2 250w MH's on 55 gal reef?

[enginbeering]

Hi. I'm kinda new to posting in this forum but I have been lurking for almost a year now (finally got my tank a couple months ago). You guys know so much and always give such great advice (a lot of it has helped me out), and so I was wondering if you could give me your opinions on a little problem I'm having.
I just got 2 250 watt Metal Halides, and I was planning on putting them on my 55 reef (pictures in gallery). I have no idea if this is even going to be possible without a chiller, but I'm really not in a financial situation to cough up $400 or more for a chiller. Anyone got any ideas as to how I could keep my tank cool enough without getting a chiller?

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

keeping the lid off the tank, adding some type off colling fan, and having the tank in a cool area of the house/apartment are fair ways to help keep the water cool,

BTW u may wan to invest in a few actinc lights if u plan to grow live coral

 

[enginbeering]

yeah, I've got 4 24" PC's (two blue, two white), and I was considering putting the two blue ones on and have them light up an hour before and turn off an hour after the MH's.

So would you say that amount of light will be good (as in, not so much that it will boil my tank or something )?

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

sounds ok u may find that the MH heat up the water how far off the lid will they be placed?

 

[MadManMac]

That is gong to be very tough, I have a 60 gallon and a single 250 MH that will heat the water up by 6 or 7 degrees if left alone. The lamp is off of the water by about 7 inches. I spent the $250 for the small Via Aqua chiller and it has worked very well all thoruhg the hot Texas summer. The other thing I noticed, was that when I switched to a 20,000K from a 10,000K bulb the heat output was much less. I think it has to do with the wavelength, but I may just be full of it too.

 

[enginbeering]

First of all, I'm not sure how far they are going to be from the water. Right now I have a hood and I was thinking with proper airflow, I MIGHT be able to mount inside the hood. Otherwise I might have to build some sort of hanging unit, or a stand for the lights.
And where'd you get a chiller for $250 from? I can't seem to find it anywhere on the web.

 

[ellisz]

I put a 2x250 set up on my 75 gal with another 35 gal or so in the sump/fuge. I have 1 4" fan blowing in my canopy and 2 3" fans blowing out. Heat is managable but it has been a challenge.

If you do a pendant style hood and put a small fan to blow across the tank, you might be ok without a chiller. I have my heat under control now but now I seem to be evaporating about 2 gal a day.

MH's look awesome though

Good luck.

 

[austinsdad]

Sounds like a serious heat wave. Literally.

9.1w per gallon? I'm not the real experienced one with lights, particularly MHs, but that sounds like overkill. Sure you want/need that much? And like someone said, managing the heat and water evap, could cost you more time and money in the long run.

 

[EL Diablo]

I have 2 150 watt MH lights lghts and if I didnt have a chiller my tank would hit
over 85 degrees

 

[ellisz]

Sounds like a serious heat wave. Literally.

The watts per gal rule does not really apply to MH's. But... I would not go MH's unless you wanted to keep things that require them. I wanted to start some SPS's and maybe get a clam so MH's are needed for the most part. For Softies and some LPS's, MH's are not really necessary unless maybe you have a real deep tank.

I have 2 150 watt MH lights lghts and if I didnt have a chiller my tank would hit over 85 degrees

With my fans in my canopy and an exhaust fan in my sump room, I hit 83 at the end of the day. This is with my 2x250's on for 11 hours.

 

[Salttanker]

On my 90G, I have a 250w MH with a 14K that sits about 12 inches above the water. I built a taller canopy so I could add MH without affecting the temperature too much. My temperature only fluctuates about 2 degrees. I also have the Coralife 4x65w running at the same time. I don't have any glass enclosures over the tank, so the only problem I have is about 2 gallons a day evap. Other than that, it seems to work pretty well. I am considering throwing another 250w on the other side so the light will be balanced. Good luck to you!

Mike

 

[MadManMac]

Simple answer on the chiller, eBay. Like I said, it is a Via Aqua 1/4 HP chiller. It will work fine on that size tank, but it needs the right sized pump (200-400 gallons per hour) and some clearance around it to work right.

 

[enginbeering]

So it sounds like I'm either going to have to ghetto rig my hood to be farther from the water, or just get rid of it and build a hanging unit. The third option would be to get a chiller. I guess I'll just have to see what I can do. Thanks.

 

[EL Diablo]

I'd get the Chiller. Worth every penny IMO
It's nice to not worry about the Temp.
It's always nice and steady.