[brighteyes_cm]

my husband wants to upgrade our lights.

what kind of corals could i keep with 2 30w actinics and 1 150w metal halide on a 3' 50g tank (maybe an anenome?)

what would be the optimum color temp of the MH bulb?

any help would me much appreciated

thanks

Colleen

 

[thefatman]

color temp on the mh, is sort of whatevr you prefer. 6500 is more yellowish noon type light. 10,000 is more blueish crisp white light.

in a tank that size, with those lights, you could keep most corals, imo, besides for the really heavy duty stony guys that require lots of light.

an anemone, imo, and many others, wil require more light. but will still eventually die. if you feel you MUST get an anemone, it owuld be better to try and find a clone, that has been tank raised. as they are better acclimated to tanks. a natural caught anemone is dying from the day it's captured. may take a week, may take a year or two, but it will die, and poison the tank. in the wild they live for many many years (i've heard up to a hundred)

if you want some higher light corals you may consider 175mh or even 250

 

[brighteyes_cm]

ok, so would 1 150w MH and 2 30w fluorescents be enough for any clams, ive heard maximas need alot of light

 

[Buzz_Hog]

See..... it's a sudden uprising of interest in clams...

 

[brighteyes_cm]

sorry buzz, im just looking, our tank isnt mature enough yet, but for future reference...

 

[Buzz_Hog]

Clams are filter feeders... as well as good lighting, they require a mature tank with good nutrients and as posted in another thread, supplemental feeding...

With the lighting you're mentioning, you shouold have no problems with softies and LPS corals...

I'd reccomend over a 36 inch tank that you go with at least a 250 watt MH and raise it a little higher to spread the light pattern... Generally 1 MH bulb will cover 24 inches of surface area....

 

[brighteyes_cm]

awesome thanks buzz...

what kind of Bulb is good for that kind of thing

 

[Buzz_Hog]

I'm not too familiar with brands... I'll let someone else step in there...

I'd reccomend a 10,000K bulb though... When I get my lights set up, I'll be searching out an 18,000K bulb produced in Belgium... 20,000K is just a little bit too blue, but 18,000K is almost a perfect white spectrum... You may be able to find a 15,000K bulb a little more easily which should look great as well...

So long as it is above 6,700K though, you should be in good shape... Just make sure to supplement with some actinic's... (preferably PC or VHO)

 

[brighteyes_cm]

is it possible to put a 175w bulb in a ballast rated for 150w??

or how bout a 250W on a 400W ballast???
(getting both ballasts for free from family

 

[underwaterreefer]

i also have a 250 watt high pressure soduim ballast, could i run a 250 watt metal halide bulb on it? would i just have to remove the igniter?

 

[Doug1]

UWR you might try a 250W Sodium ballast or remove ballast ingniters

 

[Doug1]

Bright eyes ballast are pretty much wattage depependant ;(