I was wodering if any one had any feed back on the new MH/PC/Lunar light combos they have out now. I need to upgrade my lighting system and was looking very seriously in investing in this type of system........
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Lighting
- Thread starter ReeferMedic
- Start date
200g w/55g sump. I like the softies and the lps for now, but who knows................ I was going to get two 72" strips w/3 150 mh, 4 96 watt pcs and 4 built in lunar lights each. All I have right now are 6 65 watt pcs......
I just got 2 of the Aqualight Pro from Coralife (150 MH, 2x65 actinic PC, and moon in one fixture). I temporarily put them over my 75 and they looked awesome (I currently have 4x65w PC 50/50 on my 75). I bought the new lights for over my new tank, and I'll be buying two more (I am upgrading to a 350g). If you are keeping softies and LPS (as am I), these lights are awesome. Coralife is coming out with the same fixture in a 250 MH, but not for a few months. If you think you need the higher wattage in the MH, wait a few months. If not, go with the 150s. You are in the same boat as me....even the 150s are a HUGE improvement over the PCs. Plus they look nice over the tank - everything in one fixture, very clean.
I was thinking anything higher would be too much. The lights I want to get would put 1600 watts on it as it is..........
The tank is 24" deep.
You might want to check out t5 lighting. I am really satisfied with my lights. I love em. In a 24" deep tank with t5's you can keep almost anything. With your emphasis on softies and leathers t5's are perfect. If you build your own custom canopy, you could upgrade your ballist if you wanted to do demanding SPS and overdrive the t5's. Under normal t5 lighting i keep montoporia digitata, and have a green slimer, and another acro wich is doing well. however if you overdrive the lights with an icecap 660 ballast you double their output. Just make sure if you are thinking of building custom with the t5's you get really good reflectors and an electronic start ballast. For more info on t5's check out the RC thread T5 lighting may be for you. My biggest selling point for the t5's was the wattage and heat issues. With t5's i didn;t need to add a chiller to my tank. also i run a 4 bulb system at 54W each bulb. thats only 216W total. but it puts out sooooo much more light than that.
NateHanson
Non-member
What are the other dimensions of the tank? I think you'd get more light for less wattage over a tank that size if you used fewer 250s rather than 6 150s. Remember, bulbs are wicked expensive, and prices are similar for 150s and 250s. Maybe go with 3 250 10Ks, and 2 150 20Ks instead of actinic. Makes for a nice color combination in my opinion.
Nate
Nate
