lighting for a 120?

[Reef55]

I am thinking of this for lighting...

Dual 400 watt MH, SE 10k's
4 x 55 watt PC Actinic 03's
Lunartracker moon lighting (http://thelebos.com/main/cgi-bin/lunartracker.cgi)

Tank will have SPS / clams / etc.

Too much / too little? Comments? Thanks!

 

[Tstone]

400 is good. You could also do 250 DE
I would do T-5 actinics and not PC.

 

[ScottM]

nice setup. check out Rays tank. he has 2 400's and 110 VHO. looks great.
BTW the lunar tracker is pretty cool. the 400's will add to the electric bill.
250w HQI can give you a similar look but nothing compares to a 400w look. check out the 400w HQI's

 

[PenMan]

Right on Marvin. The 250 DE seem to put out almost as much light as the 400 moguls. We switched from PC to the VHO for the actinc. They seem brighter for the same wattage, and like the actinic better on the URI. The T-5 are also good choice. Try to get out and look at tanks, you really need to see them setup and running.

 

[Mike A]

What is your budget ??

T5 bulbs, the actinics cost about $33 each. The URI VHO actinics cost $22 on average. From what I've seen, they both last about a year before they lose their spectrum and require replacement.

If you use 400 watt bulbs, be prepared to have some option to cool the tank down when the warm weather arrives. 400 watt bulbs are great for deeper tanks, but they also put out a lot of heat. 400 watt bulbs probably cost on average of $60 each to replace.

I use one 250 watt DE on my frag tank. The bulb is a 10k AB (Aqualine Bushke) and cost about $90 on average to replace, though there are cheaper alternatives.

Paul (Penman) made a good suggestion about getting out and seeing other folks reefs to see what combination appeals to you. I also have a 120 reef and use two 400 watt 10k SE Ushio bulbs and 4 VHO actinics. I just got a pair of new 400 watt XM 10k bulbs and am going to use them when the Ushios lose their spectrum.

 

[Greg Hiller]

2x 400 is a awful lot for a 120 gallon tank, unless you are using one of the bulbs that is low on PAR. I strongly suggest you have a look at some of Sanjay's lighting data before picking your lighting.

 

[mikestod]

I'm very happy with my 2 250W DE fixtures over my 120. I have a more SPS than not mixed reef and have to keep my zoos and leathers down the bottom. I just switched to hamilton 14k bulbs and really like the color, but still run a pair of 110w atinic VHO's (Although I may swap to 1 atinic and one 10k daylight when I change bulbs for better viewing when the halides are off).

As previously stated...Best thing is to really go out and see people's setups to get an idea of what you like. Also make sure to compare heat and electricity between 250w DE and 400w moguls. If you gain little for twice the cost of electricity and added heat issues in the summer it isn't worth it.

 

[Reef55]

The ballast I have is the PFO dual 400 watt HQI. This can run the 250DE's correct? if that is the case, is the recommendation to switch to 250DE and dual 110 vho?

 

[JohnK]

reef 55

if your asking if the 400w ballast will work with 250 bulbs, the answer is no you need a 250 ballast. I don't know what would happen if you tried to fire up 250's on a 400 ballast but my guess is it wouldn't be good.

sorry if I'm misunderstanding the post.

 

[Piscevore]

reef 55

if your asking if the 400w ballast will work with 250 bulbs, the answer is no you need a 250 ballast. I don't know what would happen if you tried to fire up 250's on a 400 ballast but my guess is it wouldn't be good.

sorry if I'm misunderstanding the post.

I'm not so sure about that---> I think you can use SE's, right? Just not DE ?

 

[denvig]

The ballast I have is the PFO dual 400 watt HQI. This can run the 250DE's correct? if that is the case, is the recommendation to switch to 250DE and dual 110 vho?

I would check with the manufacturer to be sure.

 

[Tstone]

I know of a guy that ran 175 on a 250 ballast for quite a while but I am not sure how long the bulbs would last and/or how efficient it would be.

If you have a 400 watt ballast just run 400 bulbs. The DE 250 are very efficient but I don't think it would be worth going out and buying a new ballast to run 250 DE.

The mogul base 250 does not match up to a 400 so I would just stick to the 400 that you have and use T-5 actinics.