Choosing the correct lighting for a fish tank, need help plz

[psionicdragon]

What kind of lighting would be good for a 40 gallon reef tank? Atm I have a dual flourscent(sp?) light fixture with an aluminum reflector. I think it is only 60 watts. I am looking for something good, cheap, and can last quite a few. I was looking at the Metal Hallide (sp?) thing and that looks interesting. Any suggestions?

Any assistances would be great =)


David

 

[MarkO1]

5-8 watts per gallon, but tank dimensions play a role too. A single 250 Watt may work for a tall narrow tank, but you're probably better off with twin 175's.
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history recession

 

[psionicdragon]

36 x 13 x 20

I believe that is my tank size. Its a standard 40 gal rectangle glass tank.

Should I go for a metal Hallid?

 

[fishfarmer]

That sound's like a 38 gal(close enough :wink: ).

Are you planning on using the fluorescence fixture, i.e can you retrofit it into a canopy with a halide?

This is what I had on my 38 gal reef=1 175 watt MH 5500k and 2 28 watt PC 6700k and 7000k to even out the color. That gave me around 6 watt per gal and a good mix of high light and low light areas in my tank. I had high light softies such as xenias and anthelia as well as lots of low light corals like button polyps and mushrooms.

I currently run the same package on my 55 gal reef, but only have various macroalgaes and a few polyps so far.

The biggest pain is designing a hood to get a good spread from the MH. The tanks are really narrow and the center brace casts annoying shadows. I put my MH offset from center and put the PC's on the other side of the center brace to even out the color and get rid of the shadow. I think with your current fixture you could align those along the front and back of the hood and place the MH slightly to the left or right.

You could also just go with a dual 175 MH system as well.

 

[psionicdragon]

I don't believe I am able to modify my light to become a MH lighting system. The light fixture that I have is very old imho. Don't think I would be able to retrofit it. =/ So I am just going to look for a new better lighting system for my tank. I had corals in the past and it didn't fair so well with the poor lighting =/

Do you know of any good brands to look at? Do you have any good online sites that I can order the lighting system for a good price? Can you fill me in on more about your lighting system because I really like how you have yours.

Thanks for your help =)

David

 

[Glenn W.]

If you want a cheap alternitve to Ice Cap try HelloLights. They have VHO, PC, and MH systems that are very reasonalbly priced. Here's the site if your interested, http://www.hellolights.com/index.html They have 3 year warranty on their VHO and MH ballasts (haven't checked out the PC yet, but I'm pretty sure it has a 3 yr. on it too)

 

[newkie]

Can't answer the question unless you say what kind of corals you want to keep.

PS: watts/gal is a horrible way to guange if you lighting is sufficient

 

[fishfarmer]

How good are you at wiring and working with simple tools? The cheapest and probably the only way to get the adequate MH/PC light over a small tank is by buying do it yourself kits. I got my MH package from Aquatic Lighting Systems, www.aquaticlight.com. $155 delivered, bulb, ballast, socket, reflector, instructions. This was a VERY basic kit, the ballast doesn't even come in a case. Champion Lighting also has some affordable kits and with enclosed ballasts.

Inland Reef Aquaria www.inlandreef.com is where I got my PC kit. It was just over $100 for two bulbs, sockets, hangers and ballast. They have a good diagram on their website about wiring as well. They also sell MH supplies as well.

 

[psionicdragon]

I am thinking about going for Xenias, mushrooms, clams, and basically the soft coral category. =)

Hehe I am so sorry if I am not providing enough info. I am not too good at this and learning what is best as I gather information from experienced hobbist(sp?).

But I do really appreciate everyone's help atm. I am learning stuff that I never knew.

David

 

[psionicdragon]

I believe I am capable of wiring things together. Never tried it, but its a possiblity. hehe. Can you explain what I would need to do for a retrofitting kit?

I have a few question about the MH systems.

