+200 watts of PC's enough for a 37g?

[Anonymous]

I have a 37g Oceanic that I would like to set up as small reef tank that will be dedicated to mostly clams and sps. The tank measures 24" x 18" x 21" high. I plan to drill the tank out so that I can add a sump and a Ocean's Motion sprite on a closed loop.

Right now, I have 4 x 65/55watt power compact fixture for this tank. I know that this is a decent amount of light, but I am tempted to switch over to metal halides. And if so, then I would rather do it now before I build the canopy. Tha last thing I want to do is decide I need more light 1-2 years down the road. I do not want to cut any corners with this tank.

Any thoughts? What is the most amount of light (within reason) that I might want to go with? FWIW, I don't want to add a chiller to this tank, so I limited to cooling fans and the like to keep temps in check.

Thanks.

ps, I posted this in the Nano section but did not receive any responses.

 

[Anonymous]

No comments?

Anywho, after talking with a few others, the concensus seems to be that 260 watts of PC's is probably enough for most sps and at least some clams placed higher in the tank. But if cost was no limit, then a 250 wat HQI MH bulb would still be a better choice. So this is how I am leaning at the moment.

ghostofmilz

 

[mr_X]

i'm not a fan of compact flourescent lamps, and i haven't seen any sps doing well under them. i don't think they penetrate the water very well.
i wouldn't suggest cf lamps for anything other than your refugium. i've seen clams and sps wasting away under cf lighting at many LFS's.

do not go by the old rule of thumb of watts per gallon. i would suggest T5's with individual reflectors, a VHO fixture, or metal halide.

 

[shellshocked]

I have ran VHO, CF and MH. You probably are bit on the low-end of the light for SPS. If you are bulding a canopy I would do a single MH maybe 175W or 250W and a couple of CFs to augment. You will need some type of fan to keep the MHs from heating the tank. Nothing big or noisy but something to move some air. My old reliable fan setup is a 12VDC fan from a personal computer - driven by an AC/DC charger - like a phone charger (radio shack has some where you can change the voltage and hence the speed of the fan and noise level).

 

[Len]

I think it's "enough" light, but you'd be better served with a 175 or 250W halide with actinic supplementation. I've seen SPS kept under PC (similar watts per gallon and dimensions); the SPS and clams lived and didn't brown out, but they also did not grow as well as they would've with more light.

 

[Anonymous]

I think it's "enough" light, but you'd be better served with a 175 or 250W halide with actinic supplementation. I've seen SPS kept under PC (similar watts per gallon and dimensions); the SPS and clams lived and didn't brown out, but they also did not grow as well as they would've with more light.

+1.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks to you all. I will definitely move towards a MH set-up.

 

[Anonymous]

Mikey,

I've grown corals under everything except the new T5s. Everything. PCs, NO tubes, etc. There is absolutely no substitute for metal halide when it comes to growing stony corals.