Lighting

[613ReefGuy]

36'' Aquarium Light T5 HO 4X 39 watt Reef Lunar Moon - eBay (item 190497149052 end time Feb-13-11 19:26:45 PST)

Thinking of ordering this right now. Thoughts for a 65 Gallon? Planning on having this tank with mostly rock and coral. Would like to order something around this price range tonight if this one will do.

 

[little_fish]

That only puts out about 2.4 watts per gallon, which wont let you keep much of anything. Aim for around 3 or 4 watts per gallon.

Also with a taller tank you are going to want a little higher watts per gallon so the light penetrates down to the bottom of your tank.

 

[613ReefGuy]

36'' Metal Halide Power Compact Aquarium Light 442 watt - eBay (item 250773467093 end time Feb-14-11 15:42:37 PST)

Better? Should I be looking at the combined wattage, or the first one being 250w alone? Do you typically run it with the different lights on? I assume its more of a 3 stage affect.

Thank you by the way little fish, you have been a big help.

 

[AmberSunrise]

That only puts out about 2.4 watts per gallon, which wont let you keep much of anything. Aim for around 3 or 4 watts per gallon.

Also with a taller tank you are going to want a little higher watts per gallon so the light penetrates down to the bottom of your tank.

How do you determine how many watts a light puts out per gallon? I hate math LOL :frustrat:

 

[dcantucson]

This is better because of the T5s and it the same price:

36in Metal Halide HQI System Advance Plus

 

[dcantucson]

How do you determine how many watts a light puts out per gallon? I hate math LOL :frustrat:

Just take how many gallons your tank and multiply by 4 and that will give you the minimum wattage you need for most corals.

 

[little_fish]

There should be some information on how many watts each lamp puts out and how many lamps you have in a fixtures.

So in the first one he linked to, it says 4X 39 watts. So you have 156 watts for the whole fixture, and then you divide by how big the tank is, in this case, 65 gallons. so 156/65 = 2.4 watts per gallon.

 

[AmberSunrise]

Just take how many gallons your tank and multiply by 4 and that will give you the minimum wattage you need for most corals.

So a 27gallon would need 108 watts?

 

[little_fish]

Correct, but some watts are better than others. Power compact watts arent as good as T5 watts for example.

 

[AmberSunrise]

Cool so the light I was going to order tomorrow has 5x24w bulbs which would be 120w divided by 27 which gives me 4.44 watts per gallon.

Suns 24 "compact fluorescent dual lighting (24W×4) T5 high output


WOAH now my head hurts

 

[little_fish]

Ya, but i dont think that light has individual reflectors for each bulb, which ends up limiting you because not all of those 4.4 watts per gallon are going into the water.

I would not buy that light, i would look for one that has individual reflectors instead.

 

[613ReefGuy]

Dcantuscon, I am going to order that light right now. It is similar wattage to the second one I had posted. I know everyone says octopus skimmer, but I think I will get a skimmer through this same company.

Thank you once again everyone.

 

[Fireplug]

Lights r expensive.

 

[613ReefGuy]

Buying a 125 Gallon tank over the next 2 days. Found a great deal (125 Gallon Tank, Plus a nice stand with 4 doors) for $200 bucks.

72in Metal Halide HQI System Advance Plus

Is this light too much light? I think it works out to 8.56 watts per gallon, but I assume it doesnt have to be that amount all the time.

Any input?

 

[Aquatic]

Watts the commotion in here? Haha. Kinda nice I stumbled on this thread. Now I know the formula to know how many watts a tank needs. Sweet.

 

[little_fish]

That would work, and would let you keep anything you want.

But that is a ton of light, i would be concerned about burning/melting some corals.

 

[613ReefGuy]

Little Fish, I really like the price of this set up. I agree with your concern which is why I was asking about too much wattage here.

Through the same company they sell 150w HQI bulbs as well. I dont mind buying 3 of those and replacing them right away. This would allow me to drop it from 1070w (8.56 w/gallon) down to 770w (6.16w/gallon).

I am not familiar with electronics, but I assume if it is the same fitting from the 250w and the 150w bulb there shouldnt be an issue. I could see the reverse being an issue (trying to put a 250 into a 150w slot)

Am I missing something here? I dont mind either asking the company to ship it with 150w instead, or just buying the bulbs for $26.70 for 3 bulbs.

Thank you

 

[AmberSunrise]

Little Fish, I really like the price of this set up. I agree with your concern which is why I was asking about too much wattage here.

Through the same company they sell 150w HQI bulbs as well. I dont mind buying 3 of those and replacing them right away. This would allow me to drop it from 1070w (8.56 w/gallon) down to 770w (6.16w/gallon).

I am not familiar with electronics, but I assume if it is the same fitting from the 250w and the 150w bulb there shouldnt be an issue. I could see the reverse being an issue (trying to put a 250 into a 150w slot)

Am I missing something here? I dont mind either asking the company to ship it with 150w instead, or just buying the bulbs for $26.70 for 3 bulbs.

Thank you

Good question I would like to hear the answer to this one I thought about doing the same thing because I found a 250W pendant that I want with 4 T5s but I didnt want that much metal halide I thought about switching to a 150w also

 

[613ReefGuy]

Older guys at my work (Electrical and plumbing store) say that it isnt an issue dropping to lower watt bulbs. It is only an issue if you try to put say a 250w into a 150w fixture. Should not be an issue going from 250 to 150w in a 250w fixture.