Lighting for a 36"X36"X27"

[mlg4738]

Just looking for some objective advice on lighting for a marineland deep dimension i am starting. I will be building my own "floating canopy" that will be suspended from a cathedral ceiling (the look will be pretty cool i think).

I want the canopy to be smaller than the tank, probably like 24"X24". I plan to keep some SPS by the top of the tank, but softies elsewhere.

I was wondering if one 250W MH with a lumenarc at the proper height will be enough light a) for coral growth and b)for aesthetics at the corners of the tank.....i dont want anything to appear dark.

I also want to supplement with 2-3 reef blue aquabeam 500s. Will the MHs overpower the leds to a point that they wont have any impact? I like the look of 10k halides, so would be using those most likely

I am also considering 2X 250 hqi halides (but on a 36"36" tank i feel like there will be so much overlap in some areas that it would be a waste)
or
a 400w with a lumenarc, though i fear that the 400w will cause the lps to wither and might really overpower the led i will use for the blue supplemenation.

any thoughts or suggestions.

thanks

[tkeracer619]

A single 250 on a full size luminarc would be a great fit.

LEDs will have a hard time competing with a 10k halide but it will have an effect.

[Acrotrdco]

LEDs will have a hard time competing with a 10k halide but it will have an effect.

How so?

Are you talking about PAR or color spectrum?

My FTS lit by LED, check the PAR and color.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_NY50WtBKN8U/TTnN22azIsI/AAAAAAAAB7w/OowWFwUMaKg/s912/Overall.jpg

You can read more about how I get the PAR reading here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1965294

You can read more about the combination of color bulb I've used in my tank thread too.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1929512

[mlg4738]

TKE
Thanks for the reply.

If I can bend your ear on two questions
a) When you say a "single" 250, do you mean single ended as well....will I get more spread with the se than the hqis?
b) as far as that bluing effect, am I better off with t5s...they'll take up some more space in my canopy, but if they will have the better bluing property I would go that way.

[kmu]

If this helps I have a 48x48x24 reef tank with a Coralvue Lumenbright Large pendant and a 400 watt 14k bulb and the coverage is amazing with the bulb being 18" from the water level.

I just changed the 400 14k to a 250 watt Radium and the coverage is still good and the color amazing, I will supplement my 250 Radium with a couple of T5s and LEDs... I live in the desert so Im preparing for heat issues in the future.

So instead of having just 400 watts from a single halide bulb, Im gonna go with 250 watt halide, probably 2 or 4 39 watt T5s and a couple of 3 watt 450nm and 470nm LEDs...

[RokleM]

That extra 6-8 inches is the pain. I have a 30x30x27, LumenMax2, Lumatek adjustable ballast running a Radium. Pretty good coverage. Reflector is mounted pretty high. Your rockwork will play a key role in what will or won't work in the setup.

Terrible picture for another use, but you get the idea.

http://mad-skillz.com/aquarium/10.31.2010-7.jpg

[mlg4738]

Eric
Thanks for the input. Do you supplement with anything blue or just the radium bulb.

Also, I really like your stand/canopy..I was planning to make something very similar to it myself. Did you do it yourself?

How high is your bulb from the water. Does the height cause a lot of light to get into the room?

[mlg4738]

Eric

What do you mean by the rockwork....how is it best configured ina setup like this?

[RokleM]

Just a radium. I like the crisp white with a bit of actinic. Yes, I built it by scratch. The hood per say that you see, really isn't. It's just a grooved 90 degree piece that sits on the top of the tank. It blocks light and I just remove it when i work in the tank. The light is hung via the wall. I'll have to measure the distance, but I'd say 15-20" from bulb to water.

http://mad-skillz.com/aquarium/08.30.2010-1.jpg


In reference to the rockwork... If you have things piled on for example the back or left wall, up towards the top, the light will have a hard time reaching it. If you keep most of the rock towards the middle, you'll be fine. Slightly darkened photo, you can still see the somewhat downward direction of light, with darker areas up higher.

http://mad-skillz.com/aquarium/09.04.2010-1.jpg