1) I heard they can get really hot when in used and I am worry about it melting some stuff. I have an overflow box and an outside canister filter, will the MH melt them? Both plastic of course.
2) I have a canopy with 2-3 inch space or so, will that be enough area from the water surface to the light fixture? I am not sure if I am wording this question clear enough. I read on a review that its best to have 15inch of air space from water surface to MH fixture because of oxygen exchange.
3) Do I need some type of covering for the MH system? Will the water that is being splashed by the canister and return pipe, burn the bulb out or anything?
4) If I do go with a MH system, what bulbs do I need? I want a bluish white look to my system.

I have been looking at " http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_mh_ht.asp?CartId= " and this looks really good from a newbie perspective. Its a bit pricy, but its assemble. =) Any opinion on this one? Its called the Deluxe Aluminum Hood Systems: Metal Halid System.

Thanks =)

David, the newbie

 

[psionicdragon]

For my tank, what size lighting do I need if I go with the MH system? 2 feet or 3 feet?

 

[danmhippo]

2-3" is not enough for MH systems. If you are determined to go MH, you may want to customize the hood or go hoodless and hang a pendant MH on the tank instead. The bulb should be at least 6-10" from the water surface. The high temp of the bulb shield will explode if water sprayed onto it.

Without modifying the hood, you may want to go VHOs. VHO is sufficient for most softies. VHO is also pretty easy to DIY. Most lighting stores sells VHO DIY parts.

 

[fishfarmer]

The bulb should be at least 6-10" from the water surface.

I disagree. My MH and PC bulbs are 5" from the surface of the water on my 55 gallon with no cover glass in between. I have a small 3" fan blowing in from the PC side. I should probably use a larger fan but I don't have any heat issues since the back top of my canopy is open to allow gas exchange. I don't have any problems with heat from the bulb even if the fan isn't working.

On my 38 gal(same lighting) my hood was even smaller but I should have designed it larger for heat exchange. My bulbs were configured the same, PC's on left, MH on right with a 4" fan blowing in the PC side and a vent hole near the MH. This hood did have a cover glass between the water and bulbs, about 2" from the bulb to glass and another 2" to the water. When my fan died the top of the hood did get hot, but I never noticed any heat problems with the tank when that happened. Just make sure you have a backup fan handy.

It's been stated that you shouldn't blow air directly on the MH since they are supposed to run hot and may fail prematurely if you cool them, so gentle flow around the bulbs should be fine.

1. If the bulbs are placed so they won't be too close to plastic, you shouldn't have a problem.

2. See above. It sounds like if you go MH ,you are going to have to build your own canopy or find a premade system that will fit your tank or go with pendant MH.

3. Some people say yes spashing will crack a bulb, some say no. As long as you minimize your return flow so you don't have lots of splashing you should be fine. I've cleaned my bulb once this year from salt spray, so a little mist shouldn't cause problems.

4. There have been many discussions about MH color. Do a search in the message boards and you should find exactly what your looking for. A 10,000k bulb should be good for a blueish/white look, but there are many to chose from.

If you're thinking of clams I would probably be leaning toward a dual 175 MH system or a 250 watt MH since most clams are going to be on the bottom of your tank. I personally don't think I could keep a clam under my lighting system or would be very limited on where I could place the clam. I would have to do some major aquascaping.

I looked at those Marine Depot systems, particularly the dual MH 3' hood and retrofit kits. With two fans the complete hood is $482, with two fans and the dual MH retrofit is $439. The difference is $43, which is what you would have to spend on buying a hood/cover glass, or constructing one yourself. Of course I didn't factor in shipping. I'm sure I spent more on designing my hood, but it is a nice hood to work around. Those premade hoods may make it a pain to get into your tank to feed, clean, etc. without taking them off. If you have a hang on overflow you will have to take that into consideration as well and may need to build some type of skirting along the top of your tank for the hood to fit.

 

[danmhippo]

Unfortunately, I have fish that tend to make splashes on the surface such as triggers and wrass. Even tangs may splashes once or twice if they are vigorous enough when feeding floating flakes. If you are keeping only peaceful fishes, maybe you will want to be balder then I. However, IMHO, I still wouldn't place MH bulbs within the "splash zone".