Lighting for my new aquarium.....is it enough??

[Zayetsfoot]

The lighting I will be using will be (4) 110 watt VHO's. with ice cap ballast (sp?)

My tank is 135 gallon. 30 inches high. The LFS said that this will be more than enough. Infact they pointed out a reef tank they have on display with the same amount of lighting that is very healthy.

but it only works out to be 3.25 watts per gallon (did i read somewhere that I should have up to 7 watts per gallon?). I plan on some day having a good assortment of Clams and coral. My major concern is the 30inches deep. Am i worrying about nothing? When I suggested putting MH lights in my tank the LFS said they would run too hot for the top of the tank.

What is everyone's opinion on this? Is this something I could run for now and see if I have to add them later, or is that enough for what I need?

[phistio]

in a tank that deep, a MH is a must, if you're to keep any clams or SPS's. there are ways to deal with the heat from a MH...and the 110 VHO's would be great supplemental lighting...ideally you should be about 5w/g...but maybe less for softies.

some one else will chime in i'm sure... :wink:

[Zayetsfoot]

phistio,

So if i added two 150 watt MH than my lighting should be set?

What if I put the soft corals on the bottom of the tank?

[phistio]

i would say you'd be set...

softies more than likely will have to go towards the bottom and flanking the sides of the tank, not directly under the MH...

[Zayetsfoot]

Thanks phistio,

I will move my VHO's around a little bit so that I can fit the MH's in the hood......one more thing to do!

Thanks again....

By the way, What does phistio mean?

Jason

[Zayetsfoot]

What If i just got 1 250watt MH and put it in the middle. Would that be fine, or do you think I should have two lower watt (one on each side?)

Jason

[fishfreek]

MH lights are good for approx 2' square area. Thus your tank would have darker areas on the sides and a brighter area in the middle.

IMHO I think 2 250W MH's vs 2 150(175)W MH's.

The issue is tank depth. The deeper the tank the more light it takes to penetrate all the way to the bottom. With your VHO setup sure you could do corals and clams and SPS BUT the clams and SPS would need to be 1/2 or higher up in the tank. They would fare better higher up than on the bottom.

[Pineapple House]

IMHO I think 2 250W MH's vs 2 150(175)W MH's.

I have to agree with fishfreek.

You are much better off getting 2, 250wt Iwasaki MH lamps, with some supplied lighting from VHO (Preferably actinic 03). 2, 175wt's or 2, 250wt lamps would be fine. Both are about just as good. JMO, I would go with the 2, 250wt, just for the fact that you will get much more lighting, and 150wts extra can really add up at times, esspecielly when keeping SPS and clams.

I would go with 1, 175/250wt MH on the left side of the tank, and 1, 175/250wt MH on the right side of the tank. The 4, 110wt VHO's will be as followed; 2 on the front, 2 on the back. This would look like this:

....1, 110wt VHO.....
....1, 110wt VHO.....
....2, 250wt MH.......
....1, 110wt VHO.....
....1, 110wt VHO.....

The MH lamps would be on either side of the tank. The middle might be a bit less lit, but you can add (I highly recommend) 2-4, 30" reflectors to the lighting, which should give you back the lighting lost when it hits the top of the canopy. I'm not saying this will increase your WPG.

PH =)