Is this a good light for reef tank

[Chris86]

I am in he prosecc of building a 36 gallon bow front tank into a reef tank. I was going diy a light but after figuring some numbers on price I ran across this light would this be a good light for a reef tank. Also how hot would it get and would it melt the center brace.

Odyssea Metal Halide System

 

[aadair22]

What do you want to keep in your tank?

 

[Mrc8858]

It would keep anything but you may see some heat issues. You might want to consider hanging it so you can raise it a bit higher and possibly run a fan.

 

[aadair22]

I personally would never go MH because of heat and operating costs.. Just my opinion

 

[Chris86]

This is just a list of corals I like. I donno how much or what can be housed to gether so this Is not a buying list just a list of the ones I like.

Bubble Tip Anemone
Green Frogspawn
Fire Eye Favia
Radioactive Zoanthids
Lunar Eclipse Palythoa
White Lightning Spong
Neon Green Acropora Carolinian
Frogspawn

Nepthea Tree

 

[Chris86]

This is a list of fish me and my girlfriend like once again not a buying list just a like list.
Green Mandarin
Blue tang
yellow tang
Powder Blue Tang
Linckia Sea Star, Blue
Blue Velvet Damselfish
Blue Sapphire Damselfish
Starcki Damsel
Bicolor Dottyback

 

[Chris86]

Also can the tangs be kept in a smaller tank when younger the lfs around here do trade in. I know someone that dose it with cichlid didn't know if it was the same with tangs. Also is the 1 inch of fish per gallon of water the same for salt water like fresh water.

 

[TommyP]

I would recommend to buy a 6 bulb t5 unit or an LED system (more $ upfront but pays for itself in the long run)

Ebay has a lot of good units at affordable prices.

The 1 inch per gallon rule is totally thrown out the window when dealing with saltwater. You want to take into consideration the fishs adult size when stocking your tank and their bio load. What size tank is yours?

 

[Chris86]

36 gallon bow front 30"L x 15"W x 21"H the 15"W is to at the widest point of the bow I was looking at about 45-50lbs of live rock and 3-4 in of sand

 

[mr_X]

If you have a center brace over that tank the lamp from that Odyssea halide fixture will hang directly over it and you'll have a big shadow in the middle of the tank. Years ago I purchased a Chinese metal halide unit like that one. It seemed constructed well, but the ballast was lacking. I swapped out the lamp thinking it was the problem, but the ballast wouldn't push the lamp to it's potential. Mine was the same wattage, and I couldn't even keep soft corals happy under it.
You definitely need strong lighting if you want to keep Acropora.
I wouldn't skimp.

 

[Chris86]

So would a diy led or 5t still be in my best interest acropora is not a must I just like them.

 

[mr_X]

I'm assuming you mean T5, not 5t. the right t5 fixture would work for you, as well as the right LED.
My suggestion would be to get the best lighting you can now. This way you can keep anything under it, and will never have to upgrade, if you go the Acropora/clams/anemones route.

 

[Chris86]

so what kinda watts should i look 150 or higher

 

[mr_X]

That depends on what kind of fixture. You need to choose between metal halide, T5, or LED, then decide what options you want the fixture to have. What were you looking to spend?

 

[Chris86]

Not real expesive I was just on rapidled.com and seen 6x10 heatsinks which i could build and put on both sides of the brace
this is what i figured up on there website
Would something like this work better or is it to many and over kill.
I was thinking 5 uv 10 white 10 blue per side
Drilled/tapped 6" x 10" Black Anodized Aluminum Heat Sink x2 $86.00
solderless uv led x10 $47.50
solderless cree xp-g neutral white led x20 $102.00
solderless phillips rebel es royal blue led x20 $65.00
mean well ELN-60-48p dimmable driver x4 136.00
total 436.50 This is kinda out of my budget but i could buy in stages and might get it to work

 

[mr_X]

You don't need any UV, but If you have to have them, I would just do one or two per side. What wattage were these LEds?
You could get 2 of the dimmable Chinese fixtures for less than that.

 

[Chris86]

the white and blue are 3 watt

 

[mr_X]

What kind of optics are you going to use? I'm not sure 10 whites per side would be enough. I would have to take a PAR reading. Maybe AQ could chime in on this one.

 

[willbratz]

I personally would never go MH because of heat and operating costs.. Just my opinion

I run a coralife aqua pro 250 MH, no issues at all.

 

[Chris86]

If I do want to run the first one i posted do to money can I cut the center brace out and make a new on out of acrylic