Deep Tank Lighting Advice Needed

[FishDad2]

I've got a 225 gallon tank that's 72"l x 30"h x 24"d and am using a 72" Hamilton retrofit kit with 3 x 250w MH & 4 x 96w PC bulbs. The tank has been in operation for about 2 years and overall things are going fairly well.

That said, the only significant problem I seem to have now is that the SPS just don't do as well at the lower levels of my tank, but once I bring them up higher, where the light is brighter, they typically perk up. I've added flow and made lots of changes, but it really seems to come down to the light just not being sufficient for such a deep tank.

So, I'm looking for lighting recommendations ... MH wattage and specific fixture recommendations (brand, model, etc.). If I go to 400w will that be enough? The last thing I want is to upgrade and fall short...30" is pretty deep and my bank account has limits!!

One final thing to keep in mind as regards the fixture is that I think I should stay away from the 72" reflector design as is used in my Hamilton. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but my LFS built the tank with a center overflow, which means that the middle MH lamp shines a good portion of its light into the overflow...wasted light. If I move the unit more toward the front of the tank so I'm getting better use of that bulb, then the other 2 lamps are no longer directly above the corals on the reef and their effectiveness is reduced.

I'm thinking that since the center lamp needs to be offset towards the front, I either need 3 separate fixtures independently mounted or a custom built 72" fixture with that center lamp offset to the front.

Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

[ricks]

I run (6) 400 watt on HQI, (4) 160 watt actinic and (4) 96 watt PC's on my 96 x 36 x 36 SPS reef. I can and do grow SPS on the bottom. How old our the lights, I change mine ever 8-9 months.. You could go to 400's and use at least (4)...

[dmilne85]

if your not happy with your set up and want to grow more sps you could always up your lighting by using large lumenarc reflectors, or something simliar, along with t5's in individual reflectors instead of pc, and upgrade to 400 watt MH. you could also try to clean your water up more... that makes a big difference. some people run "cloudy tanks" and some have super clear tanks because they run ozone and carbon alot and light is able to penitrate deeper because of this.

[FishDad2]

ricks, The bulbs are only a few months old...I change them regularly, so I'm not concerned that it's the age of the bulbs causing a problem. Good to know you have success at an even greater depth than mine with 400w bulbs. Hopefully I get some more folks chiming in with similar opinions, as I'd like t avoid the expense and heat of 1000w bulbs.

dmilne85, I'll check out the lumenarc reflectors...I see people recommending them all the time.

Water quality is pretty good in my tank...no cloud in the water and I run carbon on a regular basis. I don't use ozone, but again, the water quality is pretty good with all the other filtration gear I use an weekly water changes.

And just to give everyone a better idea what we're talking about here....



The picture is from the initial setup more than 2 years ago...I've moved some of the rock and of course added lots of corals, but for our discussion here, it gets the point across.

Note that the back wall is my attached garage, so I already have a fan venting air out through the wall into the garage and one that pumps cool air into the canopy from the top. I plan to eventually make a few modifications that allow me to draw cold air in from the garage during the cold months then switch the intake to room air in summer. But that's another project in itself.

For now, I'm trying to get the lighting right.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[supervdl]

I have 3 400W halides and 2 vhos - the light is good enough for good growth in the all but the lower 1/4 of the tank I would say, but I don't have any sps that low, so I am not worried about it. I I had a more open layout and would be able to put corals lower, but directly under the halides it should be alright I think.

[rynon]

I have to comment on your "stand", that is one of the nicest built in tanks I've seen! Not in wall, but sort of. Did you build that or did you have it built for you? That had to cost a few bucks. I even showed my wife your picture, she loved it too. Do you mind if I save your picture to my computer? To answer your question, 3 400 watt bulbs with individual reflectors would work, 4 would work better but I think you could get away with 3. Good luck, thanks.

[reefkoi]

3-400's will look good on there, I'd do 20K helios they have a nice look
Man that cabinetry is top notch though.........good job!
C

[FishDad2]

Thank you all for your guidance and kind words.

The whole thing, including the cabinetry, was my way, way over-the-top 40th birthday present to myself.

While I'm handy with wood, I had this custom built by someone who really knows what he's doing. I still find the most amazing thing to be the fact that there wasn't a single squeek, pop or noise of any kind when the tank was filled with water and rock. You could park a truck on this thing and it wouldn't care.

As for the picture supervdl, enjoy...maybe you'll get lucky and your wife will let you get one too. Plan in advance though...I threw her a monster surprise party for her 40th...brought in relatives and friends she hadn't seen for years...flew her brother in from Arizona. It was a huge success and earned me major point, which I spent (and then some) on the tank!!

This year I've had her engagement ring and wedding band re-set as a Christmas surprise ... building up my point supply again so I can get some new lights for the tank.

Ya gotta give to get!!

I almost forgot...

If you do get a setup like this, be sure your cabinet maker puts some pieces on the inside of the upper doors to keep the light from shining through the gap bewteen the doors or you may go blind!! My guy came back and did it later, but not before I nearly blinded the family.

[GSMguy]

Get new reflectors (lumenarc) that will help tremendously, 400w bulbs are great though for that depth, but i would run them in more efficient reflectors as well.

[drives300]

you also may look into higher par 10k bulbs first, like ushios or xms. If you want to stick with 14 k then you will need the 400s

[FishDad2]

I had 10K's in there at the beginning and they did give me some more depth but I didn't like the color. My preference is in the 14k or 20k range.

It looks like most folks with similar tank depth are using 400w bulbs with success, so that certainly answers the 400w vs. 1000w question pretty well...thanks.

It also seems like the Lumenarc reflector is getting a big thumbs-up. Anyone have a suggestion as to the best place to order the Lumenarc (and the rest of the parts I'll need)?

Finally, are there any other suggestions or are the Lumenarc's just that much better?

Thanks again.

[dmilne85]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...03/feature.htm

look at figure 24 and you can see how the lumenarc III(called diamond light in this test) outpeforms all reflectors in most cases.

i had a hard time finding the lumenarcs online, most places were sold out. so i bought mine on ebay, it was a good price too.

[reefkoi]

Yeah Lumenarc are that good.
I don't see anything out there thats comparable, they fit 250w -1,000w bulbs all with the same fixture so future upgradability is there as well.

That article is great BTW.
And like the author states they are big reflectors and may not be for everybody! You need a large hood to accomodate them!

[FishDad2]

Yeah, I see the size...they're really big. I think the Mini's might be better for me, as the regular size would leave little room for me to get my arm in there for maintenance, etc.

Anyone have experience with the Lumenarc Mini fixtures?

I'll have to do some more measuring and thinking!!