hdyoung
09/21/2007, 01:36 PM
Recently, I moved from a 65 gallon SPS tank to a 180 gallon tall. I would like to make a 180 SPS tank. The tank is 30 inches deep. I am looking for advice on how to upgrade the lighting.
My 65 had a 6 bulb tek fixture, fresh bulbs. This fixture is currently lighting about half of my 180 gallon tank. Corals seem happy, even at the bottom. My current plan is to build a hood for the 180, position the tek fixture at the center of the tank, and supplement the two ends with more lighting.
I need advice from the lighting gurus about this. Is there going to be a visual problem with 2 MH's at the ends of the tank, and a bank of T5s in the middle? What about wattage? Retrofit kits or fixtures? SE or DE? If this setup can work, should I use a highly focused MH reflector or something that broadcasts the light more widely?
I realize that I need to read up on this stuff myself, and I have been, but there is so much information I thought I would post my specific situation and see what people have to say.
Thanks
My 65 had a 6 bulb tek fixture, fresh bulbs. This fixture is currently lighting about half of my 180 gallon tank. Corals seem happy, even at the bottom. My current plan is to build a hood for the 180, position the tek fixture at the center of the tank, and supplement the two ends with more lighting.
I need advice from the lighting gurus about this. Is there going to be a visual problem with 2 MH's at the ends of the tank, and a bank of T5s in the middle? What about wattage? Retrofit kits or fixtures? SE or DE? If this setup can work, should I use a highly focused MH reflector or something that broadcasts the light more widely?
I realize that I need to read up on this stuff myself, and I have been, but there is so much information I thought I would post my specific situation and see what people have to say.
Thanks