Aquarium lighting

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leozava

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Messages
4
Location
windsor ontario canada
Hey guys hope this isnt too much of a newbie question but I found a couple of metal halide light fixtures laying around in my garage they were used to light up a parking lot they're 175 watts each, if I replace the bulbs with 10k bulbs will it work ok ??

thanks
Leonardo
 
Need more info about the tank itself and what you plan on keeping. MH lighting choices (intensity) are moreso dependant on tank depth, height of the light suspention and the types of corals (if any) you will be keeping. A 175w fixture would be a decent amount of light for some smaller tanks but not generally for anything too deep.

Cheers
Steve
 
you might need 400w MH's if your tank is more than 20 " deep is:(

But it is better to hafe 175w than 0w
 
On a 240 gallon, length comes into play as well. Given the 8 foot length, you would also need 4 MH bulbs for proper coverage. Each bulb will illuminate a 2'x2' foot surface area. Given the depth of a standard 240 gal of 24" (and 24" wide), the 175w would not give you much light penetration towards the bottom areas of the tank. In all honestly 250w bulbs would serve you better even if only softies and shrooms. Once you incorporate the hood and suspension height of the bulbs, you'd be closer to about 30-34" depth from the sandbed.

If you went with the 175w in the end, I don't think you'll be very happy with the results even if adding 165w VHO supplimentation. You'd be more than able to keep corals but they would most likely be relegated to midway and higher within the tank. Nothing would really do very well in the bottom ¼ of the tank.

Cheers
Steve
 
"Watts/gal"" is a very bad habit to fall into, especially when it's MH lighting your considering. MH is a single point of light with a 2'x2' coverage and anywhere from 18-36" of penetration depending on the intensity chosen. The 400 w center bulb is good but the two 175 on either side of it will be quite dim by comparison. It will also mean that the outside ¼ of each end of the tank will be pretty much unlit or shadowed and nothing will gow there. You really need 4 MH bulbs over the length of the tank.

Which ballasts do you already have and what's your budget?

Cheers
Steve
 
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