METAL HALIDE HELP ???

[OceanMist]

About how far should a 125w Metal Halide be from the surface of the water ??? Thanks.

[revhtree]

6" to 12" is a good starting point. Try out a spot and watch the temp and adjust from there.

[OceanMist]

Great, Thanks

[FISHISM]

How deep is your tank, what do you have close to the surface and at the bottom? Some inverts, elegance coral, mangroves, maxima clams need as mush light as possible, is there anything in your system that needs this light? Also keep in mind that you may need a chiller when the warm summer months come along. And always keep some sort of protective layer between your light and the open water. Metal halides have been known to burst and the last thing you need is glass shards in you reef.

[xxnonamexx]

My question is Will there be a great deal of algae growth with the metal halides? The depth of my tank is 21". Also how long should the metal halides stay on? My PC the actinics go on 12pm the whites at 1pm whites off at 9pm and blues off at 10pm and lunar lights on 24hr. I am looking to purchase the 48" Aqualight Advanced 2-150W/20,000K HQI. Metal Halides may still burst?
I have a 55gal. 260Watt CoralLife Power Compact, 3 1W Lunar Lights, Live sand 4in DSB, 75lbs. Live Rock, 2 Cinnamon Clownfish, Firefish, Magenta Dottyback, snails, crabs, Feather Duster, Sabae Purple Tipped Anenome, 1 White Leather Coral, Red Sun polyp, assorted polyps, 2 Assorted Color Plate Corals, Pipe Organ, Frogspawn, Fox Coral, Flat Brain, Finger Leather, Mushrooms, Green Star Polyps, 2 8" Maxima Clams, Wet/Dry filter, Protein Skimmer, Heater

[hackteck]

i'm just wondering, would it matter f i turned the lights on at the same time? ,or is it better to turn on the actinics before the whites?.

[SeriousDude5]

I found 6 inches is good to me. Also my mother wont let me hang it from the ceiling so 6 inches was all I could do. But temp never goes above 80.

[xxnonamexx]

My question is The depth of my tank is 21". how long should the metal halides stay on? My PC the actinics go on 12pm the whites at 1pm whites off at 9pm and blues off at 10pm and lunar lights on 24hr. I am looking to purchase the 48" Aqualight Advanced 2-150W/20,000K HQI. I have a 55gal. 260Watt CoralLife Power Compact, 3 1W Lunar Lights, Live sand 4in DSB, 75lbs. Live Rock, 2 Cinnamon Clownfish, Firefish, Magenta Dottyback, snails, crabs, Feather Duster, Sabae Purple Tipped Anenome, 1 White Leather Coral, Red Sun polyp, assorted polyps, 2 Assorted Color Plate Corals, Pipe Organ, Frogspawn, Fox Coral, Flat Brain, Finger Leather, Mushrooms, Green Star Polyps, 2 8" Maxima Clams, Wet/Dry filter, Protein Skimmer, Heater

[fishfirst]

4-6 hours but not at first... gradually increase the time they are on so you don't shock your corals.