New frag tank light question

[Goofyjas]

I am setting up a new frag tank well 3 maybe 5.. depends.

WIth these stacked on top of each other I thought to have one pump returning the water to the top and letting gravity drain to the second and third..having extra pumps in the tanks for flow.
Thoughts?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/Goofyjas/Pictures341.jpg

I may add these 2 to the system just for gallonage and more tank space
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/Goofyjas/Pictures342.jpg

Also for lights, I was thinking the bottom tank being actinic T5 ( doing a low light coral tank, the middle being T5 / VHO combo for LPS/Soft and up top doing 2-3 400wMH

THoughts?

Also this is my current frag/grow tank and I still have 2 more to set up.3x 400W MH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/Goofyjas/Pictures344-1.jpg

[skoomamonster]

Sounds good but i would be cautious about having sps's and softies in the same loop as it might lead to a chemical war between them. I think its a cool idea that the sps's get the cleanest water then the lps's then the softies last. And the lighting looks good but you could go all T5's in the middle tank. Keep us posted i look forward to seeing it finished.

[Goofyjas]

Do you think if I keep the tanks seperate, butin the same system they would fight? I know its all water but figured they are about 65 gallon tanks each. I am just not sure, thats alot of SPS if I make it all one type.

Any other thoughts?

I just need to find a cheap palce to ick up ballasts for the T5 and I should be set.

thanks again!

[bristle]

I keep softies and SPS together. No issues. Just do your water changes. Just beware of the heat of the lights. The lights on the bottom two tanks will heat up the tank on top of it. You might get some issues because of it.

[Goofyjas]

Each tank is resting on a 1inc piece of wood, there will also be a 2x4 which the lights are mounted to with fans.. think this will help some or should I try something else?

Thanks

[alpha0r]

Do you feel you need 400w lamps in such a shallow tank? I would think 250w would be plenty especially if you go with a nice reflector like a lumenbright 3. 300 extra watts adds up on your power bill.

[brshriver]

It is best not to mix the SPS and softies, but a bunch of us do it. I'd run carbon and heavy skimming right after the overflow from the softie tank. That should help a lot and minimize the impacts on the SPS.

I agree on the lights. 250W with nice reflectors should do it. I know someoone that rungs a 300G high end SPS tank that is over 30 inches deep with 250s and Lumenarcs + plus VHO supplements. His colors are fine. You should get high par with the 250s in a shallow tank like this.

[Goofyjas]

I guess the probem is the 400 and 1000 watt lights were free.. so easy to get and use :P

Any good places to buy 250s cheap?

I plan on using the 400s on the 24-30 inch depth tanks or should I run all 250s?

[reefcrazyaddict]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13027180#post13027180 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goofyjas
I guess the probem is the 400 and 1000 watt lights were free.. so easy to get and use :P

Any good places to buy 250s cheap?

I plan on using the 400s on the 24-30 inch depth tanks or should I run all 250s?

First is how tall are those frag tanks? Even if the bulbs/ballast were free electricity does add up especially running it minimum of 8 hours a day. I would suggest 175 halides since I have done many frag tank setups. What I finally accounted for as far as growing frags and trading/selling is that a good amount of money was spent on additional lighting cost. If you can get the same growth with a 175 SE bulb compared to a 250 why not. For the 400 I'm pretty sure you bleach them unless their raised pretty high.

People account 175 as being weak but I've seen a very respectable reefer have outstanding growth on a 120 gallon tank 24 inch depth with 3 x 175. And this was 70% occupied with SPS. Just my two cents in saving some cash in the longer run....

[Goofyjas]

The 3rd tank pictured I am running 3 400wat 20ks. I know this is good for color and not a great growth bulb. The tank is about a foot high with frag racks in the tank. I have a few acros, chalices, zoas, ect in there and everything seems to be doing ok.

Should I switch to 250s? or 175s? I have them about 18+ inches off the tank.. of course putting 250s on everything would be great to save money but is it best for the corals?

I figured I would run 400s on the 24 in depth tanks or should I go 250s all around?

Any ideas where to get some ballasts or trade 400s for 250s? I have tons :P