Lighting for a 125G

H

Hiker4twenty

Reef enthusiast
I'll be getting a 125g right after Thanksgiving from a friend of mine. A great deal too...only $85. Anyway, I'd like to start getting things together so I can get the tank up and running after the New Year.

I'm thinking of making the switch from solely T5's to a combo of MH and T5's. Wondering how much light I should use. Here's what I'm toying around with so far:

3 - 250W Pendant Lights
8 - 39W T5's

or

2 - 250W Pendants for the sides
1 - 400W Pendant for the center
8 - 39W T5's

Both will be plenty of light, but I'm not sure what would be better. I want to do this right since it will probably be my last tank upgrade for a long time.
 
If you go with single ended 175w bulbs, they have just as good if not better PAR results then alot of the 250w bulbs. And you'll be using less energy.
 
Like I said, I'm looking to do this the best way I can to keep the best corals I can. I plan on keeping a lot of high end SPS and I want them to have the best color possible. I'd rather go a little overboard then not have enough.
 
Which MH bulbs are you thinking about?
If you are wanting for a whiter look, you will not beat 175w Iwasaki 15K's. In fact, I'm running 250w XM 10k's now but when it's time for new bulbs I'm going back to the Iwasaki's. I don't see any better growth, just more heat and more electricity useage. I would go with the Iwasaki's and supplement them with blue T5's.
If you want a blue look, everyone seems to like the 250w Radiums. They have slightly less PAR than the 175w Iwasaki's but have alot more blue. You also should use magnetic HQI ballasts with them, but they will run on electronic ballasts.
There is no need for a 400w MH bulb anywhere over that size tank.
 
ccCapt said:
Which MH bulbs are you thinking about?
If you are wanting for a whiter look, you will not beat 175w Iwasaki 15K's. In fact, I'm running 250w XM 10k's now but when it's time for new bulbs I'm going back to the Iwasaki's. I don't see any better growth, just more heat and more electricity useage. I would go with the Iwasaki's and supplement them with blue T5's.
If you want a blue look, everyone seems to like the 250w Radiums. They have slightly less PAR than the 175w Iwasaki's but have alot more blue. You also should use magnetic HQI ballasts with them, but they will run on electronic ballasts.
There is no need for a 400w MH bulb anywhere over that size tank.
Click to expand...

Thanks Larry! I'm not 100% sure on the bulbs yet. I was thinking in the 14k-15k range so I get good growth and PAR and wanted to suppliment blue w/ the T5's. I'm probably going to stick with 250W HQI bulbs since I already have a Bluewave 250W HQI Ballast and a reflector for a SE Mogul. That way I'll only have to buy 2 more ballasts and reflectors and the T5's of course. How's that sound?
 
Dave, the bad part about any 250w 14k-15k bulb is they suck as far as PAR. None of them can come close to matching the PAR of the 175w Iwasaki. If you are just looking for color and don't care about PAR, heat and electricity, you can use any 250w bulb, even the $10 Ebay bulbs, and just supplement with your color choice of T5's.
 
Thanks Larry! I am looking for higher PAR, growth and color. The color part I can help with the supplimental T5's. I really want the best MH for SPS.
 
pattir7 said:
That's an awful LOT of light. I think I'd do a smaller option.. 2 250W MH should do it I would think. I had a 180 gal setup with 2 175W MH's and it was PLENTY.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I have a lot of high light demanding SPS so the (2) 175's won't be enough in my case. It would be just fine for a FOWLR setup.
 
:whoopee!:I'm picking up the 125g this weekend....finally! :whoopee!:Anyway, I still don't have lights yet, but I want to set it up asap. Can I use my current lights, two 48" T5 fixtures, and stagger them on the tank until I get new lights?
 
I currently have two 48" T5 fixtures staggered over my 125. It's not much, but it works for now with mostly soft "easy" corals. I've got most of them high up in the middle where the two fixtures overlap. Both ends of the tank are a bit on the dark side, but I don't have anything growing there. I hope to upgrade soon! Good luck!
 
I think that really depends on how handy you consider yourself. For me, I would buy the all in one, because no way would I be able to "build" my own fixture. The retrofits do not look as nice as the all in ones, which is why they are usually built into a canopy. Do you have a canopy?
 
Bifferwine said:
I think that really depends on how handy you consider yourself. For me, I would buy the all in one, because no way would I be able to "build" my own fixture. The retrofits do not look as nice as the all in ones, which is why they are usually built into a canopy. Do you have a canopy?
Click to expand...

Thanks Sarah. I do not have a canopy. I'm going to build this tank into the wall so the lights would be suspended from above. I think I would ditch the retrofit idea and just buy regular 2 bulb T5 fixtures that are the same price or cheaper than the retrofit kits.
 

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