Another lighting question...

[ed99]

Looking for some advice/experience on lighting. My tank has been bubbling away for about 4 months now and I will be looking to add some more livestock in the next couple of months. I have started with 110W of PC on a 92 gal corner but have already decided to upgrade to a MH. I'm starting to get an idea of what I want to keep, but with the price of MH I want to make sure that I get a light that I don't have to upgrade again in the (near) future. A couple of things I am considering adding eventually is a BTA, a clam, as well as various corals which I have not researched enough yet.

What I was thinking of getting is a single 250MH with a couple of 28W actinics built in. I have read lots on the subject but with an odd shaped tank I'm hoping for some specific opinions. My tank is about 24" deep and is basically a quarter circle with a radius of 34". Would a single MH light cover sufficient area in the tank, and is 250W enough for the livestock I mentioned above? I'm fairly new to the hobby, so any other comments aside from the lighting are also appreciated.

Thanks,

Ed

[Aquattro]

Ed, I think you'll be fine with a single 250w over that tank. A guy over here has the same tank with a single MH and it looks good.
As for the livestock, they should all do well. Depending on the species of clam, you may have to adjust the position relative to the light.

[ed99]

Thanks Brad. And to follow-up- I was looking at a PFO pendant with a 10000K spectrum 250W bulb. Any comments on this- I'm thinking of picking one up when I'm in Vancouver this weekend.

Ed

[Aquattro]

I've never used a pendant, but I can't see anything wrong with it. Do you not have a canopy? Hanging a pendant over an open tank would look good and alleviate some of the heat problems that could arise. Comes down to personal taste once you've decided wattage and color temp.

[ed99]

I don't have a canopy, just a glass top. I've had a couple of different opinions from the LFSs as to whether to put the MH on the glass top or not, but I think it makes more sense to hang it over the open water- less heat and less light filtered out by the glass. Like everything else, there's lots of opinions out there- I just don't want to experiment by trial and error too much with equipment that costs this much!

[Seriak]

Just ensure you don't have anything that will readily splash onto the bulb if the pendant is not sealed and you have an open top. That could get dangerous.