I need some elite RC advice.

[havoc1010]

I currently have a 165gal tank that is 24" tall. I have one IceCapp 660 and plenty of end caps. Could you give me some advice on how to setup the lighting for the tank. I would like to have SPS and soft corals. Do I need to buy anything else? I have 2-5' 50/50 VHO bulbs right now. What do you recommend as the best lighting with the current setup I have. And do I need to buy anything else? Thank You!

[bergzy]

i have though not seen people using vho to keep sps, so i am not going to say it is not possible.

my friend uses t5's and has a nice little maxima growing nicely but his sps is not doing well.

of course, you may have heard that metal halides are the only way to go with sps. there will be some nay sayers but this is usually the typical way to go if you decide to keep sps.

though mh is somewhat expensive to purchase initially, i have found that over the long run, it is cheaper to maintain (bulb replacement) and puts out the most light per watt of the light systems used for reef aquariums.

vho and t5 will be more than enough to keep softies and lps.

[havoc1010]

The best thing to do in my opinion would be to have the VHO and t5's for actinic, right?

[danielcherian]

Originally posted by havoc1010
The best thing to do in my opinion would be to have the VHO and t5's for actinic, right?

Ehh, I'd rather have MH and have VHO for actinic.

[havoc1010]

Well that looks like what i'm going to do....I have a 175 watt MH right now, could I use 2 more on my 74 long and 24 tall tank?

[danielcherian]

You would want to use at least 3 MH for a tank of that length. 1 halide for every 2 feet (or at least that's what most people do).

[havoc1010]

Is 175 watts enough with one every 2 feet?

[bergzy]

Originally posted by havoc1010
Is 175 watts enough with one every 2 feet?

in my opinion, 175w on a 24" tank is scraping the max height for your lights. you are probably better off using 250w. this way, you will have less restrictions on where you place things, like clams on the sand bed.

i run 250w de 10 ab bulbs right now and they do an excellent job on lighting up the tank. i do not use any flourescent supplementation and will probably experience better color when i switch over to 14k phoenixes in a couple of months.

all those extra watts to drive flourescents are not really needed if you have the right watt bulb and temp...of course, in my opinion! ;)

[havoc1010]

What is a "14k phoenixes"? So what should I do with my 175? should I place it in the middle of the tank with (2) 250s on each side?


Originally posted by bergzy
in my opinion, 175w on a 24" tank is scraping the max height for your lights. you are probably better off using 250w. this way, you will have less restrictions on where you place things, like clams on the sand bed.

i run 250w de 10 ab bulbs right now and they do an excellent job on lighting up the tank. i do not use any flourescent supplementation and will probably experience better color when i switch over to 14k phoenixes in a couple of months.

all those extra watts to drive flourescents are not really needed if you have the right watt bulb and temp...of course, in my opinion! ;)

[bergzy]

Originally posted by havoc1010
What is a "14k phoenixes"? So what should I do with my 175? should I place it in the middle of the tank with (2) 250s on each side?

14k phoenixes are a brand of bulb that are popular with a lot of reefers for their color...they appear to have a good balance of the white and blue.

10k' (depending on the maker of course) are a white/yellow
20k' are very blue and 6500k/5500k are yellow - which almost always require some sort of actinic supplementation.

regarding your 175w, yes, you could put it on as a center light and have 2x250w on the sides. thats a good amount of light that will grow pretty much whatever you want. heck, stick gary coleman in there and maybe he'll sprout a few inches!!!

again, that would be more than enough light for sps', softies and lps'. if you want to save $$$ on buying more halide, just run your 175w mh along with some vho's for softies and lps' along with some sps closer to the surface. if you really love sps' and some clams on the sand bed, then get more powerful halides in the future.

translation...enjoy what you have! :)

[danielcherian]

Well wait, aren't the 14K Phoenix's DE? Or is there a SE/mogul socket available?

[jbanks]

They are DE. No mogul option that I know of.

[havoc1010]

Well I would like to keep just about everything with out restrictions from lighting, because that seems to be the limiting factor for most reefers that are not rich. :D

[Warnberg]

Current System

IceCap 660's (2), 8 54 Watt T5's, IceCAp SLR reflectors, 30 inch deep tank.

Maxima - doing great
SPS - All growing like weeds

JME