65 Gal AGA Reef: Need MH Lighting Recommendations

[pescadero]

I'm accumulating parts to build a reef tank using a 65 gallon AGA. My plan is to start it off as a FOWLR setup, and convert it to a reef setup after the system is well stabilized.

I'd like to ask for recommendations for MH lighting. Specifically, I'd like to know whether 1 or 2 bulbs are recommended for this sort of setup, and what wattage bulbs are required. The 65 AGA measures 36"W x 24"H x 18" D. It has a centerbrace that will cast a shadow.

Would a pair of 175W bulbs be too much or too little?

Since I don't have any lights for the tank right now, I'd rather start off buy buying what I'll need in the end, rather than buying something for right now and replacing it later on. I'm not sure whether I'll end up using pendants, or if I'll end up building a cap to go on top of the tank. I think that the lighting requirements would probably be the same either way.

TIA.

[mg426]

You may be able to get by with one 250 Provided you get a quality reflector such as a Lumenarc or Lumenmax.

[miwoodar]

I had one 250 watt metal halide 10K and two 95 watt VHO actinics on my 65 until yesterday. I just added another 250 watt halide as I was getting a little bit of overtopping by my SPS and montis. Most everything grew very quickly with the single halide/dual VHO setup though.

I cut out my brace and replaced it with glass. Here's a pic of me gluing in the glass prior to cutting the brace. I used a garden hachet that I heated on the stove to melt through the plastic brace on the ends...two years later...still no problems.

[hahnmeister]

Id do T5s on a tank like that... 6x39 watters.

[grundig5]

Which T5 fixture Hahn? Other than retros, there is only the Powermodule and Teklight right?

[miwoodar]

Why T-5's on a 'tank like that'? What are the criteria, the advantage over MH?

Always interested in reading your posts Hahn...

[hahnmeister]

65g tanks usually have that center brace... so you either need dual halides or some other solution... the light in the center, even with a glass cross-brace, will get blocked in the center. Dual halides are just a waste though... no need to pay 2x as much for something a single 250 watter could do.

The other reason is color choice. Unless you plan on adding supplimental T5s or VHO (which is just that much more overkill for a tank this size), the halide you pick is not very 'tweakable' with regards to spectrum. Its a single (or two bul) solution. IF you dont like the color... too bad, its a whole new bulb. With T5s, you can mix and match to your hearts content to get just the right spectrum.

Also, T5s will penetrate deeper on a tank like this. Usually, I find people who are putting T5s over a 40B could use some more height. The light field that T5s make penetrates better, and its more even top to bottom (not as intense of a 'spotlight' up top, but more intense at the bottom unlike halide)... so for people who want more of a 'mix' require more intensity variation from top to bottom, or they can only grow SPS all over, or lower light corals all over. Usually with T5s over a 40B, what the light field is along the top is only 200 micromol/m2/s different from the bottom... so a taller tank is often my suggestion. Well... this is a taller tank... a 6x39wattT5 uniot over a 65g will grow anything you want, for less wattage as well.

[Lumamae]

2x 175MH would be perfect

[hahnmeister]

If you like SE bulbs... Still, thats over 350 watts of halide over this tank.... sorta much, dont you think?

[pescadero]

Interesting. I hadn't thought about the T5 approach. I had been thinking about halides for both the spectral output and for the "shimmer" effect.

Hahnmeister, is there any reason that you've recommended a large array of T5 bulbs instead of a smaller array of T12 VHO to produce the same wattage?

BTW, what does the "SE" abbreviation in "SE bulbs" refer to? (still coming up to speed)

Thanks everyone!

[trmiv]

I have an Aquactinics TX5 on my 65. I used to have dual 250 halides on my 90, I can't imagine having them on a tank this size. The only thing I miss is that halide shimmer.

[crab0000]

Here is a link to my 65 build up http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1209178 I am going to use 2 Reeflux 10K's in Lumenarc mini's powered by Reef Fanatic electronic ballasts. There are pics showing one halide and two so you can get an idea of what it would look like.

[Tennsquire]

SE= Single Ended, or screw-in type, bulbs. They have a base like regular light bulbs. Double Ended bulbs have contacts at each end and slide into clips instead of screwing in. HTH

[markandkristen]

if you like the shimmer i would go with the 2x175s.
like hahn said t5s have a lot of bulb choices though.

i have seen people on here buy the t5's then end up with halides because they initially wanted the shimmer affect.

i am a big fan of the shimmer as well.

[pescadero]

Originally posted by Tennsquire
SE= Single Ended, or screw-in type, bulbs. They have a base like regular light bulbs. Double Ended bulbs have contacts at each end and slide into clips instead of screwing in. HTH

SE must be a reefer term then, because I've never come across it in the lighting industry. Thanks for clarifying that.

