Lighting set-up question

[Anonymous]

I plan on combining my two smaller reef tanks into a single Oceanic 200 gal. The tank dimensions are 2'x2'x7', and will house a combination of soft, lps and sps corals. Right now, I am considering 3x 250watt 6500k MH's and 4x 96watt 7100k PC's. Off the shelf combination fixtures typically have 2x 96watt PC's. I will piece it together if the extra PC's will make a difference. VHO's are also a possibility (although I have always used PC's).

I do not want to upgrade this set-up down the road. Thus, I want to get it right the first time. All comments or suggestions are welcome.

 

[Anonymous]

If your going to go for it and don't want to worry about updating in the future I would suggest 3x400W halides...your corals will appreciate it.

SeaMac

 

[Anonymous]

I would consider 3 MH to be a bit low, I don't think you would be happy with the light spread, but that would depend on how high off the water you mounted the bulbs. Unfortunately the higher from the surface you mount them the less intense. So at 3 bulbs on a 7' long tank I would definately consider 400W the minimum. If you want to use 250's I would reccomend 4 250's, and 4x96W PC's, maybe even 6x96. And 4x400W would make it even better, you have a rather deep tank there.

cheers

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[Anonymous]

I tend to agree with SeaMac. Champion has the new E-Ballasts and the price difference between a 250 watt and 400 watt ballast is $10.00. (standard ballast is only a difference of $30.00)Plus the E-Ballast are suppose to use up to 40% less electricity. I admit to never using them, but I may in the future.
http://www.championlighting.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?page=e-ballast.html&cart_id=2832946.21700

Also, for some reason there seems to be less selection of 250 watt bulbs.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Wayne...

 

[Anonymous]

Alright, if I go with 3x 400watt 6500K MH's, then I still have the question about how many 96watt actinic PC's. 96watt PC's are about 34" long. 2x of these will just about cover the entire width of the tank (with a few inches in between and at the ends). Do I need 4x of these do obtain the right color/appearence and coral floresence? Or would changing the color temp of the MH's (or VHO's) be a better alternative?

By the way, I plan on building a hood that will be suspended about 8" above the water (although the height can obviously be adjusted). In addition, I tend to set-up my tanks using a lot of Tonga branch to create a very laticed, open structure. Consequently, my corals are distributed throughout the water column with light-loving corals up high. For this reason, I do not mind (and even prefer) to have areas of the tank that are not so strongly lit.

Thanks again for the help.