Lighting Question
 

What is best?

I have a canaopy that I can either go 2 48" 110 watt bulbs or I could go with 4 24" bulbs for 300 watts


I currently have 2 400 watt MH ready to go Is this too much light??


Jim

Well If you go by the old saying "there' no such thing as too much light", the obvious choice would be the two 400's. :biggrin:

However, there is a qualifier, what is in the tank" :question:

Holy cow 2 X 400W for a 77g tank is a lot! Unless you are upgrading to a bigger tank then ignore this. I'm sure you have thought of it but you will definately need to take heat into consideration. I have 3 X 400W over my 230g and need a fan blowing over the sump/fuge to control heat. A chiller is definately on my shopping list before next summer. My tank is 31" deep (can you say PITA for cleaning) and I still have to be careful how I place coral as it will easily bleach

bob is right, it depends what you're keeping. if you're doing softies/lps corals you might want to consider High output t5s.

here is a great link to look at in respect to lighting in a reef aquarium...I was going to go with 3-400 W in my 24"deep 150G tank...it made me change my mind to 1-400 in the middle and a 250 on each side
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=692484

ahh good read, lots of kabobs to remember this late at night...but too, covered my thoughts on "what's too much", and personally, i think 250w hqis are too much for me :mrgreen:

Well I got the dual 400 watt ballast for a reasonable price and could not turn it down. Down the road I want to upgrade the 77 to a 150 or 250 So I figured why not get the light I want now.


Since I probably wont run the 400 watts all day should I also go with some VHO?

I want to get into some SPS and LPS eventually.


I already have dual fans in my canopy one sucking air in and the other discharging.

Do not have the MH going full time yet, as I still have my PC going.

Jim