2 X 150 HQI & 4X54 watt T5 sufficient output for a 120 Gallon

xxxbadfishxxx · #1 12/04/2007, 05:03 PM

2 X 150 HQI & 4X54 watt T5 sufficient output for a 120 Gallon Mixed Reef (48X24X24)? Reef will be predominatly Soft & LPS, but will also have some SPS and Clams. SPS would most likely be Monti Caps and some begginer SPS.

Not only are the 150 fixtures cheaper, but i figured that they would heat the water less and use less electricity. I am currently a T5 user, and when i upgrade i was set on going 100% T5's again, but i got to admit i am jealous of the ShImMeR.

On some websites they say the above mentioned combo would be significant for a 90 gallon, but the 120 is the same just 6 inches wider (front to back), doesnt a MH Bulb have a 2X2 footprint?

Just looking for some advice and for some people that run this kind of fixture on a 120.

mr pink floyd · #2 12/04/2007, 05:08 PM

it depends on the reflector really. you could def. do sps and clams in the top half of the tank. i have a 150w on m 29 with sps and clams at different depths. the tank is 18" keep your corals within 12" of the light and you should be good. depends on the clams. with that light, clams like aquamosa and derasa should be fine on the sand, crocea i would keep as high as possible, and maxima could be don in the top half up.

i currently keep a crocea about 9" from the water, and a maxima 12-15" down. Both are doing fine and growing.

So in short, yes, it will be sufficient, but softies and LPS on bottom, and it would be more like a spotlight. most reflector will spread 24" long, not neccesarily wide too(lumenarcs will)

Potsy · #3 12/04/2007, 06:25 PM

That is absolutely enough light for your needs. There are many tanks out there lit soley by 4x54 watt T5s with a wide variety of corals and clams. With the halides thrown in you can keep anything.

xxxbadfishxxx · #4 12/04/2007, 06:54 PM

yeah, i already have a Squamosa, but would likely get a crocea eventually. I was planning on getting a 6X54 watt teklight or Aquatinics TX5, i would think this fixture would be sufficient.

Potsy · #5 12/04/2007, 11:13 PM

Go for the Aquactinics. Its fan cooling maximizes the bulbs' intensity. The Tek fixture has passive cooling and some estimates indicate that this can cut the intensity down by 30%.

xxxbadfishxxx · #6 12/05/2007, 07:46 AM

I was going to go all T5, but i want the shimmer. I was thinking i should get at least as much out of a 2X150 & 4x54 watt as a 6X54 T5 Fixture, correct?

salmon alley · #7 12/05/2007, 07:58 AM

badfish- I can't speak from experience, but there was another thread going around regarding this type of setup and there seemed to be a consensus that the shimmer from 150w MH might be washed out by the T5s.

Maybe someone with this exact setup could chime in.

xxxbadfishxxx · #8 12/05/2007, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by salmon alley
badfish- I can't speak from experience, but there was another thread going around regarding this type of setup and there seemed to be a consensus that the shimmer from 150w MH might be washed out by the T5s.

Maybe someone with this exact setup could chime in.

wow, that is good to know, that is exactly what i dont want, in that case i would go with all T5's. Is this true of 250 x 2 and 54 X 4? What about 175 X 2 and 96X2 PC?

If you happen to stumble accross that article it will be helpful.

Thanks,

Jeff

salmon alley · #9 12/05/2007, 10:27 AM

Jeff-

I can't find the thread (the search function never works for me), but I'll keep searching.
Again, I don't have direct experience with this combo, so ideally we'll get some input from someone who does regarding the glitter lines.
I'll bet it depends somewhat on what type of T5 you are running as well. (i.e. If you have all actinic, you'd probably still get glitter lines, but if you run lots of daylight color T5s I would think there's a better chance that the shimmer lines would be washed out)

You might want to see if Hahnmeister or Grimreefer can comment on this...they seem to be some of the lighting gurus.

sditch · #10 12/05/2007, 11:15 AM

If you plan on having any SPS I would go with the 250watts. Even if your not heeping any SPS now like many reefers its all a matter of time until you will want too.

Racing1 · #11 12/05/2007, 11:18 AM

I have a current outer orbit with 2 X 150 HQI and 4X t-5's and it works great on my 75G. I have mostly softies and lps but I have a crocea that is about 5 inches and orange monti cap and they are doing great.. The t-5's do not wash out the shimmer of the halides at all......

fishysteve · #12 12/05/2007, 11:39 AM

I have a 120 with two 150 watt HQI 10K, two 96 watt PC (one is actinic and one is 10K), and two 28 watt T5 ( one is actinic and one is 10K). The shimmer is not washed out in my tank, and I manage to make between two and four hundred dollars a month selling SPS frags to my LFS. I would say the 150s would be fine.

oct2274 · #13 12/05/2007, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by xxxbadfishxxx
2 X 150 HQI & 4X54 watt T5 sufficient output for a 120 Gallon Mixed Reef (48X24X24)? Reef will be predominatly Soft & LPS, but will also have some SPS and Clams. SPS would most likely be Monti Caps and some begginer SPS.

Not only are the 150 fixtures cheaper, but i figured that they would heat the water less and use less electricity. I am currently a T5 user, and when i upgrade i was set on going 100% T5's again, but i got to admit i am jealous of the ShImMeR.

On some websites they say the above mentioned combo would be significant for a 90 gallon, but the 120 is the same just 6 inches wider (front to back), doesnt a MH Bulb have a 2X2 footprint?

Just looking for some advice and for some people that run this kind of fixture on a 120.

2x150 and 4 x T5HO is perfect for that tank. It is exactly what I use and i can keep some SPS on the bottom. My digi's do great down there. I have a couple of milli's and monti's midway up in the tank and they grow like crazy. I also have a crocea clam about halfway up in the tank. 3 of my T5's are blue bulbs so there isn't even that much output from them. I use the phoenix 14k halide bulbs right now in Reefoptix III+ reflectors with icecap electronic ballasts. All my lights are around 6-8 inches off the water. I do not overdrive my T5 bulbs with Icecap ballasts. I just use the regular Triad/Advanced ballasts from reefgeek with Icecap SLR reflectors. Anyone that tells you this combination won't work they obviously not tried it. I guarantee if i switched out a another blue bulb for something like a ge6500K I could keep anything on the bottom of my tank. My tank is 23 inches deep with about a 3 inch sandbed. I would recommend using the PFO mini reflectors because the RO III+ refectors are wider and make it hard to fit the 4 T5's over the aquarium. I'll probably switch to the PFO mini's down the line. It's all about bulb choice and reflectors. I also plan on switching to the radium 150 bulbs for better color then the phoenix. They have just as much or more par on every ballast.

xxxbadfishxxx · #14 12/05/2007, 04:46 PM

Sweet, thanks for your replies. I should say that it will be a complete hood, i will not have a canopy so no retrofitting, although it will probably be better.

That being said, the 4X54 watts would all be actinic, i would do 2 actinic and 2 daylight, but i think they are all on one switch and i would like to run actinics a couple hours before and after full spectrum.

This being said, would this still be okay? I beleive it is Current Outer Orbit Fixture.