mane3215 Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 I was going to put a psl custom hood on with 2 double ended hqi 150w mh's and one 55w actinic. I want to be able to keep many clams in there, as well as sps, and even the most light demanding corals. In another thread it was suggested this may be a bit much. What do you guys think? I really didn’t want to drop it to a single mh since I wanted the light very consistent throughout the tank, and I think you will still see a difference in the pc and the mh if I use a mh in the center and two pc's on either side. Any input is appreciated. Also is psl the best place to go for this hood? Thanks. Link to comment
NaNO ReeFiN Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 A single MH would be fine. Link to comment
jdsabin1 Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Actually you would be close to perfect with that setup. The problem with one MH on a tank that long is you see some real falloff with light on both ends. If you want to keep low light softies on either end then fine, one will do. If you want a nice distribution of MH across the entire tank, two would be better. A general rule of thumb is a MH for every two feet anyway. HTH! Link to comment
mane3215 Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 jdsabin, your the source of evil that made me just buy the perfecto 20gl (infact I came back 260.00 less heh), and now I need lights. I really like the mh setup I have above, but am thinking maybe 150w is too much. Maybe two 70's, but I dont think you can get 20k mh's for them. What are you planning on using? Link to comment
maroonclown Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 The coralife aqualight (2-65watt) should be enough i a 20L. I have one over my 20L, and, acording to my LFS, 6.5watts is more than enough light. Plus, the tank you are running the light over is only 12" deep, and the deepest that you might place a coral in that tank is 8". You don't need as much light per gallon for the same corals as a result.They are growing beautiful crocea clams one the bottom of their 55 gallon reef, under 4.3 watts of PC light. they have an acro that started as a frag of a frag, and it has already grown 1" over the past 3 months. I have also talked to someone that has an acro in just one watt per gallon. It started as a hitch-hiker on the rock 5 years ago. It is now the size of a WNBA regulation size basketball. His explaination of why this happens: some things just grow. Metal halide is best, but I personally would not use it on a 20L. I would go for the Coralife Aqualight. I hope this helps Link to comment
jdsabin1 Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Originally posted by mane3215 What are you planning on using? I am installing 2 175 watt MH pendants running XM 20K bulbs this weekend. Maroon - I am replacing the Coralife 2X65 fixture actually. Great light I won't deny it. I just wanted to add MH's as everything I know about reef lighting says I will now be able to keep anything, including harder SPS's and maximas/crocea's without a problem. *shrug* Link to comment
ibehexed Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 I just picked up a 150w Giesemann Nova II ( going 20k I think) for my 20L. After reading this post, it looks like I should have picked up two:( . Is there such a thing as too much light? Link to comment
mane3215 Posted July 31, 2003 Author Share Posted July 31, 2003 I dont know, I never thought that there was. I just spoke to the guys at psl and if I order by friday, they will throw in the bulbs as well. Though I will upgrade them to 20k's its cool knowing I will ahve backups. -Chris Link to comment
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