Lighting for LPS & SPS combo tank

[TheBishop]

I was originally going to go with an SPS dominated tank, but after researching corals, some LPS have really sparked my interest. Namely: Echinophyllia, Favites, Cyphastrea, Leptastrea and Favia. So now I'm thinking about trying to keep SPS in the upper 1/3 of the tank and LPS in the lower 2/3 of the tank.
First question is: Can this be done successfully?
and if it can be accomplished, then what type of lighting is recommended for a tank that will be 18" from water surface to sand?
I want to go with a combination of MH and T5 but having a tough time deciding on the MH wattage... 150? 175? 250?

Love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

[Justin74]

Kinda sounds like my reef Cept I keep my sps pretty much all over, but do have more in the top 1/3. However I dont run a combo of both and just use T5 over my 20" deep tank.

Heres some examples of what Im keeping with a 36" 6 bulb combo:




This pics over 3 months old and a bit dark but you get the jist,


How wide is your setup? That will dictate what kind of bulbs and how many can fit.

-Justin

[TheBishop]

Wow...some really nice pics there Justin. Thanks for sharing them!

My tank is 48" long and 24" wide, and as I mentioned, will have a depth of only 18" from water to sand.

I'm worried if I go with 250w MH that I'll melt some of the moderate to lower light LPS... especially since I'm likely to use a 10K bulb for a white look and supplement it with blue from the T5s.
So then I thought I'd do 150w MH, but as I found out, the hqi ballasts acually drive the 150w at somewhere around 200w. So I figured that I might as well just go with 175w, which is what I'm leaning towards now.
The only issue with the 175w is that the mini lumenarcs are 14.5" wide, that means squeezing 4 of the T5 bulbs along side the MH could be a tight fit...but I suppose the MH will sit up higher and the T5s would sit closer to the water level.

[baldbloke]

kinda done the same thing myself!

[TheBishop]

Nice tank Baldbloke! What type of lighting are you using?

[baldbloke]

latest additions!!!

[baldbloke]

lighting is geissmann infinity x2 250wt 14.000blv halide's with the four 54wt t5's in the unit which consist of a mix of kz and aqua science , blues/purples, also two arcadia 36wt t8 actinics front and back of the tank

[TheBishop]

Hmm- that's quite a bit of light. Your LPS seem to do fine with it? Maybe I can do 250w MH after all...

[All Delight]

I'd go 250

[Justin74]

TheBishop:Thanks!

I think 250w MH on 18" of tank would be perfect if it was a standalone 20k, but as a 250w 10k MH +T5 supplements? That's more appropriate for an sps only IMO, thats very bright and not very deep of water.

Heres an example of a 175mh on another tank of mine, 14k Hami w/ (1)T5 blue+:


It looks a little subdued but that's to avoid overexposure on the shot. As you see it's softy/lps but I do have some montipora sp. on the sand and colorfull as can be, so light is not an issue. This tank is 18" deep also. So it would be pretty safe to say you could easily obtain what your asking for with (2)175 and a T5 or 2, even more so since your planning on using mini L3.

-Justin

[TheBishop]

Well, here's my dilemma: The tank is only 24" wide. The mini-lumenarc reflectors that house 175w bulbs are 14.5" wide, that leaves just under 10" to house the 4 T5 bulbs. That means I'd really be squeezing them along the front and rear panes of glass, and I don't know how effective they'd be at imparting color to the the tank in that scenario.

On the other hand I have these mini-stealth pendants that house 250w de sockets which are only 11" wide. That leaves me with 13" in which to place the T5s. The problem is, of course, that it is a 250w fixture. Now I could, in theory, retrofit with a 150w socket, but there again I'm using 200w of power to run the 150s, and that leads me back to "why don't I just use 175s?"

Ugggghhhh! my head is starting to hurt!
Somebody please decide for me!

[Justin74]

Originally posted by TheBishop
"why don't I just use 175s?"

Ugggghhhh! my head is starting to hurt!
Somebody please decide for me!

Why don't you?
Ive heard good things about the Iwasaki 15k, vamped up on a magnetic ballast could provide some nice results, and to fit, you could just use a spider reflector,ya not as cool and efficient as an L3 but would allow you to throw in a couple HO T5's with individual reflectors(which could also be overdriven if your concerned about output, although IMO would be fine without) which would help accomodate the difference and provide you the ability to do what you want to do with that tank.

