dankolle
Reefing newb
Another lighting question. I am trying to get 8 watts per gallon out of my new lighting system. Can I put one 400 watt metal halide in the center of my canopy, or would I be better off doing 2x 175 and place it at either end?
Lighting Coverage
- Thread starter dankolle
- Start date
bjohanson1234
.........
From what I understand, a MH has a useful footprint of 2 feet. So in your case, since the 55 is 4 foot long, I would go with 2 MH's. It would even out the lighting more. If you just have one 400, the center would be very bright but the edges would be dim.
Brian
Brian
ndepratt
Equipment Junkie
forget about the watts per gallon rule.... it just doesn't work like that. it's more about depth and area of coverage.
i would recommend 250's instead of the 175's. won't be a big difference on the electricity bill....and will allow you to take the setup to bigger and deeper tanks in the future if you go that way.
cost on the ballasts and bulbs will pretty much be the same, at least only a little bit more.
and yes, coverage on MH is roughly 2'
i would recommend 250's instead of the 175's. won't be a big difference on the electricity bill....and will allow you to take the setup to bigger and deeper tanks in the future if you go that way.
cost on the ballasts and bulbs will pretty much be the same, at least only a little bit more.
and yes, coverage on MH is roughly 2'
winyfrog
Yep!
+ndepratt
dankolle
Reefing newb
Ok cool, now everyone has been talking about electricity cost...This aquarium happens to be in my office at work. So I am wondering if my company will notice a spike in their electric bill, or if it will blend into the cost without being noticed? It's a 3 story building with about 15 people on each floor, all with computers, and a data center in the basement with about 25 servers.
How much as your electric bill gone up?
How much as your electric bill gone up?
ndepratt
Equipment Junkie
my single 250W pendant only cost me $9 per month...
dankolle
Reefing newb
Awesome! I'm gonna start getting a plan together and placing some orders! I'll try and take pics of my DIY hood and get those up there with results and stuff I purchased.
bjohanson1234
.........
Sounds like the building you are in has a multi thousand dollar a month electric bill!!!!
They arent going to notice a couple of MH bulbs at all. Though they might try to use it as a scape goat!!!
President of Company: "HMMM we are in the red again this month"
CFO: "I saw that dankolle put in a fish tank that must be it"
President of Company: "Yeah must be. Couldnt be our ginormous salaries"
Brian
They arent going to notice a couple of MH bulbs at all. Though they might try to use it as a scape goat!!!
President of Company: "HMMM we are in the red again this month"
CFO: "I saw that dankolle put in a fish tank that must be it"
President of Company: "Yeah must be. Couldnt be our ginormous salaries"
Brian
dankolle
Reefing newb
Alright, actually I have one more question before I order everything. Since it is friday and it won't get here til next week anyway.
#1) Should I get the pair of 250 watt lights, or a pair of 175 watt lights? My tank is 18" deep and I have live rock at all levels in the tank. I know you can have too much light and bleech stuff....but i only want to do this once.
#2) Will I need a chiller with these new lights? I know they produce a lot of heat. I am able to build in as many fans as I need in the hood...I was thinking 4?
#1) Should I get the pair of 250 watt lights, or a pair of 175 watt lights? My tank is 18" deep and I have live rock at all levels in the tank. I know you can have too much light and bleech stuff....but i only want to do this once.
#2) Will I need a chiller with these new lights? I know they produce a lot of heat. I am able to build in as many fans as I need in the hood...I was thinking 4?
project5k
Reef enthusiast
if you keep the lights a little bit up from the water surface, and use a couple "muffin" fans or computer fans, or something of a similar size, they wont make too much noise, and they should help dispurse the heat.
Wes888
Reef enthusiast
I just changed out my two 120mm computer fans to three 80mm ones, in order to lower the light from 4.75" to a little lower. I was losing too much light from that height. Boy, even with a 1/10 hp chiller, it still couldn't keep the temperature lower than 82F the whole day yesterday! The height of the light really affect the water temperature a lot.
daugherty
part time reefer
you need better fans that move more air than the small computer fans.
ndepratt
Equipment Junkie
wow.... 4.75" from the top of the water is REALLY close. typical height is about 9-12 inches.
Wes888
Reef enthusiast
Not top of the water, just top of the tank edge. My guess it's about 7-9 inches from the water.
Anyway, from my own measurement, I'm losing a lot of light having the light hanging that high. Of course, these measurement only apply to my particular light fixture and its reflector. Others may vary.
Anyway, from my own measurement, I'm losing a lot of light having the light hanging that high. Of course, these measurement only apply to my particular light fixture and its reflector. Others may vary.
