Escalation in Equipment Needs

[Spectre2006]

I just went to my lfs(reputable), was told I needed 400W MH's with 100W actinics x2 to keep SPS in a 3 ft zone. I'm under the impression this is too much light or am I wrong? So for my 125 I would need two of these setups.

It seems as I progress in this hobby. The biggest and best is needed for optimum results. What does everyone else have in their 125 in terms of lighting.

[djtodd]

What is a 3ft zone? 3 feet deep? 3 foot long tank?

[LBCBJ]

You'll need at least 250w halides on a 125, 400 wouldn't hurt.

[freddie40]

What are the dimensions of your tank, and what kind of lighting do you presently have?

Dave

[Spectre2006]

Its a standard 6ft long 125. I have dual double ended 150 W MH's with dual 96 watt actincs on both fixtures. The fixtures are about 3 inches from water level. It works out close to 5 watts per gallon with 10K temp on the MH. One fixture is from Currant, the other from Coralife.

[reefshadow]

So basically they said 800 watts of m.h. and 400 of fluorescent? For a six foot tank that is not overkill imo, but you could get away with less.

There are all different kinds of sps with different light tolerances. Not all of them need 400 watt m.h.

:)

[freddie40]

You are probably fine with what you have. Try out a few frags and see what happens.

Dave

[Spectre2006]

Thats what I figured everything in my tank seems to be doing well. The SPS on my LR from Fiji the margins seem to increase about .5 mm per day. I notice the blue tips acro (close to the top of the tank) doing pretty good also. I guess if I want even better results, I will have to upgrade the lighting.

[freddie40]

That right, if you want better results you would have to upgrade. But, with what you have now you can do well with SPS. LFS are in the business of selling, whether you need it or not. To upgrade to 2 400's with 400 of PC would get you better results, but it may not be as huge of an upgrade as you would think. 2 150 watt MH bulbs at each end will give you decent par reading and will cover you 6 foot tank well.

Dave

[Spectre2006]

I read somewhere the double ended MH bulbs are much better than the single ended. And their outputs are better than the single ended. Not sure by how much.

[freddie40]

I am not an expert on MH (never had them). I am just thinking that 2 150 watt MH back to back are going to cover a certain area with light. One 400 watt may be brighter in one spot, but overall it won't be a ton better. Stay with what you have. You may want to borrow a lkight meter and see what kind of par you are getting. I am getting 190 lumens at the sandbed (75 gallon) with my T5's. That is equivaent or better than 250 MH lights. My SPS are doing very well.

Dave