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View Full Version : 150W or 250W halide over a 65G


SteveNMegz
02/27/2008, 10:47 AM
Hey guys!

So we've done a little more research on metal halides, and have read of a few issues regaurding heat, cleaching of corals and such.....so we've come to the experts (again lol)(Thanks!)

Our tank dimensions are 48"Lx18"Wx20"H (65G). We want to be able to incorporate a few sps in the tank along with lps and softies as well as an anemone, and possibly a clam (but not sure yet) in the future.

Right now we have our 4x54w T5's (no individual reflectors) and what we want to do is push the T5's towards the back of the tank, and rig up a halide in the middle front. We believe this way we can have sps, clam, and anemone in the middle with our other lower light corals off to the sides mostly relying on the T5's.

W've decided on buying a coralvue HQI becasue it comes with the pendant we need to be able to accomadate the halide without overshooting the tank, and because of the price.

Which halide would you recomend we go with? the 150W HQI or the 250W HQI?

The pendant will sit approx. 5-6" off the water surface (if everything goes as planned)

Thanks for everyones input!

SteveNMegz
02/27/2008, 10:50 AM
Thought a pic might help everyone get an idea.....
In the pic our curretn fixture would be pushed to the left, leaving us 7.5" of room infront. The pendant the coralvue comes with is 11x6" and would be placed in the front dead center.

Thanks!


http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/MegznSteve/016.jpg

mic209
02/27/2008, 11:06 AM
I would go with a 250, only because, you get more light, and its not that much more then a 150w set up. Also, with what you're planning to do, you might have uneven lighting towards the back of the tank beacause the T5 fixture will be blocking the halide. Why not just run straight halides? I run a single 250w over my 40 gallon breeder (36"x18"x16") in a lumenmax reflector, and that one halide covers the whole tank.

SteveNMegz
02/27/2008, 11:21 AM
well we're thinking that eventually we will build a hood for the tank, and place 2 T5's in the back, the halide/s in the middle and 2 more t5's in the front

We jsut bought the T5 unit a month or so ago so we didn't want to leave it out of the picture, know what i mean lol

SteveNMegz
02/27/2008, 03:25 PM
if we get the 250W and eventually decide to get another 250W so we can have one on each side over our 48" tank will this cause any problems?

Heat wise i'm assuming just add 1 or 2 fans, but are there downfalls to using the 250's over the 150's besides hydro and initial cost?

mile sq. reefer
02/27/2008, 03:32 PM
Since you have 4 T5's I would go with 2x 150 MH. 2x T5---MH---2xT5 in a canopy. 150's wiil be fine since the height of the tank is only 20". 250's with the T5 will be overkill, IMO.

SteveNMegz
02/27/2008, 06:15 PM
we've heard by getting 150W's we'd only be able to keep more light loving coral on the top 3rd of the tank, is this true?

This is what is urging us into getting the 250W so we can place corals/clam on the sand bed

SteveNMegz
02/27/2008, 08:12 PM
adding 1 150W would bring us up to 5.6Watts per gallo
and adding a 250 would bring us up to 7.2Watts per gallon

mic209
02/27/2008, 08:47 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11961133#post11961133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SteveNMegz
adding 1 150W would bring us up to 5.6Watts per gallo
and adding a 250 would bring us up to 7.2Watts per gallon

Watts per gallon is a thing of the past, its all about PAR ratings. I went through the same situation, deciding on a 150 or 250, heres what i thought, if i go with a 150 i'm limited to only 150 watts of light, if i go with a 250, if its too much light, i can always raise the light higher and this way the lighting fixture will not heat the tank as much. Also, if you go with a 250w you can run higher kelvin bulbs without losing too much PAR.

mile sq. reefer
02/27/2008, 08:50 PM
Watts per gallon is not an effective measure. You should really look at the PAR output. This determines what you would be able to keep. I have 2x150w Pheonix 14k MH only, 300watts, on my 55g tank. I keep SPS with LPS with success, color and growth. I even had a nice 5" clam on the sandbed before it had to be removed. My cleaner wrasse of over 3years took a liking to it. If you run for instance 13k AB lamps with the 4 T5's you will have a great light setup for your tank. Less wattage, heat and waste of energy. Also the 175w SE iwasaki 15k is supposed to be a killer lamp. A PAR monster. 75w less then the 250, with a good spectrum. You have to see what ballast to match it with though to get the right numbers.

SteveNMegz
02/28/2008, 10:01 AM
cool thanks!

Cramz07
02/28/2008, 10:08 AM
Yeah i'd go with the 250 b/c of the fact stated that you can raise and lower the fixture..I've got a 175 watt over my 55 with my pc dismantled down to the reflector and pushed all the way to the back which gives the tank better lighting coverage all the way across and dosn't block a lot of light maybe about 2 inches but all my corals are in the MH light soo it works...

mic209
02/28/2008, 11:16 AM
another thing to consider, if you go with 250 watters, and you later upgrade to a bigger, taller tank (which seems to always happen no matter how much you say you're done after your current tank), you won't have to buy new lights.

xtm
02/28/2008, 12:37 PM
48x18x20 makes it a 75.. I also have a 75 (48x15x24) and I'm using 2 x 250w and T5 actinics. I've used 2x 150w Hamiltons on this tank before and I personally didn't like it. It was too dim in my opinion. However I think you can get away with a 150w on a 20" deep as long as you keep your corals up high on the rockwork. If you want to keep SPS (or any high light demanding corals) I won't even bother with 150's. My suggestion is you take the 250.

FWIW, The money savings on electricity between the 150 and 250 is about $3 /month at 8 hrs /day.

jddaniel
02/28/2008, 01:36 PM
I use 150w HQI on my 50 breeder and am going with 2x150w on my 120g supplemented with T-5's. I use a 10k bulb for a higher output and I can always add an Aquablue etc with the T-5's if I need a little extra punch. If I were doing strictly SPS then I would consider the 250's. I ran both over the 50 breeder and personally I like the 150's supp w/T-5's for a mixed reef.

SteveNMegz
02/28/2008, 03:03 PM
sorry dimensions are 48x16x20

BlueSi4
02/28/2008, 03:11 PM
I was just faced with the same dilemma recently. But instead of 2 150W i was between 2 175W or 2 250W on a 75G tank.
I think 2 250W would be too much light for a 55G tank, it's true that you can always put them higher, but you're using a lot more electricity.
I personally think that 2 175W would do the job, even 2 150W would work. You could do 14,000k bulbs and a couple actinics, or you could go with 2 20,000k bulbs.

mile sq. reefer
02/28/2008, 03:33 PM
Based on my exp, 150's or 175's 6" off the top of the water's surface on a 20" tall set up are more than adequate. Especially if they are supplemented with T5. I can PM you pics if you like.

ReefingIt
02/28/2008, 03:50 PM
Personally, I would go with the 250w. If you were going to do sps or upgrade to a larger tank later on. The 150w will not do. I'd go with spending a little more now than having to spend more $$ later.

SteveNMegz
02/28/2008, 04:10 PM
yah were already in the situation reefingit lol

wed love to see pictures mile sq.