Or I can come over and twist your arm if that's what your waiting for! j/k

Judging from your indecisiveness though, Im sure whatever you chose will end up being a good choice. Remember, lighting is just at least a 1/3 of the needed ingrediants of a successful reef, just dont let yourself max out on light and scimp out on flow or good filtration. I would think better results could happen even if all 3 components may be "standard, no frills" opposed to a super duper light setup, paird with a lil rio and a HOB filter.

Good luck

-Justin

[TheBishop]

Thanks for humoring me Justin.. I'm usually not this indecisive...(or maybe I am..I can't decide)

Don't worry about skimping on the other stuff..I actually got the other equipment first. Standing by are Tunze 6100s, an ACJr., and a Deltec AP600 skimmer...

[Justin74]

Dang, that's quite a lineup Lookin forward to seein what you decided on and even more all set up, please update this thread!

-Justin

[salmon alley]

Curious to see how this turns out as well. I'm setting up a very similar tank.

[bdare]

What happened to this thread? I'm setting up a 40bdr with a 250 and I'd like to know what LPS I can keep... Right now I've got a Reeflux 10K, but I think it's too white. I'm considering picking up a Phoenix 14K to go with my 2 39w t5's (blue+ and atinic)

suggestions PLEASE!

[Zoom]

I don't think you will have any problems running 175 or 250 MH with LPS just be sure you keep them lower in the tank .
I use 250 XM 10K with no problems at all i do use some blue PC to kill of some of the yellow color but all the LPS love the high par of the XM< bulbs......I just keep my MH on for only 7 Hours a day and keep the PC on for 11.

[bdare]

Originally posted by Zoom
I don't think you will have any problems running 175 or 250 MH with LPS just be sure you keep them lower in the tank .
I use 250 XM 10K with no problems at all i do use some blue PC to kill of some of the yellow color but all the LPS love the high par of the XM< bulbs......I just keep my MH on for only 7 Hours a day and keep the PC on for 11.

That is great to hear, but from your signiture it looks like your tank is MUCH taller than 16". My light is 12" off the water.

What LPS are big time light lovers?

[Zoom]

Originally posted by bdare
That is great to hear, but from your signature it looks like your tank is MUCH taller than 16". My light is 12" off the water.

What LPS are big time light lovers?

I have my light hood right on the top of the tanks glass top.
You just need to acclimate the LPS slowly .

[TheBishop]

Originally posted by bdare
What happened to this thread?

I'm still in the process of deciding on lighting. I've acquired a 175w setup w/ Iwasaki bulb and retrofitted a 150w de bulb into a lumenarc mini pendant.

Once my PAR meter arrives I'm going to take some measurements and then decide which look I like best.

In the meantime, I'm siliconing baffles into my sump and plumbing the main tank!

[jb1972]

I use 3 x 250 w hqi phenoix 14k bulbs only nice blues all alone without t-5 supplement and lps semm to adust fine but also use caves for lower light corals

[Sula]

What LPS are big time light lovers?

I have a similar dilemma. I am running 2 X 175 MH plus 2 X 110 watt VHO on a 100 gal. Tank is 20 inches tall. The only LPS that seems to like it up near the top is my wall hammer, that guy just soaks up the light! All other LPS seem happiest at the bottom - Bubble coral, Leptastrea, Blastos, Acans, Lobophyllia, Scolymia, Mycedium.
I have a section near the top that needs more corals. Anyone have ideas for other light-loving LPS or should I be thinking about some SPS for the higher light environment? Of the corals I have listed, are there any that you think could be acclimated slowly to be placed near the top?
Thanks for any advice!

[Zoom]

Look at the picture most LPS are under 250W 14K Hamilton bulbs with two 96 W pc on 10 Hours lighting duration. They like the 14K lights i did have them on 10K XM for long time with similar results but I did not like the color of the LPS under that light is much.





Look at this blasto is right under the 14K 250W bulb .

[bdare]

Originally posted by Zoom
Look at the picture most LPS are under 250W 14K Hamilton bulbs with two 96 W pc on 10 Hours lighting duration. They like the 14K lights i did have them on 10K XM for long time with similar results but I did not like the color of the LPS under that light is much.

Steve,

GREAT looking tank! Thanks so much for sharing! I feel much better seeing that picture. Did yo have to acclimate to get them up there?

Thanks,
Ben

[Zoom]

GREAT looking tank! Thanks so much for sharing! I feel much better seeing that picture. Did yo have to acclimate to get them up there?

Yes i have a 24" deep tank all the corals staying at the bottom of the tank for two weeks when i first get them and slowly i get them up in two more weeks. most of my corals are old the
blasto is six years old i got it when it was about one inch long