400w too much for a frag tank?

[fragjunkie]

I have 250w halides right now. I wanna go with 400w for mixed corals. The water is only 12" deep. Too much?

[fatrip]

there is no need for that much light. you are just goin to be wasting electrisity. how far are to corals from the light? what is the shape of the tank? where are you geographically for heat purposses. IMO there probibly isnt any need for the 250w either esp only at 12 inch and you can always rais things up to 8 or 6 if needed. the 250 is also just wasting electricity. i would consentrate on water quality and flow, as long as you have adiquite lighting these are more important than more light.

[fragjunkie]

The lights are about 12" from the water. The SPS are only getting about 325 max on a PAR meter and that's with them raised to the surface. I want to get atleast 400 for the corals on top. Flow is adequate. Using four tunze 6055's in an 87g. Parameters are in spec.

[fatrip]

first off, why do you want that much PAR??? IMO there is no need for more than 250ish PAR wise max on corals, after that you are just waisting it. corals will grow just as fast and as colorful under a 175w mh at 8inch of water as any other light at any other depth. i am not trying to put you down for wanting to go with 400w mh but IMO and experiance there is no need to use that extra electricity.

[fragjunkie]

If you search on RC you'll see that people with successful SPS tanks are getting much higher PAR than mine. For example the TOTM last month had much higher readings. Maybe you're right though. Thanks for the feedback

[redox]

I have been happy with my 4oo's for a long time. Heck I have the sun as well. I run 400w de's and the corals love it.

[fatrip]

TOTM was a little deeper than 12inch. so arent most of your tank redox.

well idk, i run 175's as do alot of my firends and our sps tanks grow just fine...i think it would be a waste of electric on a 12 inch deep tank.

[fatrip]

dp

[redox]

yes fatrip my vats are 16" deep. not to much more than 12. Plus I have the natural sun. I used to run 175's but over the years upgraded bigger and bigger. Yes they draw less power but aren't as intense. I think the corals would grow faster but like you say it might not be worth the extra power bill. We might never know unless someone tries it side by side in two different tanks that are hooked together with very similar parameters;)

[fatrip]

that is an interesting idea. i acctually have some room now. i'll have to get some 400mh stuff tho. have any extra...lol...it guess it would be an interesting experiment. ill try setting some things up. probibly the fastest growing coral would be the easyest coral to test. maybe a green slimer?...ill hook it to my main system with two 20 long tanks. what would you suggest for a 400 ballast? i think i would try doing the same bulbs like xm 10k's. let me know what you think??

[bristle]

It depends what kind of bulb you want to run. If you are going to run a 10 000K bulb, you'll probably burn some of your corals. But if you run a 20 000K bulb like many of the coral farms, it will be fine. It also depends on the reflector and ballast. I don't own any 400W MH so take it with a grain of salt.

[hiepatitis]

The tank of the month may be much deeper but the lights are right above the water. Most prop tanks have the lights higher to cover more area. If you look at the PAR on some SPS tanks the PAR is high as 1000. His is only 300

[redox]

Hey fatrip I run icecap 220v 400watters. I like them because of the warranty and the fact that they dont get very hot. Ice cap is real good about the warranty. I have only bought ballast once,and they have replaced them many times. Even after three years:D I will check my par today with my handheld and get back with you.

[redox]

Ok now I realized why this handheld meter was put away. It lux not par. More or less worthless for this conversation:rolleyes:

[reefkoi]

I am wondering about this myself, my display tank has PAR of around 600+ for most corals. My prop tank only has about 200-350 with a 400w MH.
It will be interesting to see how the corals do under the 400 with a lower PAR.

I am glad to see you read PAR, it troubles me to see people talk about wasted light solely based on wattage and disregarding the PAR level.

I think you need to use a bulb that gets you the PAR you are looking for weather that be a 70 watt MH or a 2,000w MH it all depends on the size of the tank and water depth and height of lamp.

C

[fatrip]

redox, this is getting more and more expensive...lol...i would have to run a deticated 220v line from my box lol...this might be a little to expensive of a test for me. are there other electronic ballast that are 110v for a 400w mh???

[redox]

Oh yes there are many. I got the 220 thinking it would draw less power. I was wrong . It doesnt matter 220/110 they draw the same

[reefkoi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12318869#post12318869 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fatrip
redox, this is getting more and more expensive...lol...i would have to run a deticated 220v line from my box lol...this might be a little to expensive of a test for me. are there other electronic ballast that are 110v for a 400w mh???

You can run the same or smaller wire size than you do with a 120v ballast, the double breaker costs more than a single, but wire is the same if that helps.

BTW my 1,000 watt ballasts have a switch on them to run 120 or 240v you might be able to do the same with yours?
C

[JoeyTheReefer]

go with the 400s the more the better no one is geting the same growth from a 175 as a 400 but i would go a little on the blue side for better color

[fatrip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12320857#post12320857 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JoeyTheReefer
go with the 400s the more the better no one is geting the same growth from a 175 as a 400 but i would go a little on the blue side for better color

just wondering if you know of a controlled test that has shown this?? if so i would love to read it.

[fragjunkie]

I bought a 400w setup. It'll be a while but I'll run 400w on one side and 250w on the other side for comparison