lighting question here

[nycmat]

i have a 215 oceanic tank. it is 29" deep, 6 ft long by 24"wide. it has a 12 inch glass center brace across the top. i now have a 15" canopy above for mini lumanarcs. i have three of them. so here is the question that i would like some feedback on. thanks for taking the time.:

go with 2 400's metal hallides and t5's

or

go with 3 250's metal hallides and t5's

if i take the 2 400's they would be evenly apart across the open areas of the tank where there is no center brace. creating a shaded area in the middle of the tank.

if i take the 3 250's there will be little more light in the middle but not as much because of the center brace.

so that is now my dillema. what are your thoughts on this?

thanks for taking the time to help with your advice

matt

 

[Irisservice]

I think you will not get the coverage you want with 2 pendents.....
I have 3 x 250w phoenix on my 125gallon 62" and its nice but i doubt they would fill the spread of 72".... neither will 60" t5s... What about doing 4 x 250w and no t5s... I'm not using any supplements and i love my setup..

 

[jackson6745]

Matt, now that I think about it, with a huge brace like that in the center, you will not get much light penetration in the middle. It will probably look stupid. I think you're better off with the 2x400's in luminarcs.
Irisservice, the DE pendants cover about half of what a luminarc does. It's really cool, must be seen in person.

 

[nycmat]

might sound silly but i never heard of the de pendants have any pics>?
thanks for your input rich. iriserivce-- i was planning to run t-5's across where the lumanarcs do not cover. 1 48' and 1 36" along the 6ft wall.
rich i was thinking about making some kind of cave for the area if i go 2 400's. whatcha think?
thanks
matt

 

[bad coffee]

what about 4 250 DE's in lumnarc minis?

B

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I picked 2 400's but I really like Bretts Suggestion of 4 Luminarc DE 250's

 

[jackson6745]

What bulbs would you guys run with 4 DE's and on which ballasts?

 

[nycmat]

i dont really want the 1000 watts of four 250's. that is why i didnt suggest it. 750 or 800 is more energy efficient to me. but your imput is greatly appreciated. (above is not said in a bad way).

thanks,
matt

 

[Irisservice]

Rich I'm using 3 x 250w DE phoneix with lumenmax refectors

Matt with that big of a tank it will be tricky..
What 400w bulbs were you thinking?
What 250w were you thinking?
I thin the 3 x250w would give you a better spread..

 

[bad coffee]

go with 4 150w.

if you're going without actinics, go with either the phoenix 14kk or the geismann 10/12k I forget which one, but one burns a nice blue-white.

B

 

[Irisservice]

go with 4 150w.

if you're going without actinics, go with either the phoenix 14kk or the geismann 10/12k I forget which one, but one burns a nice blue-white.

B

i don't think 150w would not reach the bottom on a 29" tank

 

[cali_reef]

what about 4 250 DE's in lumnarc minis?

B

Can you fit 4 Luminarc Minis in a 6 feet span?? they would be right on top of each other(or right next to each other) and the 12" center brace would still shade the center part of the tank.

I would go with two 400W LIII over the 2.5 foot openings and try to balance the light out a bit with some T5 or VHOs.

 

[pecan2phat]

ireefny has a inwall 180g and he placed two full size LIIIs on and I can soooo... see such a V-shape shaded area right dab smack in the middle of the tank. I told myself that for any future 6-footer, I would go with 3x Lminis. And all this time, I thought from reading that the LIIIs would cover enough to break the 2 ft rule.

 

[jackson6745]

Yeah but don't forget Matt has a 12" glass centerbrace. What would look worse, a V shape light spread in the middle from 2x400's, or a dim center from the 3rd (center) halide penetrating the centerbrace?

 

[pecan2phat]

Rich ----> :Blurp:

If money energy cost wasn't an issue, I would probably use 2 full size LIIIs spaced evenly at the openings with 400 watters and a 250w Luminmax in the middle with varing bulbs to even out the shadows

 

[jackson6745]

LOL Warren:cheers:

 

[loismustdie]

My luminarc mini's are 12 inches over my 6 foot tank and you can barely see the shaded area. If he were to put 2 400w SE in full size luminarcs 18 inches over the surface, he will probably get good spread.
DE burn higher wattage than SE. A 250 watt DE uses 358 watts. He would be better off with 3 400watt SE than 4 250 watt DE.

 

[nycmat]

ok here is some photos of the center brace of the tank.

 

[nycmat]

ok i just measured the center brace. it is 23" across not 12 inches.
also the canopy is 13 inches above the water. here are some photos.
hope this helps need input
thanks
matt

 

[loismustdie]

wow, that's a big center brace. Honestly, another concern is heat. I had a center brace over a 90 gallon a few years ago. The silicon eventually gave and the brace fell into the tank. I figured it happened because of the heat of the MH bulbs. I was only using 175 watt bulbs at the time. I can't prove the heat thing, it's just a guess. Crap workmanship could have been the problem as well.
Have you considered removing the center brace and doing a euro brace? More work, but it would fix a lot of your problems.