Lighting help for a 120

[Rickyrooz1]

I've had my 120 gallon tank for over a year now with the fixture pictured below. I don't feel my corals look as good as some of the photos online, unless they are touched up on photoshop then I think mine are ok. I have a 48"x11" fixture that houses two 250 watt 14K Phoenix DE Metal Halides and four 65 watt Actinic PC's. The glass is 6" wide and needs to light an area 23" wide. The metal halide reflector is 3" wide which seems small to me but it creates a hot spot of intense light underneath. The light is 6" above the water surface and 11" away from most of my SPS coral. The light in toawrds the back of the tank directly over the SPS coral. Am I fine with the light I have now or will I benefit from upgrading to 400 watt bulbs housed in Lumenarc III reflectors?

Ricky's Reef (http://www.rickysreef.com)

[Rickyrooz1]

This is my fixture except it is now closer to the back of the tank.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa85/YellowBellyTang/light1.jpg

You can see how small the MH reflector is.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa85/YellowBellyTang/newlights.jpg

[Rickyrooz1]

Are 400 watt bulbs with a Lumenarc III reflector over kill for a 120? If I bought the Lumenarc mini III stealth DE reflector would that make a big difference in my corals colors than what I have now or is it not worth the $$$? I'm looking to really make my corals colors pop.

[lvpd186]

Ok, I'll step up to the chopping block (lighting questions always seem to get strong opinions). IMO I think 400w lights on a 120g tank is way overkill. Judging from the photos on your page I think your tank looks good now. I have 175w lights on my 120g tank and I am getting good growth with decent color (175w 10,000K XM bulbs). Instead of getting 400w lights you might want to experiment or research different bulb spectrums. You might find better color with different bulbs, but like I said, it looks good to me... :D

[Rickyrooz1]

Anyone else want to chime in? Where are all the lighting experts at?

[garvin90]

I would say that using the lumenarcs with your current bulbs would be sufficient as they have a higher reflectivity than the majority of other pendants and spider reflectors.

If your wanting to try a whole new setup, then t5HOs would be nice.

I would say if you go with the lumenarcs, try those for a month or 2 and if your still not satisfied then change out your bulbs. Ive never used them bulb i dont believe phoenix gets very high reviews.

[Rickyrooz1]

I will try the Geisemann 14.5K bulbs first and then maybe switch to a bigger reflector.

[ThrowinRoost89]

im also looking for a light for a 120


how would a 2x250w & t-5 outer orbit fixture work?
corals:
GSP
frogspwan
mushrooms
leather
xenia
zoo's

i dont plan on SPS but i want a clam.
i hear good things about this light.

[ThrowinRoost89]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10978470#post10978470 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ThrowinRoost89
im also looking for a light for a 120


how would a 2x250w & t-5 outer orbit fixture work?
corals:
GSP
frogspwan
mushrooms
leather
xenia
zoo's
colt
kenya


i dont plan on SPS but i want a clam.
i hear good things about this light.

[Rickyrooz1]

I think you'll be fine. My corals are doing fine with my MH/PC combo and T-5's are more intense (better PAR too) than PC's. I'm looking for a better light spread.