250w not enough?

[o0jmadr0x0o]

i have a 250w 10k MH over a 50g tank thats 36x18x18...but its only 5 watts per gallon, is that enough to keep sps? considering water parameters are good. or does the gallons per watt rule not rely apply?

 

[chazertis]

i think you could keep some, just put them more underneath and closer to, the light.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

i would get the luminarc reflector...

 

[fritz]

250 is plenty for that tank. A Lumenarc reflector is one of the best reflectors out there but it is not necessary any more than a ferrari is necessary if you want to drive to work everyday.

Keep in mind that different bulb colors have different outputs. There closer the bulb is to 6500k the more usable light it gives off. For example a 175watt 6,500k bulb puts out more light for the corals than a 400watt 20,000k bulb will as the blue light isn't as usable.

Also different bulbs have different outputs, not all 6,500k bulbs are equal. Different ballasts will also drive the bulb in different ways. After a month or two you'll get a feel for which of your sps like lower light and which need higher light and you can move them accordingly. Keep the high light lovers under the bulb and the lower light lovers to the sides.

You may also want to suppliment your MH bulb with 11k T5 bulbs to prevent shading. Unless all of your sps are under the bulb, some will only be lit from one side. Just like the "dark side of the moon" the unlit side will begin to brown. A super bright T5 bulb like the ATI Aquablue Special can help to even that out.

 

[cali_reef]

250 is plenty for that tank. A Lumenarc reflector is one of the best reflectors out there but it is not necessary any more than a ferrari is necessary if you want to drive to work everyday.

Luminarc will not be the "best" solution for your tank's dimension. I would go with a PFO parallel reflector, much cheaper and will direct the light into a narrow rectangular tank better.

 

[o0jmadr0x0o]

i got the aquamedic hanging fixture so i dont think a diff reflector is in my near future...would getting a double t5 strip and putting it in front of the MH help? the sides are not rely to dim, so should i put 2 actinics in it or 1 actinic and one 10k

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] 36" Aqualight T-5 Fixture
Double Linear Strip [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] 21W 10K T5 bulb and
21W True Actinic 03 T5 bulb [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] photo
[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] (opens in new window) [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] 34.375"L x 3"W x 1"H [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica] $48.49 [/FONT]

thats the light i was thinking about getting

 

[Tonyscoots84]

yea i guess i overlooked the 18" depth... :arg: it feels good to give bad advice every once in a while :lol2:

 

[fluidimagery]

I agree on the 250. Keep the reflector you have and keep low light requirement corals on the sides.

The lumenarc is an awesome reflector but geared more for a deeper tank. They have the minis which I run but you'll still get tons of light spilled over the front and back of the tank.

36" T5s wouldn't hurt anything and would give a little more light on the sides. Also, since you chose the 10k bulb they would give you a little better supplimentation (choosing actinic bulbs for the T5s).