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40 breeder (or similar) sps guys on here?

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ghostshadow

Junior Member
Manhattan Reefs
Location
port washington, ny
Rating - 100%
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just wondering what lighting setup others are using in a heavy sps tank with 40 breeder or similar (65 is just a taller 40?) dimensions.

i know flow and water quality are major factors but i'm really interested in seeing what others are using on the lighting side and if it's working

my current setup is 250w icecap ballast/radium 20k/reefoptix 1. i prefer the open top/clean look of a pendant setup. so far, the corals on either end of the tank aren't popping like they used to in my prior tank. those towards the center are doing great.

i picked up a full sized lumenarc pendant and fear there may be too much light spillage front and rear considering the square pendant shape.

so i'm really considering going 400w with my existing reefoptix pendant which has a nice rectangular shape to match the tank dimensions. has anyone tried a single 400w pendant over a 40 gallon? is heat a huge issue? am i crazy for considering 400w?

when i had 250w over my 18 gallon it was AWESOME! huge improvement in growth and color compared to 150w. the zoos/softies actually responded well too!

thanks for any input

dan
 
G

ghostshadow

Junior Member
Manhattan Reefs
Location
port washington, ny
Rating - 100%
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that tank looked great nyreef! i've seen a few badass t5 tanks (not in person) but i'm not entirely convinced that sps can look as good as when grown under halides.

there's something enchanting about the mh shimmer.. i absolutely love the shadowlines dancing across the tank that you just can't get with t5's.

i'm going to give the 250w another month or so before i start messing around. maybe when my electricity bill hits i'll be all over the t5's and forget about the shimmer.

dan
 
Keith P

Keith P

Mr. No-Show
Location
Great Neck, NY
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For the breeder, you probably need 2X MH. Maybe a 2X 150W, 2X 175W, or even a 2X 250W? I'm not an SPS guy, so I don't know it that would be TOO much light...

I used to be a MH only guy. I'm now a T5 guy. I traded the shimmer for a lot less dark spots and shadows.
 
autoponicz

autoponicz

powered by MR
Location
Westbury L.i
Rating - 100%
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yea you do get some shimmer with t5's...but will show more with very good reflectors that wrap around the bulb...the water surface will need a strong current...i can see shimmer but still not like MH shimmer...:tongue1:

when i had my 50g breeder i used a outer orbit pro...and the 2x 150w did alot of justice in lighting the entire lengh of the tank...most of the sps had light on all sides...but with 1 pendant...the sps near the sides will mostly get light on the side facing the MH/./
 
G

ghostshadow

Junior Member
Manhattan Reefs
Location
port washington, ny
Rating - 100%
20   0   0
thanks, i appreciate the input guys.

seeing some badass t5 sps tanks in person would really be convincing. right now, i don't see any drawbacks to MH besides heat and a slightly higher LIPA bill.

i almost forgot about the dual mh in one fixture option keith.

with my experience going from 150w to 250w, i'd choose 2x250w if i go dual.

good point auto- "the sps near the sides will mostly get light on the side facing the MH". i'm going to watch my sps on the ends and see if they are affected by this with the current setup.

in the meantime i really cranked the flow up.

i have to keep reminding myself to be patient chasing what i ultimately want.. but i may end up trying a few different setups in the long run.

-dan
 
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