250W DE over 30" depth?
 

Just curious if anyone has tried 250W double-ended over 30" of depth (height) on a tank? Was it a bit of a stretch or was it fine?

I think it really depends on what you wish to keep near the bottom.

Down at the bottom, not much. Mostly I'm concerned about how much contrast there will be between the bottom and the top. It may not look all that great if the edges of the tank look dark compared to the top of the bommie which will be in the centre of the tank (this will be a cube tank).

I have a 250W DE over my tank with a depth of 24". There is definetly not a noticeable difference in contrast. But for a 30" depth, it maybe different.

Maybe a 400W HQI will be a better option :razz:

What's a Bommie :question: :question:

I would define "coral bommie" as something along the lines of "a tower-like coral structure sticking out from a sandy bottom." I thought the term was universal, but after a quick google search it seems I find it mostly in use in the context of the Great Barrier Reef; thus, it might be more of an Australian slang term, but on that I'm not sure.

Ah .. well, a 400W would go nicely over this tank. Ordinarily I would just use a 400W and be done with it, but being that this is a second tank I want to limit the wattage to 250W for the sake of trying to keep the utilities bill somewhat less offensive.

One alternative to the 250W DE over this tank I was maybe thinking about was just a 250W SE and a Lumenarc 3 (or Lumenarc 3 mini) reflector.

i run 2 - 250 and 1 400 [ se bulbs ] over 30" in depth and the have no problems , tank is mostly sps , 400 is brighter but their are no dark spot

hth -Russ

SE XM 250w 10000k bulbs have pretty high PPFD on an m80