Metal Halide Help

[redfox]

i was wondering if anybody could tell me if i can upgrade my light to a metal halide. i currently have a 20gal tank w/ a compact flourecent hood made by coralife. my dad says that the light will burn my corals cuz my tank is too small (20gal). somebody please tell me if i can upgrade. thnx

[bobby]

You can upgrade, however you might have to raise it away from the water, take it slow and photoacclimate. Then again it probably depends on what type of corals you have. What corals do you have? If you only have low light corals then there is no need to upgrade if your light is strong enough to supply there needs.

[JellyMan]

yes bobby is correct you really dont need to upgrade, pc is good enough being the tank is not that deep you can raise them closer to the top and they will do fine just make sure you have good bulbs what is the total watts the pc is putting out.

[jermpool]

Don't get the 250 watt though that is to much. The 175 watt raised up shouldn't hurt.

[bobby]

I heard the 175 watt bulbs are harder to get though. If they are go with the 150.

[jermpool]

bobby I think I meant 150, not dure why it came out 175.

[AndyB4784]

sure you can. i'd look into a single MH reflector of about 150w. a good way to acclimate corals to new brighter light is to place layers of window screen over the top of the tank and remove one every 3-4 days. i used this method when i upgraded to MH myself and it worked great. I'd suggest about 8 layers of screen and that you start your MH about 12" off of the water.

[JellyMan]

what type of coral are you wanting to raise?

[AndyB4784]

175 are mogul bulbs.