400 watt radium too much for 40 gallon high?
 

i have a 40 gallon high (36 x 13 x 20) with a 4" dsb... i love the radium look and am looking into getting a single 400 watt hqi with spider light reflector for the tank... i figure i'll have a 10" high hood... i'm just wondering if this is too much light for the tank...

i'm a beginner and don't plan on doing sps for a while but this is definitely in my plans for the future... i plan on adding a leather and a mushroom soon and would they not like the amount of light? thanks

I'm thinking of making the same size tank and the same lighting. I don't think it is to much light. What ballast are you going to use?

I think your heading in the too much light direction. The PAR of that is going to be way to much. From all of the research and info I have collected and read to much light can be as bad as to little light. Studies have shown higher mortality rates, increased bleaching, less growth, and other problems for corals directly attributed to to much lighting.
You have to remember they only receive the max amount of light that the sun can provide for just a few hours a day. The rest of the time the light comes in at an angle and isn't nearly as bright. Because the majority of the time the sun light isn't being received directly (as in straight overhead) they have adapted to this and this time is when their zooxanthalae are most active. This comes is basically paraphrased from Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals book. I'd recommend a copy if you don't have one yet.

JMO
Brandon

i have a 1000watt 20k on a 135
imo and from reading
i definantly would go with the 400watt or youll wish you did later
get the 400watt electronic ballast

i was planning on going with the pfo hqi ballast... any other opinions? thanks

I have to disagree with Brandon here.

Higher light corals reach saturation at around 23000 lux. But the really shallow water corals live at light levels exceeding 50000 lux for a large part of the day.
A radium 20000K 400 watt bulb achieves about 50000 lux 6 inches below the bulb (basically at the water surface)
At 6 inches below the water the light will have dropped to about 20000 lux. This is good for most of the shallow water sps and the others will be kept a few inches lower or more.



John

Are the spider light reflectors perpindicular or parallel reflectors. Also, would a 36in long tank get full coverage.

i'm a beginner and don't plan on doing sps for a while but this is definitely in my plans for the future... i plan on adding a leather and a mushroom soon and would they not like the amount of light?

This is the part of the message I'm looking at. Do you think he can keep leathers and shrooms in that tank? Maybe, maybe not. Your tank your decision. I'm just giving my opinion. And in that opinion there are better ways to light a 40 then with one 400w light for what your planning on doing.

JMO
Brandon

I use a 400W Ushio (it is more intense than a Radium) and have mushrooms and star polyps that both do OK. You may need to acclimate your soft corals for a few weeks and keep them from directly under the bulb. If you can put the bulb 10-12" above the water this will increase the light spread = less intensity in a given area. This will save you money in the long run when you add SPS corals. I am currently testing a 400W Radium bulb and it appears to me to be useable (blue enough for my tastes) without adding actinics which could also save money.

Regards,
Kevin

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by yrureefing [/i]
[B]Are the spider light reflectors perpindicular or parallel reflectors. Also, would a 36in long tank get full coverage. [/B][/QUOTE]
yrureefing they can be mounted either way. I think you might get decent coverage if you only use 1 bulb and reflector. But I think you'll end up with less intense, shadier areas at the bottom outer areas of the tank. This may or may not be desired depending on what type of corals you decide to keep. But it really depends on tank depth, and what type of bulb and ballast are used.

I am thinking about a 400 watt 20k radium on a hqi ballast. As of height I am thinking about 18 or 20 inches.

Get the 400 radium my man.

What is the difference between the hqi or the blueline E ballast running a radium.

They both put out about the same light.
The e-ballast probably controls the bulb burn closer to specs. The PFO HQI is really not the proper ballast for Radium bulbs. It drives them at 430 watts for example. Bulb life MAY be longer with the e-ballast although I have no confirmation on this.

The proper ballast for a 400 watt Radium may turn out to be a HPS ballast.
Perryinca is working on that as we speak.



John

Do they put out different color spectrums.

john anymore info on the 1000watt hqi ballast yet

I'll be calling Perry at Tridonic Tomorrow.



John

Eddie,

I spoke to Steve Purdy from Tridonic today. He is emailing Europe today and we should know exact price and availability by Monday.



John

Have used the 400 watt and 250 watt Radiums, love them both. Would probably recommend the 400 watt version over the 250 watt version, just more power.


Jason