lighting help

[gcsupt]

Looking for pics of sps growing under 175 watt M/H. I have been at reefing for close to 4 years now and cannot get the colors in my corals that I see in some of the awsome posts in this forum. H2o params. are spot on. Have tried every coral food known to man kind, Run cabon/GFO/Bio Pellets. Dose using BRS 2 part plus mag. Current lighting is hamilton 2x 175 watt Iwasaki bulbs tank size is 75 gal. Just curious if any one is having any luck with 175s or do I need to get into 250 watts and will it make a difference worth the cost. Kind of long winded but frustration is starting to mount.

[Mark 75g]

I would think that 175w would be fine for a 75g. What salt are you using. I changed from Tropic Marin to IO Reef Crystals and saw a huge improvement on my sps color. Also, just started feeding CORAL FRENZY and that has made a huge difference as well. More PE during the day and growth has exploded

[dan-in-gr]

Something to also consider is to buy a 250 ballast and put in 250 bulbs and sell the old ballast and bulbs. SPS like intense light, and that may help, possibly put your fixture closer to the water and see if the 175's will work. I have my 250's on a 90 gal at 8.5 inches from water, and will be using them with a new 85 gal rimless. I see some guys with metal halides with lights that are way high and really do not get the intensity, they possibly do that to keep tank cooler, but fans and chillers take care of that. How far are your lights from the water?

[gcsupt]

Mark, using reef crystals, but the last bucket was clumpy and a little yellow in color maybe an old batch but something I will change out this weekend. dan-in-gr thanks for the idea of changing ballest/bulbs not a bad option and would take my lighting concerns out of the equation. Thanks for the replies

[olee]

Hi gcsupt, if i were you i'll change the light at least to 250w, 175w should be too dark for sps. lots of ppl in my town going to change LEDs, those lighting is better than M/H,
color of sps is more vidid, more colorful