Enough light for my 180g?

[ThreepwoodMD]

ok here´s the deal I have a 180g reef tank its been running for 5 years with some ups and downs, recentle I moved the tank to my new home, I changed some of the lighting. I have 4 54w T5 2 whites two actinic blue. and 2 150w HQI. Corals seem to do fine. I have green ricordeas wich have been multiplying in a slow pase but they´re all over my tank. But my other corals are quite slow to grow. Should I add more lighting. Is it enough? Any suggestions

[cilyjr]

it really depends on what you keep. but i have 3 250watt mh in lumenarc reflectors

[logan 12]

I would go for at least 3 MH on a standard 180. All 150 watts will work fine on a mixed, softy or lps reef, but will have to keep sps high in the tank. If you are thinking of doing an sps dominate reef then I would say cilyjr has the right idea on 3 x 250.

[MagicReefer]

Only way to know for sure is to use a light meter (http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14821). This will allow you to measure active light at any spot in the tank. You can then use this data to determine if the PAR is suffecient for each specific coral in your tank. If it isnt then move it to another spot that has a higher reading or install a new light.

Also are thos MH electronic or magnetic ballast's? Magnetic ballasts degrade with age. So if after 5 years they suddenly seem different this would be a good place to start.

[Palting]

Threepwood. I loved Monkey Island, the whole series.

I think you do not have enough lights if you want to keep all kinds of coral. I have a tank with simillar dimensions. I keep a mixed reef, with SPS starting halfway up, and LPS and softies down. I also have a clam sitting on the substrate. My lights work fine for me, and should work fine for you. Check out my sig for specs.

[ThreepwoodMD]

They´re magnetic alright! My idea is to have a mixed reed, I was planning to put sps on top and lps lower in the tank. Will MH hurt corals that already in the tank. Have Duncan coral, a Lobophylia, Acan, Cyphastrea (meteor shower) I added two plate monties one green and a pink one but they´re not doing alright, one has bleached almost completely, and the other one suffered a little bit but is holding right now, params are in normal range