lighting in the future

[Pamela]

I've noticed on responses to which lights to install, 'it depends on what you want to keep' is a common answer. I am setting up a 150, 48x24x30. I want to put in a lighting system from the start that when I change my mind a year from now on what I wish to try and keep will still be appropriate. Your thoughts are appreciated, Pamela

[Pamela]

I don't trust my own judgement when it involves the lighting decisons which is why I'm asking for your help. The expense involved calls for a lot more experience than I have. Thanks again Pamela

[DgenR8]

I think what your saying is "lay out an all purpose lighting plan for my tank, I want to keep everything!"

I wish it were that simple. Some corals cannot handle intense lighting, others need it to survive, so even saying that "you should get 10,000 watts of MH light to cover you for even the most demanding animal" does not leave you room to keep low light animals without some really, really, did I say REALLY? creative rock structuring to provide shade. I have to put the ball back in your court and ask what you really want to keep in your tank to be able to advise you on the correct lighting.

[Pamela]

Okay, I understand I guess. I just thought that if I could chose the right equipment in the first place I could go for the best I could afford from the start and not have to start over or up grade every time I added something in the future. Not sure what I want to keep yet, been buying equipment for a year now, a piece at a time. Thanks anyway, Pamela

[DgenR8]

I feel like I have chased you away Pamela, I didn't mean to do that.
I was only trying to explain that there is no "best" lighting, and you need to know who is going to live under it to narrow the search for the "best" lighting for your animals and your personal color preferance.
Please don't leave discouraged, just understand that some stocking decisions have to be made before lighting decisions can be made.

[MalHavoc]

First of all, DGenR8 is 100% right when he says that being able to just get tons of light and keep everything isn't really possible. I'll add a few suggestions to his comments and we'll see where this discussion ends up.

Realize that not all corals or marine invertibrates in nature live in the same area. There's a reason for that - corals like staghorn acropora do well on the fore area of a reef because they are adapted to pounding surf, brutally intense sun, and the very real possibility of being exposed to air at low tide for hours at a time. A LPS coral like, say, a brain coral, would probably get torn to shreds under those conditions. That's why you normally find those on the sandy bottom area of a reef or in a sheltered lagoon behind the main break area.

"Natural Reef Aquariums" by Tullock has some great information about deciding what "sort of reef" you want to keep. Which environment do you want to emulate? Pounding surf? A tranquil lagoon area? A deep reef environment with dim lights and a collection of soft corals and non-photosynthetic gorgonians?

Tons of choices! All interesting, too.

If you really want to be able to keep everything in your tank, it'll take a lot of planning. You'll need intense light for stony corals, high current areas for corals that need that, and other areas where you can put corals like brain corals or bubble corals that don't need intense light or tons of current. Such tanks are usually large, because managing tons of light and tons of current in a smaller tank is quite difficult.

Anyway, just some food for thought. Hope some of it is useful.

[Zander]

well if your like just about everyone else, your going to want light loving sps corals and colorful clams. If tht's the case, you'll probably want 2x400w MH (especially with a tank 30" deep). As far as which ballast/bulb combination to buy (magnetic, electronic, mogul, DE, etc)... that's yor decision- just do your research and I'm sure you'll make the right decision

[Pamela]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I already have a hood with 4 vhos on a 660 ice cap, could you add perhaps in the middle a pair of mh's? How much clearance between bulbs is required and I've read that the mh bulbs need to be set higher above the water than the others, how do you compensate when installed in the same hood? I'm also thinking about adding one of those blue moon bulbs to the middle of the hood, any thoughts on this? I've built the canopy to allow the hood to be raised or lowered as needed and added a step ladder to the back for maintence. Thanks again, Pamela

[MalHavoc]

How high are your VHO lights off of the water surface currently? With MH bulbs, it really depends on whether or not there is a possibility of splashing water directly on the bulb, which will probably cause it to shatter (because they get so hot). I know folks with MH bulbs mounted 9" off of the water surface without any problems. Again, it might depend on what you want to keep. Fish with a lot of spunk like damsels may jump or attack food floating on the water surface, which can cause splashing.

[Pamela]

I haven't got the hood in the canopy yet but will be able to adjust its height. As I already had the hood I would prefer to modify it by adding the mh's to the vhos if that is possible. How much will be lost from the vhos by raising to protect the mhs? I also have about 6" of space in the center to work with between the vho's, is this enough for the mh's? One more ?, I could get the mh hardware from work, ballast ect but as they are commercial would they work here or need to be specific to aquariums? Sorry for all the questions but am really lost when it comes to understanding lighting. Pamela

[Pamela]

Okay I lied, one more question! Just interested in what you think of the reeftecs? I'm really considering adding this instead of the maxijets. Btw, I too have fw, africans for the most part, wound up combining lakes but they never noticed or seemed to mind! Pamela

[MalHavoc]

Reeftec's push a ton of current, and are great, but they are quite large and take up substantial room in your tank. Really up to you.

As for MH - commercial stuff is fine, as long as the bulbs are the correct spectrum. Most industrial MH lighting is high pressure sodium or various types of other halides that are not suitable for aquariums. If you get industrial ballasts, great, but make sure you get real aquarium bulbs from a marine dealer.

6 inches is plenty of room between your VHOs and MH bulbs. You may need fans in your hood to assist with air movement to keep your tank cool.