$20 Reward! For Help Designing Lighting For My 125g Reef.

[reefgeek]

I am experienced in Fish Only tanks, but I am venturing into Reefs. I just purchased a 125gallon tank for my reef. But I am struggling with pulling together all of the lighting information. What is the best lighting solution. I don't want to limit myself to particular corals. I just need a good solution. VHO/MH/PC? How Many? How High? And How do I ventilate it sufficiently. I am offering $20 for the first person with the good advice that I can use.

My tank is 72" x 18.5" x 23"
I haven't built my canopy yet, so I can use bulbs that cause my canopy to be wider than 72" if I need too.

Thanks,
Paul

[Irisservice]

Whats the budget?

[phistio]

just donate the money to the site...lol

seriously though? what specifically will be in the reef?


my best suggestion it (so that you may have a variety of coral types, and species) is to incorporate MH's and PC's in your setup...

the best way (perhaps not the most esthetically pleasing) i've thought of is to have a 400w MH positioned in the center of the tank, that way intense lighting specific corals can be placed in the "limelight." then soft corals, and those not needing as much light can be flanked on the sides. supplemental lighting (PC's or VHO's) will balance out the color spectrum, as well as supply more than ample lighting to thrive.

the one thing that will have to be overlooked is the fact that there will be a "hot spot" of light in the tank, as the center will be brightest.

as far as temperature goes, it can easily be maintained with fans, and an open back canopy.

if this interests you, i can get into specifics, and technical issues...

best of luck! :mrgreen:

[reefgeek]

The budget is...Whatever is necessary to do it right. I don't want to waste money, but I don't want to upgrade later either. What is the best for the money?

Paul :wink:

[Irisservice]

But if you want the best all around system check out.
http://www.ab-aqualine.de/eng/produkte/licht/aquaspacelight.htm

These are the two i would go with
http://www.reeffanatic.com/cgi-bin/mas/category.cgi?item=MHFA_ASL3M1504PC-&type=store
http://www.reeffanatic.com/cgi-bin/mas/category.cgi?item=MHFA_ASL3M2504PC-&type=store

[fishfreek]

I am experienced in Fish Only tanks, but I am venturing into Reefs. I just purchased a 125gallon tank for my reef. But I am struggling with pulling together all of the lighting information. What is the best lighting solution. I don't want to limit myself to particular corals. I just need a good solution. VHO/MH/PC? How Many? How High? And How do I ventilate it sufficiently. I am offering $20 for the first person with the good advice that I can use.

My tank is 72" x 18.5" x 23"
I haven't built my canopy yet, so I can use bulbs that cause my canopy to be wider than 72" if I need too.

Thanks,
Paul

Ok this is what I am thinking

3 X 250W MH 10K bulbs. Put them so they are 1' from each side toward the middle and then put 1 bulb in the middle.

2 X 110W VHO actinc bulbs to complment the MH bulbs.

Having a caonpy wider than 72" would do you little good as you would be lighting nothing.

Build your canopy so the bulbs are 6-8" above the water surface. with MH's you should also design some vents and some fans to blow cooler air over them.

[Fugly]

I have my 132 setup with 2 x 150 MH only. I put a new piece of liverock in yesterday and in the morning I came out to see this new little bunch of critters lapping up my MH. My lights also cover all the spectrums.

[michealprater]

I would say 3 250 watt metal halides 10000k bulbs mounted perpaindicular to the length of the tank with spider parabolic reflectors. and 2 actnic VHO bulbs mounted on stilts over the reflectors. Open back canopy with two 4 inch cooling fans mounted in the top blowing out of the canopy. Everything can be purchased at www.hellolights.com, with the exception of the fans which can be purchased at radio shack. Those places are where you will get the most for your money. You should be able to keep about any corals with this lighting setup and good water parameters. And of course you will have to tend to any feeding needs of certain specific corals.

[Fugly]

If you have the money$$$$ go all out!!
Go here and check out these awesome lights!
http://www.arcadia-uk.com/en/140pendant.html
Combos with timers.

[Irisservice]

Thats nice with the Digital timer option.
But I don't think it's available in the US.

[michealprater]

Sweet, definatly sweet. But I think he was planning on retrofiting a canopy. Correct me if Im wrong.

