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Old 08-08-2007, 05:16 AM   #1
Mindsgoneawol
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suggestions for MH lights


i am looking into building a large tank (large for me anyway.. lol..) since i will have to get piece by piece i am building a list. so.. i am looking for suggestions for MH lights for:

55 gallon tank
90 gallon tank
180 gallon tank
210/220 tank

i am looking to keep sps, lps, and clams. as well as anenomes.
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Old 08-08-2007, 06:42 AM   #2
ckusnierek
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I'm not the best person to be answering this but I'll try. There are two basic rules of thumb. It's not about just the tank volume, rather more about depth and width.

Depth:
less than 18" 150w/175w will do (but the 250w cost almost the same)
24" 250w
more than 24" 400w

Width: you should have a bulb every 24" so if you tank is 48" 2 bulbs if it's 72, three bulbs and so on.

There are standards but all tank come in different dimensions, so consider that when buying lighting.

Another thing to consider is the bulbs color temp. A 10K bulbs puts out about twice the PAR of a 20K bulb. Is if your going to have a 20K in a 90 perhaps 400w would be best for SPS.

One last thing... remove the 55 from your list and start with at least 75~90. There just isn't much room in a 55 for much livestock

These are just my opinions hope they help.

Personally over my 75 I have 2 250W Hamilton 14K driven by IceCap Ballasts. I had XM10K's but felt they were a bit yellow and 10K was too bright for many of my soft corals.
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Old 08-08-2007, 08:01 AM   #3
Mindsgoneawol
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this helps alot.. thanx. explained this way i understand.. ( i will admit i am abit slow.. lol..)

now comes the fun part.. deciding on what i want to keep and what their needs are ..
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