I will probably be getting a 75 gallon saltwater tank with a lot of live rock. I want to add corals to it and eventually have it become a reef tank. How much wattage in metal halide would i need to grow some easier LPS and soft corals? What about more difficult LPS and soft corals? I know that water quality is a main factor, but what about extra lighting? I am thinking around one 250 watt mh.
Do I have enough live for a reef tanl?
- Thread starter DShrimpFan
- Start date
One 250 watt MH isnt going to give you the spread you need.
You would need (2) 250w metal halides mounted 6-8 inches above the water line, and with that, you could grow softies, polyps, shrooms, lps, and sps. (this is assuming your tank is 20 in tall)
You would need (2) 250w metal halides mounted 6-8 inches above the water line, and with that, you could grow softies, polyps, shrooms, lps, and sps. (this is assuming your tank is 20 in tall)
most softies and LPS corals don't require MH lighting. Having tried to make a softie tank with halide lights in the past, I have to say that I wouldn't do it again. You really limit your placement choices because everything right under your light will get photoshocked. Now you can just place things in a dark area of the tank and move them toward the brighter areas gradually, but with 250 watts in that shallow of a tank, this will take a while (weeks), and some things will never thrive in those locaitons. Even 150's would be overkill, but would make more sense. I would go with a T5 setup, or failing that, VHOs. 200 - 400 watts should be more than ample for most (if not all) soft and LPS corals.
Now if you want to do SPS corals, then I fully agree with the above comment. I would either get 2, 150 or 2, 250 watt halides. With the latter, you might want to suspend them 10" or so above the tank. It is nice to have pendant lighting for this reason, you can adjust the height above the tank.
Now if you want to do SPS corals, then I fully agree with the above comment. I would either get 2, 150 or 2, 250 watt halides. With the latter, you might want to suspend them 10" or so above the tank. It is nice to have pendant lighting for this reason, you can adjust the height above the tank.
thisissimple;4634745; said:
I am growing softies under a 150w MH right now.
I am also growing some less challenging sps, but also some intermediate ones with 2x 150w on a 75g tank. If you wanted to go high end acro tank, then 2x 250w MH might be more your cup of tea.
I love MH lighting, and think that for your setup 2x 150w should work fine. (Softies might shock, but these guys recover quick.)
Heres an interesting idea, probably cheaper than your MH and would definitely work for low end sps and softies! - http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-koi/45696-new-299-leds-reefkoi-corals.html
FLESHY;4635276; said:
They have a really nice LED fixture at the LFS I go too. Everything looks nice and healthy.