New Tank, New Lights, Few Questions...

[TheChad]

Hey All,

I got my new setup, I ended up with the 90g drilled tank w/ overflow, and the coralife 2x 150w MH, 2x 96w CF, and moon lights.

How often do MH's need to be replaced? Is it still every 6 months like my T-12 VHO's? (I hope not! or thats $500/yr in bulbs)

I run my lights from 8am to 7pm currently, but may alter that with the new setup..

Is the ~5.5 watts per gal enough for sps corals?

Will my fish and/or corals be negatively affected by the sudden change from ~4wpg VHO's to the ~5.5wpg MH/CF's?

Can someone with a 90g tank give me the dimentions of the base, not the glass?

I have a sump, and coralife skimmer both rated for 125g, so I should be 'OK' in those departments.

Any other thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

-TheChad

[Ziggy953]

The change in wattage isn't that big of a deal what is a big deal is the intensity of the light. Giong from VHOs to MH is going to have an affect on your tank. You should reduce your photo period with the new lights to maybe 5-6 hours and work your way up to 8-10 hours over a few weeks. You could also use the screen method where as you put some screen over the tank to reduce the intensity of the light to allow your tank to adjust to the new lighting.

I change out my MH bulbs every 6 months with out fail. If you choose not to do this you could see algae problems after the bulbs age. The PC lights you have in your fixture are going to need to be replaced every 8-10 months also.

HTH

[TheChad]

Where do you get your bulbs from? and what spectrum do you use?

As for the CF's, What bulbs should I use? 50/50, or All Actinic? I think my MH's will come as 10,000K, I will probably replace then with 14,000k or 15,000k for the bluer look.

-TheChad

[lando]

I would consider altering the photoperiod depending on your schedule. If you work during the day, an 8:00 start time is a bit early to enjoythe tank in the evening. I run my actinics 12noon-10pm and my MH lamps 1pm -9pm. This gives me time to see how things are doing under the lights when I get home from work.

The lighting you have mentioned will certainly support some species of SPS corals, depending on placement. Keep them toward the top and under the MH lamps and you should be fine.

I change my CF lights every 10-12 months and my MH lamps about once a year.

[TheChad]

Since my new lighting does have the ability to turn on/off the MH's and CF's at different times, my new plan is as follows:

9:00am Moon lights Off, CF Actinics On
10:00am MH's On
6:00pm MH's Off
7:00pm CF Actinics Off, Moon lights On

Does that schedule sound reasonable?

I work a rotating work schedule, so I'm shooting more for a realistic daylight cycle.

I can handle replacing my lamps once a year, but every 6 months would cost a fortune! I think I will run my 10,000K MH bulbs untill June, then replace them with 15,000K bulbs, Then replace my CF Actinics next January, then me MH's again the following June ('09).

-TheChad

[Ziggy953]

I get my bulbs online I'm running 10000K bulbs right now and VHO actinics and T5 Super blues.

I have LED moonlights in my canopy as well but I just let them run 24/7. The realistic "day light" schedule doesn't really matter since you are talking about a closed system that isn't affected by the sunlight. You could have your "day time" when ever you want it. I have my lights come on later in the day and go off later in the night because I work nights. My MHs are both on by 12:30pm and go off at 10:30pm.

If you start seeing algae growth and you have little or no nitrates and no phosphates a good place to start is replacing your bulbs. I like to keep mine fresh and not more then 8 months. The T5s I am told will last for 12-18 months. I'm going to give that a shot and see how it goes.