lighting question
 

Hi

I was wondering... is there a difference in intensity of light from a 400 watt MH light VS a 8x50 watt fluorescent light? Will they have the same "water penetrating" capabilities?

Umm ya big difference. for one, theres half the wattage. MH will penatrate way further

sorry.. i meant 8x50 watts

LOL, well, thats a little different.


The MH will penatrate more, BUT, won't cover as much area. The T5's are more spread out. What are your tank size? What do you want to keep?? Also, the MH will add more heat.

I have the option of picking up either a 210 or a 125 gallon tank.... i am leaning towards the 210..

i am unsure as to what will be in the tank. i do want a reef setup though

Either way will work, but the 210 will be a 6' tank? I have seen nice T5 tanks, and my 45g is lit with 4 24W's with no issues. There is also no shimmer with T5's. Well, very little. I like the shimmer myself.
T5 are a little more ecconomical on electricity, but require more in bulbs
MH less yearly bulb cost, but more heat, and usually little more power.
T5's can cover longer distances
MH usually only light a 2'x2' area. So, a 4' tank will require 2 MH fixtures.

Depth of tank is also a factor. Chan ces are, you only need 250W MH's not 400's. So 2 250W on a 4' tank. I have 1 250 and 2 150's on my 5' at the moment. Upgrading to 3 250's tho.

the dimensions of the tank are 7'x2'x2

i dont really want to go the MH route. any suggestions on a set up using the florescent lighting?

You'll need 3 MH, or most likely 12 T5's 6 4' and 6 2' Odd length tanks like ours can be difficult to light. Either way, its going to be costly. Now if you have a canopy, you could start with 4 of each T5, then later, add 2 of each more, or even 4. Depends on what you keep in it. I originally started with a 45g FOWLR, but didnt last long. LPS and softies I said. Now, Im venturing into light loving SPS

Since it's 24" wide, you might be able to use a whack of 24" T5 HOs lined up along the width vice the length as is done traditionally. This could even open up opportunities for progressive on/off scheduling to simulate dawn/midday/dusk. You'd need a number of ballasts on timers though, but doable I'd say, using retro fit parts & individual reflectors.

unfortunately.. no canopy. the tank is topless