250 watt MH or 175 watt?

[MAReefer1]

Thought id get a few opinions over here as well...

Im going to be getting a brand new fixture for christmas, and was wondering what would be ideal for my 55 gallon, 2 175s or 2 250s? Right now I only have 1 175 on the left side, and Im going to be selling that, and just get a fixture. So what would be best, 175 or 250, would 250 be too much?

thanks,
Donal.

 

[smcnally]

I'd go with the 2 175's. I ran 2 175's in my 75 Gal tank which is taller, and things did alright. But IMO, 2 175s put out plenty of light for a 55.

 

[Liam]

i'd have to say 250's not only will they be fine on a 55 they will be great when you upgrade to a biiger tank

 

[MAReefer1]

... so, would 250s be overkill... like too much light?

liam, ya. thats what I was thinking, cus in the futrure I will definatly be upgrading in the future.

 

[JohnK]

What will you be keeping for livestock?

For mostly SPS 250's might be worth considering, for most other stuff 175's will be fine (And probably fine for SPS also).

Will you be running supplemental actinics of some kind?

If not, you may want to run higher K MH bulbs which will generally lower PAR - that would be the other reason to consider 250's.

Overall I would think 175's would be best, the 250's will make for a lot of heat and most likely be unnecessary.

 

[MAReefer1]

right now, I have lots of Zoanthids, but im planning on getting alot more SPS...

 

[penguinsix]

I'd go with the 250's and run phoenix 14ks.

 

[MAReefer1]

any suggestions on brands?
DE or SE?
Hqi?


trying to ask as many questions as I can before I spend this kind of money.(which is alot for a 16 year old)

Thanks,
Donal.

 

[MikeG]

I'd go with the 2 175's. I ran 2 175's in my 75 Gal tank which is taller, and things did alright. But IMO, 2 175s put out plenty of light for a 55.

A 55 and a 75 are both 20" tall.

I say go with either. If you want a bluer bulb and want SPS on the bottom of the tank, I would go with 250's. If you go 10k and keep lower light SPS on the bottom then 175's should be fine.

 

[MikeG]

If I had to do it over again, I would go SE with luminarcs. Most PAR data shows that DE bulbs when shielded are comparible to SE bulbs of the same wattage that are not shielded running on the same ballasts.

 

[Richard]

I run 2 x 175 SE mh in my 29 gal. So my feelings would go with the 250s

 

[Bobbofin]

Go with a 2x150 Sunpod with Phoenix 14ks.

 

[this is me]

250w!!
you must be a very lucky child.

 

[MAReefer1]

half my money...

I think Iv decided to go with 2X 250 watt 14k, any suggestions for brands?

 

[this is me]

Sorry, should have read your first post throughly instead of scanning thru it. I hope you're planning to upgrade the tank with the 2-250w DE. I think you can really cook up the 55 gal tank with 2-250w.

 

[smcnally]

A 55 and a 75 are both 20" tall.

I say go with either. If you want a bluer bulb and want SPS on the bottom of the tank, I would go with 250's. If you go 10k and keep lower light SPS on the bottom then 175's should be fine.

Why did I think it was a few inches shorter? If it's the same height Id go with 250s

Sorry, should have read your first post throughly instead of scanning thru it. I hope you're planning to upgrade the tank with the 2-250w DE. I think you can really cook up the 55 gal tank with 2-250w.

I would go with SE over DE for that size tank, but I think Liam ran a 400W on a smaller frag tank without cooking it.

 

[this is me]

I was trying to reccomend something that he wouldn't have to upgrade for later use. Then I realized, he's running a 55 right now. 55gal is not a lot of water and 2-250w DE is alot of heat. It might be fine if the tank is running but god forbid something might go wrong. The light would cook the tank in a couple of hours.

 

[reefkeeper2]

Make sure you have a fan or fans that blow across the top between the lights and the water. Have them connected to a controller so they come on when the water temp reaches 80. Go with the 14k phoenix unless you have florescent actinics in there too. Your going to have a lot of light so you may have to move your softies lower or into the shade. Your SPS will grow great.
Exactly what fixture are you buying?

 

[Clam Man]

250 de mini pendents are the way to go so if you buy a 6 foot tank you can just buy another one instead selling the fixture and having to go and buy a 6 foot fixture.
pfo makes a real nice one.
reef optics has one also.

 

[MAReefer1]

would I have to move around my zoanthids with that much light.

and yes... I have already considered the issue with heat... the tank is right agaisnt a wall, so I can mount a few fans along it.

Ill look into the DE mini pendents.

thanks,
Donal.