I need more light... Metal Halide for softies ?

[Kinesthesia]

I recently switched from 120g (4foot) to an AGA 125g (6foot) tank with overflows. I went from 440vho and 110pc on the 120 to 320vho (one actinic, one 10k) and 110pc (6400k) by going to six foot bulbs. I prefer softies and a few LPS (hammer, torch, frogspawn) up high, I never intend to have SPS but I'm quickly getting the idea that I no longer have enough light.

I can't decide if I should add 320 more (50/50) vho or 192 more (6700k) PC or if I should go MH. I don't have the loot for 3x250 but I was thinking of getting one Iwasaki for the center and then adding more later. Since I know it matters, I measured 5.5 inches from the canopy ceiling down to the top of the tank and 6.5 inches down to the surface of the water and I'm definately not getting another canopy.

I guess my questions revolve around there is a significant value to MH over VHO or PC for softies and LPS and whether it's worth wrestling with the extra heat. And if not, should I get more VHO or more PC. The cost and space taken in the canopy is about the same for 320 vho or 192 PC.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Minnreefer]

That is a tough problem, I really like VHO and we also have a 6' tank, we have 4 6' VHO bulbs and 3 250 watt Iwaski's. I would maybe recomend just waiting for someone to buy a few used PC at a cheaper price, you should be fine for a while without adding more light.

HTH

Jon

[Capt Joe]

Why not add a few 96watt PC's. If you are a DIY'er you can add them for about 150 dollars (reflectors, bulds and ballast). Or, do what I did for a while.... I had a single 250 watt MH in the center of the 125AG.

[thebigblue]

i struggled with this question when i setup my AGA 125 last year...

i decided to go ahead and pay up for the 3-250w 10K USHIO MH's...thinkin that with them i could keep about anything down the road...

after a year i still only have softies, and havent really cared much about SPS or LPS...i do have a squamosa clam (and hes not really a light hungy variety!)...

the softies do seem to do great under the MH's...i have about 10 or 11" from my halides to the water...but i think 6.5" would be ok...but the heat is another issue...my tank runs at about 82-83 in the winter and pushin 85 in the summer...thats with two fans runnin to help keep things cool...

as much as i love the MH's...i think that alot of nice stuff can be kept with only PCs or VHOs...

is your canopy completely closed?...can you run fans?...what kind of budget are you looking at?...if you go with 6500K bulbs you'll save more and can still use your PCs or VHOs for supplementation...

not sure if that helped or not?...


brad

[Kinesthesia]

My canopy is not completely closed, I plan on moving my fans into the new canopy soon. As much as I hate to base a biological system on math... in this case it's not about whether or not I can afford the lights, to me it's about whether the value is there.

Without breaking down all the possible options, I think it's fair to say that metal halide is the most expensive option and I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth the extra cash... to the softies.

I mean less money on lights means more money for coral or whatever... but like everyone else I don't want my animals to survive but thrive...

[Doug1]

Your water lever is 6" below the top of the tank?????? If all you want are soft or LPS corals, you can get by with just the VHO, I think 4 6' tubes would work well, but we all nknow I prefer them to PC esp on longer tanks. The single Iwasaki would work as well, light loving stuff should thrive under it(like a nice clam or gold sarcophyton)

[Kinesthesia]

Thanks for your input Doug. It's six inches from the ceiling of the canopy down to the water, about an inch below the tank frame.

I'm still kicking this around, I just can't figure a good reason to go one way or the other.

[SteveNichols]

I ran a very similar tank, coral wise, for 3-4 years with NO fluorescents. It is 100 gallons and with 4 NO's it was fine. Coral grew and everything. Stick with what you have, it'll be great!

[OodleyBoodely]

Since you are lookin' at the best value/cost, you might want to consider in the replacement costs of bulbs, too. When I bought my VHOs for my 55, I thought at the time that I would not have to replace the bulbs more than once a year. At the local cost of $37. per bulb it is not cheap to renew those bulbs and I have since found that I need to replace them at no more than 6 month intervals. (I am finding out via a tank full of badly bleached softies and lps coral why you don't want to be cheap with your lighting)

From what I have read here and elsewhere, most metal halide bulbs will last up to a year or even a little longer befor the spectrum shifts. If so, then the halides would work out cheaper dispite the initially higher purchase cost.