[Fugly]

These light can be inserted into a canopy. :wink:
If I can get them in Australia, you could definitly get them in the US.
Ask @ your LFS to see if they can order them in. If not the LFS then the nearest ligthing store.

[reefgeek]

It seems that I should use 1-400W MH or 3-250W MH lamp(s) supplemented by Actnic VHO's or PC's. If I use this as a solution, is that too much heat for a 12" - 24" tall canopy to dissipate using vents and fans? Can I do this without a chiller? I really don't want to purchase a chiller that costs almost as much as my lighting.

Thanks,
Paul

[phistio]

a 12"-24" canopy would allow more than enough room for both excellent lighting, and proper cooling...i would mout about 7" above water level...

you should have no problems, as long as you have a couple of fans for air circualtion!!! :D 8)

[fishfreek]

MH lamps do not light the entire tank but only cast light over an area of approx 2 sq ft. Thus with a 6 foot long tank you need 3 MH bulbs equilly spaced out so that the entire tank has full light.

Using 1 bulb will place all the light in one area of the tank.

250W bulbs will be well enough. The only time you need higher wattage would be if your tank is much deeper than 24"

[reefgeek]

Zanyzack2 was the winner! Thanks all for your help.

[Zack]

thats Zack here mmy screen anme is zanyzack2 if any of you want to im me :wink:

[on_fire_8]

I didnt see zacks post. What was his suggestion?

[Zack]

what we did was look at sites and talk abvout mh and VHO. Right now he has mh lamps 250 watters we are lookingv for a vHO ballest anbd bulbs. I think my friend has one so he will also be adding that :mrgreen:

[Pineapple House]

3, 250wt 10,000k Ushio Halides with 2, 160wt 72" VHO "03" Actinic bulbs would be the standard lighting for that size of an aquarium. Having 2 halides wouldn't do anything, esspecially for that long of an aquarium. The halides could be ran on a PFO Electronic Ballasts, while the VHO's could probably be running on an Icecap 430 ballast.

Graham

[fishfreek]

Not like it maters but with 250W MH and VHO actinics that lighting setup looks darn simular to what I suggested about 1/3ed the way down on the first page. Since zack must have talked to you via AIM vs posting its hard to say when that suggestion came in in compairson to the timedate stamp on the posts made in the forums.

BUt like PH said 2 MH bulbs wont light a long tank like that correctly. Your gonna see shadows and dim spots. Thats why everyone was suggesting 3 bulbs for the most part.

[Zack]

OMG fishfreak that is like the most common lighting!!!!! VHO and MH please man! :roll:

[fishfreek]

Like I said I dont really give a flying hoot about this whole thing. I was just pointing out that what you where discussing above. Something that I figured won you the $ sure looked alot like what I and infact a few others had suggested also.

The thread last time I looked was not a discussion on new and innovative lighting methods. If that was the object of the thread then I can see how someone would be suggesting ultra brght LED's or the use of the underwater spot light systems to provide specific tight beam and directional lighting.

[Zack]

LOL ok I donated the money anyway...

[Samurai]

...I donated the money...

Nice work Zack :wink:!

[reefgeek]

Zack was the winner because he helped me the most. Remember that as the guy offering the reward, I reserved the right to award it to the winner of my own choosing. Zack was a tremendous help. He has continued to help me in personal emails and instant messages. I appreciate everyone's ideas. I looked at many of the ideas as possibilities. But Zack's ideas were full of detail and he helped me the most.

Thanks Everyone!!!

Paul

[ocamrzr]

Well, I am so sorry I didn't see this earlier but..... I have a 125 G reef that I outfitted with the exact setup you just got.... It's GREAT! It makes some heat and I watch the killowatt hours fly by but the take just loves it. I will attach a pic. I went ahead and got a chiller since my canopy isn't quite as tall as I would like.

125 G reef
250W MH 12,000K Sunburst X 3
110 W VHO actinic X 2
all on icecap

1/3 HP chiller with medusa

[Mikeaveli21]

ocamrzr,
I really like your tank :D . Great setup and aquascaping. If you don't mind, post this pic and more if you can in the "rate my tank" section, I am sure others as well as myself would love to see more of the tank. Thanks for sharing.

Mike