72 Bowfront Lighting

[E.intheC]

I'm looking to light my 72 bow. I'd like to use 2 x 150 or 250 watt pendants, and possibly some t-5 supplementation.

Question is: will the 150's be enough light for lps and sps, or should I go with 250?

Will 250's be overkill? I figure if I get the 250's I could get a higher Kelvin bulb and not worry about t5 actinics. (with 150's I would probably have to go with 10,000K right?)

Probably going with either 14,000K or 20,000K bulbs for the 250s.
Thanks!

 

[CHEMCHEF]

Remember it is a fairly deep tank. So I would either use 150-175 with really good ballasts or 250. There is going to be alot of heat either way with the wrong fixture, and being on the second floor does not help the situation at all
But 250 run quite hot.
As for the color 150-175, as you said around 10k would be best with some good actinic supp.
JMO
I know of the perfect light for that tank....LOL
I miss it already:frown:

 

[E.intheC]

haha.. good answer. I actually came back to a few different options. We'll see. Might go 6 x 54 T5's as well.

And yes, your fixture is sweet. and quiet. and bright.

When I first saw the solana set up at your place I thought the same thing. I honestly like the NEP Pro on that tank.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

Check the depth of the 6xt5 fixture front to back. The 72 is only 12" wide Front to back at the ends of the tank. 6 bulb is a deep fixture. If I was to seek out a t5 fixture. I would make sure it had individual reflectors. It willl make the fixture bigger but it makes a huge difference in light output.
Like a Tek. or an ATI those are some sweet fixtures

 

[E.intheC]

Has anyone seen/used this fixture? I found a good deal on the 2 x 150 version of this light.

 

[E.intheC]

Here's the link (would be helpful)

http://www.petstore.com/ps_viewitem...m_campaign=pscseggl2&utm_content=AQ1831&tab=1

 

[E.intheC]

Really? No one has used the aquamedic light pictured above?

 

[Awibrandy]

Eric, that fixture is a little over an inch deeper then your 12" tank. It will over hang some.

 

[Euroreefer]

I have had that tank, and I would defiently go with a 48 inch fixture that holds 2 250 watt SE MH bulbs. You need it for the depth of the tank. If not one 48 inch long fixture, Id do 2 single lumenarc 250 watt reflectors on each side of the center brace. justmy opinion of what I know works.

 

[DEL]

HEY e..I HAVE A 72 BOW..CHECK MY posts for pics..all im using is the aquactinics T5 5 bulbs setup and im got sps, lps, softies, zoos, mushrooms ..hope it helps.. feel free to PM me if you have any questions

 

[E.intheC]

thank you for the help everyone.

Awilda, that is actually ok with me. I don't want it to overhang too much, but a little bit on either end will be okay. What light do you have on your bow, if you don't mind me asking

EuroReefer, what light did you use on your 72 bow? I was thinking 500 watts of SE MH might be a lot, but I'll have to think about it some more.

Del, I'll definitely search for your thread. Thank you for that input. The Aquactinics T5 is really nice. It's out of my price range (which actually is really limiting me I feel..)


I might have to just hold off and save up my pennies. Maybe just get a simple T5 fixture and do a FOWLR for a while

 

[Awibrandy]

Eric, the fixture will over hang front and back, not side to side.
I have an old Aquaspace 3DE X 250 with 4 X 24 PC. Use to have another old fixture with 3SE X 175 with 2 X 140 VHO. I miss the VHO. My tank is very deep, 25", and I have the lights 8 or 10" above the surface of the water.
I have to pinch pennies also, so I buy used. Can be some what embarrasing, but if someone is that strong about my purchasing used then they can buy me new ones.LOL

 

[Jay]

FWIW, I run a 2x250DE with 2x54 actinic Sunlight Supply maristar fixture over my 72g. It's been up for 3+ years, and I can keep SPS and clams in the sand. I run Ushio 14k DE bulbs and ATI Blue+ Actinics and a blue wave magnetic ballast. I have a lumatech electronic ballast setup that I need to wire in one of these days...the PAR goes up, and the current draw goes down. Until a recent move, heat was never an issue, because it was tied into a 450 gallon system to spread the heat out in

 

[Euroreefer]

I had at the time a Hamilton 48 inch fixture with 2 250 watt SE Mh bulbs and 2 65watt PC.