Lighting?

[fshfrk58]

I bought a 125 gal tank and the dimensions are 72" long 18" wide and 22" tall. I want to put 3 -250 watt metal halides and 2 -160 72" VHO's over it. Does anyone think this is too much? I plan on having a mixed reef as well. I realize their will be a lot of heat output but I will take care of that if need be.

 

[melosu58]

If I`m not mistaken cccAPT (Larry) has the same set up as far as 3 MH`s and VHO`s. He has an extrodinary reef tank. Hopefully he will see this thread.

 

[ccCapt]

That will work fine. I have 3 175w MH's and 2 160w VHO actinics. The only reason I didn't go with 250w MH is I upgraded from a 75g system and already had 2 175w ballasts. I use Iwasaki 15k bulbs which put out more PAR than many 250's. The only "issue" I have is if I want good PAR there isn't alot of other choices in 175w bulbs.

 

[fshfrk58]

That is exactly what mine will look like when I am done. I am going to use icecap ballasts for everything when i complete it. Not sure which bulbs I will end up using but I like the look of blue more than the yellow. Probably will go with 15k Xm bulbs, maybe. Just out of curiosity what VHO's are you using and how long do you run your lights for? Nice tank by the way!

 

[ccCapt]

XM 250w 15k bulbs suck as far as PAR. They run at 47 PPFD compared to the Iwasaki 175w 15k I use at 86 PPFD. If you want a blue look, your not going to get any really good PAR.
XM 20k = 53 PPFD
SPS (Blueline) 20k = 64 PPFD
Radium 20k = 66 PPFD
HappyReefing 20k = 74 PPFD

250w bulb performance on Icecap ballast

I run my VHO's (UVL SuperActinic) for 10 hrs and the MH's for 8 hrs. The MH's come on 1 hr after the actinics and go out 1 hr before the actinics go out.

 

[fshfrk58]

Thanks for the advice. That spreadsheet will help when it comes time to buy them. Thanks again!