[pescadero]

Originally posted by crab0000
Here is a link to my 65 build up http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1209178 I am going to use 2 Reeflux 10K's in Lumenarc mini's powered by Reef Fanatic electronic ballasts. There are pics showing one halide and two so you can get an idea of what it would look like.

Do you have any photos of the working tank comparing one vs. two bulbs where the photos were taken at the same time with the same exposure? The only photos I noticed that compared one vs. two bulbs didn't have anything in the tank. the best one bulb photo was on the first page, it showed one bulb centered above an empty tank. I had trouble identifying the other photots that would be good for comparison. thanks.

[sgarron]

I had a Current Outer Orbit with 2 - 150w MH and 4 - 39w T5 actinics on my 65. If you want the shimmer this is a good option.

[miwoodar]

Originally posted by crab0000
Here is a link to my 65 build up http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1209178 I am going to use 2 Reeflux 10K's in Lumenarc mini's powered by Reef Fanatic electronic ballasts. There are pics showing one halide and two so you can get an idea of what it would look like.

That's similar to mine now that I have added the second halide (10K's with DIY Lumenarc minis). I like having the actinic VHO's for color though. I plan on running my halides six hours per side with a two hour overlap.

I really like the shimmer. This tank started as a four bulb VHO but that only lasted six months. The two bulb VHO with the single 250 halide lasted about two years. The primary reason for adding the second bulb was shading caused by the corals. The second bulb gives another angle for the corals to receive light.

[crab0000]

Originally posted by pescadero
Do you have any photos of the working tank comparing one vs. two bulbs where the photos were taken at the same time with the same exposure? The only photos I noticed that compared one vs. two bulbs didn't have anything in the tank. the best one bulb photo was on the first page, it showed one bulb centered above an empty tank. I had trouble identifying the other photots that would be good for comparison. thanks.

Unfortunately, the tank is not running yet or I would be happy to. Hopefully it'll be up soon.

[miwoodar]

I would post pics using two 250s and two VHO actinics but my camera is currently caput. Here's an old pic (sorry, didn't clean the tank prior to the pic). This is one 10K 250 (old, yellowish bulb) and the two VHO actinics. Hahn is right that you will get some shading from a glass cross brace. It's especially bad in this pic since I didn't clean the brace first.

Here's a hasty early summer pic that was taken soon after I added a PVC/Greatstuff support frame...

[GatorWPB]

I recommend 2 bulbs for sure, as I would imagine that brace would block a decent amount of light.

Here's my 65 about 2 months ago with a 36" 2x150w Sunpod w/ 10k Aqualine ABs. I added 42w of T-5 actinic to it as well, but the actinic isnt required.

[hahnmeister]

I suggesed T5 over VHO because T5s are so much more efficient.

As for the shimmer, there are mfg's that have, or are coming out with computer controlled LED arrays that are programmed to 'flicker' and give the 'shimmer' effect back to a T5 lit tank. So its just a matter of time before shimmer/no shimmer is no longer a huge consideration.

FWIW, I was never a fan of the halide shimmer because in a captive reef, its too fast/high of a frequency compared to nature. The small ripples we see produced in our 'nano reefs' travel fast, and with little of the same effect as a large, wide, slower shimmer of a waves in the wild.

Having been a diver, the halide shimmer actually 'bothered' me because it just didnt look natural.

[pescadero]

Originally posted by hahnmeister
FWIW, I was never a fan of the halide shimmer because in a captive reef, its too fast/high of a frequency compared to nature. The small ripples we see produced in our 'nano reefs' travel fast, and with little of the same effect as a large, wide, slower shimmer of a waves in the wild.

Having been a diver, the halide shimmer actually 'bothered' me because it just didnt look natural.

yes, the frequency of the waves that we produce with electric motors and the reflective walls in our captive reefs are of a much higher frequency than the waves that are produced by nature in the real reefs. as a result the shimmer frequency is noticeably different. its interesting that some people prefer zero shimmer to the artificially high frequency shimmer; I have always thought that a majority of people prefer the artificially high frequency shimmer to having no shimmer at all.

[pescadero]

Originally posted by hahnmeister
I suggesed T5 over VHO because T5s are so much more efficient.

Are you saying that T5 are better than VHO in terms of lumens produced per watt of energy consumed? I'll have to look that up. IIRC one reason for going with MH lights is that they produce a higher ratio of lumens to the number of watts of power consumed.

[kodyboy]

I will second the aquactincs T5X fixture. Great unit. The 5 x 39 watt one will light your tank very well.