Lighting

[JOHNNIE]

Is a 2 175w MH with 2 40w blue acintics adequete to grow SPS corals..I have two frags for about a three months now and they are showing growth but sloooooow...Only 1.5 maybe 2in.....I was thinking of upgrading or seeing if I could get the hood from Hamilton TECH retrofitted to support stronger lighting......say 2 175w with 2 110's or the 110's with 2 250 MH's.

If you know of any lighting studies that have researched the growthg rate of corals under various MH's please point me in that direction


Thanks

[PilotNY]

Hey,
What size tank do u have. I have a 55 gallons tank with 2 - 175 watt MH and 2 - 100watt actinics. My hard corals took about 3 months before they started growing but now......look out. People in know suggest 6 - 8 watts per gallon of water. I am in the 10 - 12 range....

Carl

[JOHNNIE]

Sorry so long...out of town on buisness, but I have a 55 gallon hex....kinda akward due to the 48 in temp hamilton tech hood that sits opn the tank now.

[Todd G.]

I am interested in the lighting on your hex because I am in the process of setting up a 60 AGA hex and the canopy is kinda' cramped.

I am finishing the stand this weekend.
Looking for some ideas since I will be tackling the hood/lighting in a few weeks.

My intent is to use a 175 w mh 10k and 1 50/50 96w quad AND a bunch of 36 w 10-12k T5's to get a mixed bag of light = 360 +/- watts.
The finished product is still up in the air.
I am thinking of bumping to a 250mh ... but heat is a concern.

If you or anyone has pic of a hex canopy stuffed w/ lumens..
I would appreciate checking it out.

Thanks.
Todd G.