400 Watt Metal Halide On 40 Gallon Tank!

[reef rico]

Would one 400 watt metal halide with 14000k bulb be enough to support a entire reef (mainly sps, clams and other light loving corals) which is 38 inches long, 13 inches wide and 18 inches tall.

[Freed]

It would work but I say it's way too strong for that tall of a tank. your corals would look too washed out or bleached.

[itZme]

I had a 20K 400w over a 29g reef tank for about a year and it grew great. You lose a lot of PAR when going to higher Kelvin bulbs so I didn't ever see much of a problem with bleaching corals or anything. The bulb was about 12" above the surface.
I will dig up a pic for you.



HTH

[MJAnderson]

I have a 400w 20k radium over a 40g breeder. Works great for mostly SPS. My PAR reading 8" down in the middle of the tank are 400, on the sides 200. Bulb is 15" above the water.