250 mth. is it to much for a 29 gal?...

fed-exguy · #1 03/04/2007, 09:42 PM

help me want to know if 250 metal helaid is to much for a 29 gallon tank?.....

raddogz · #2 03/04/2007, 09:47 PM

250w mh is pretty extreme for that size tank - you could easily get by with a 150w for that size tank, but that is assuming you have a ton of light loving corals i.e sps

fed-exguy · #3 03/04/2007, 09:50 PM

so no on the 250!

raddogz · #4 03/04/2007, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fed-exguy
so no on the 250!

No.

The more wattage you throw on as far as lighting goes - the more you need to cool the lighting and the tank as it will heat the tank. The tank heats up, now you have to cool the tank - results in water evaporation - probably more so with a 250w MH vs. 150w MH.

reefkeeper1 · #5 03/04/2007, 10:03 PM

Man, I thought you meant if spending $250 a month was too much for a 29-gallon!

FunGuy · #6 03/04/2007, 10:11 PM

I have 250 over a 37 and it's pretty sweet. I think it depends what you're trying to keep too, how hot it gets out there, how much evaporation you're willing to deal with and of course the bill. 150w should be fine though.

Bdimas · #7 03/04/2007, 11:03 PM

I had a 250 over a 28 gal. That tank was just as tall as a 29 but shorter in length. I ran a fan across the bulb.

Elite · #8 03/05/2007, 12:04 AM

I used 250W on a 29G tank before and I liked it

..

jedininja · #9 03/05/2007, 12:14 AM

I have 175 over my 29g and I think it could use more light.

Ti · #10 03/05/2007, 01:38 AM

250 will be a bit much, but I would do it

DarkXerox · #11 03/05/2007, 02:02 AM

Been running a 250w Phoenix 14k over my 29 since feb 06, so I think its fine. I'd say keep to the higher kelvin bulbs if you want to run it without actinics, but I stopped using my 2x55w PC's since I didn't feel they did anything. However my tank is SPS dominated so it depends on what you want to keep.

Only time I had heat problems was when there was that nasty heatwave last summer.

Paladin · #12 03/05/2007, 10:42 AM

Just like DarkXerox, I run a 29g with 250w Phoenix 14K--been working good.

klam114 · #13 03/05/2007, 12:55 PM

depend on what you are trying to grow. will help if you let us know what kind of a set up you are tryin to run. for what kind of coral. sps, lps, soft. and demension of tank would also help especially height.

fed-exguy · #14 03/05/2007, 07:19 PM

some sps lps soft , still not sure......but want to put it together all ready, thank's for the responds............very cool people up in here!......

klam114 · #15 03/05/2007, 07:58 PM

on my 50 gallon tank 36 in long. i went with 250 hqi, blue wave 3 ballast with reef optix III. with 14k Phoenix. the set up was great. (also heard it was one of the best lighting) good thing also that i thought of was if i ever need to upgrade i have gotten the light out of the way. i could grow everything like sps, lps, soft. anemone and it would be fine. gotton may great comments of the fixture and how it shimmers in my tank.

i have to down grade because i have 100 gallon running 2 250watt also plus everything in tank almost 1000 watt for about 4-6 hour is too much. so i am in the process of selling this set up.

i would suggest if you do get the 250 watt you could use it for the 29 gallon but you could also upgrade you tank to a 50 or 55 36L and it would also be fine. for one tank it would be great for a show tank. (in my case just have too much). i am also guessing that your 29 gallon heater, pump, power head and stuff would run about same watts as a 36l 50 gallon. i choose also a bigger tank because of stablilty of water conditions, and larger volume of water is harder to heat up. just my thoughts

klam114