enough light for my tank?

cwickham · #1 04-05-2008, 06:13 PM

just wondering if you think a 150w MH is enough light for a tank with 30" by 16" by 16" dimensions.

if it is, how many inches from the water to the light should i have.

thanks
craig

mseepman · #2 04-05-2008, 06:52 PM

The light is strong enough for your depth, but depending on the reflector you're using, it will not give you full 30" of coverage. You might want to suppliment that with something else.

fkshiu · #3 04-05-2008, 07:03 PM

Strong enough for what? I've got a tank only a couple inches deeper than yours and have 250w SE hqi about 10" above the water because I have light loving SPS and clams.

bv_reefer · #4 04-05-2008, 08:29 PM

true i ran 2x70 watt over a tank a little bigger than that and had great results with mushrooms and softies, even montipora, but wouldn't trust for realy light living corals like acros so i upgraded-

cwickham · #5 04-06-2008, 08:44 AM

well i was planing on doing mostly soft... but hoping to try some harder corals, probably under the stronger light areas?

bv_reefer · #6 04-06-2008, 09:10 AM

any hard corals in specific? IME montis fare pretty decent under lower wattage halides, cup corals, scroll corals, plate corals, should be fine, other things considered of course. finger leathers definitely will appreciate the light level, now that i switched to 400 watt there all shriveled up and a couple not faring so well, again not the case when i was running the 2x70 pendants.

-good luck with the lighting arrangement anyhow