef, and have a 175 Halide I use on my Refugium (29 Gal Tall). Sometimes for grow out purposes I'll throw the frags I make into the refugium (got a big Tang, he disturbs the tiny pieces too easily). They grow quite well in there, and I've even had some color up better, than the parent colony in my reef. One brown monti in particular comes to mind - It had pinkish purple tips in my reef, but when I had the 10K's in my refugium, the things got Really bright hot-pink tips to them. Gorgeous color, but it faded under the 250 Watt 6500K bulbs in my reef.
Personally I think you'll do OK with 175's over a 55 gal, the depth is about the same as my 29. I have a friend with 175's over a 120, and he grows some gorgeous SPS.
Just do yourself (and all of us ;-) a favor and buy captive frags, you'll do fine. If at all possible, try to find some that are already growing under 175 Watt halides.

- Mac
 

Mac1

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Rover,

I run 250 Watt Iwasaki's over my reef, and have a 175 Halide I use on my Refugium (29 Gal Tall). Sometimes for grow out purposes I'll throw the frags I make into the refugium (got a big Tang, he disturbs the tiny pieces too easily). They grow quite well in there, and I've even had some color up better, than the parent colony in my reef. One brown monti in particular comes to mind - It had pinkish purple tips in my reef, but when I had the 10K's in my refugium, the things got Really bright hot-pink tips to them. Gorgeous color, but it faded under the 250 Watt 6500K bulbs in my reef.
Personally I think you'll do OK with 175's over a 55 gal, the depth is about the same as my 29. I have a friend with 175's over a 120, and he grows some gorgeous SPS.
Just do yourself (and all of us ;-) a favor and buy captive frags, you'll do fine. If at all possible, try to find some that are already growing under 175 Watt halides.

- Mac
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top