Lighting Oceanic 180 w/centerbrace

Sparkysreef · #1 12/25/2005, 07:47 PM

I currently own an AB aquaspacelight. 72" with 3X250 HQI and 4 24Wpc.

I was thinking of switching over to pendants. (staying with 250 DE)
Wondering if I could get away with two pendants or will there be too much shade in the center of tank?

I keep alot of sps so I'm thinking I should probably should stay with 3

Anyway, I'm hoping to find other oceanic owners and what they did.

Please post pics if using pendants and state what brand/model please.

Thanks

tom obrecht · #2 12/25/2005, 11:15 PM

I had a 180 Oceanic in the past. I ran 2-400 watt halides and it did just fine w/o shaded spots. 250's might be a bit weak IMO for a full blown sps tank however. Others might disagree. One thing I would reommend would be to keep the center brace clean. When the brace got dirty (salt creep, algae ect) that's when I got shaded areas.

Purple Haze · #3 12/25/2005, 11:27 PM

anywhere from 3-5 250's is what I see most often.

bagedtaco · #4 12/26/2005, 11:48 AM

i'm going to be running 2-250's mh on the side and a 400 over the centerbrace. along with 4 t5's and 2 actinic vho's.

good luck

matt & pam · #5 12/26/2005, 01:03 PM

What method do you employ to clean the underside of the brace on the 180?

Sparkysreef · #6 12/26/2005, 03:17 PM

I use a kent scraper

Sparkysreef · #7 12/26/2005, 03:43 PM

Another thought. Anyone using 2 400W vs 350W

Kreeger1 · #8 12/26/2005, 03:48 PM

Im going to try 2 250 with the luenarc reflectors
Im using 3 250 watters now for a sps reef
I like the thought of lower electric bills

Erik

three fish · #9 01/06/2006, 06:56 PM

I have the same tank. 2 400 watters looked great. They were about 12 inches off the water and at that height the rays overlaped the center of the tank. I have Reeflectors. I now have 2 175s that I got cheap in an effort to save on some electricity but I will be changing that again and going with 3 250s.