ReeFer247 Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 hey just wondering if a 250Watt MH with 2x55 pcs in a canopy would be to much light for a 20 long? i curently have softies like green sinurela (spelling) kenya tree coral, zoos , polyps , xenia etc.. what do you think? mike Link to comment
EtOH_is_good Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 i have that config on a pendent. put it too close and you'll boil the water. also still working on the light cycle, have it cranked it up to long just a wee bit. Link to comment
ReeFer247 Posted November 20, 2004 Author Share Posted November 20, 2004 do you think its too much? how much off the tank should it be etc.. do you think in a canopy is a bad idea etc? let me know the specs etc.. thank you mike Link to comment
ricky1414 Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 You'll have to keep the lights way up off the tank, 250s put off an incredible amount of heat, I would say at least 12 inches. I would go with a 150 DE instead. Less electricity, less heat, and still have god light output. HTH Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 250 PLUS 2X55pc? Whoa...yeah, that's going to be wayyyy too much heat for a 20L. 250 alone will be a lot. I would ditch the canopy if you must go w/ these lights. It will be like an oven in your tank. I say 150w alone (or maybe if you have a chiller or other means to cool your tank by a few degrees, a 250w)...but if you want to do pc's w/ it, stick to the 150w. Link to comment
Daemonfly Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 I'd do the 250w hanging and the 2x55 if actinic, if you want to get into SPS, otherwise if you just go softy, etc.. then I'd drop down to the 150w. I personally think 2x70w MH work very nicely over a 20g long, due to it's length, but thats a bit expensive Link to comment
Jbritt Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 I have a 250W 10K Ushio bulb in a hood that I'm running with two NO actinics on a 20 long. I had to install two computer fans in the hood to keep the temperature down. They come on automatically with the light and my temperature ranges from 80 - 82 degrees, I have been keeping the halide on 8 hours a day. With that said I'm running a 15 gallon sump that probably allows some of the heat to escape as well. Without the fans my tank was going up to 85 degrees hope this helps. Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 I dunno...250w seems unncessary for a 12" tall tank, even if you want SPS. Then throw in the heat factor of only 20g of water...that would pose a bigger reason to stick to 150w w/o the 2X55PC's. if you must have actinic supplements...go lower in terms of wattage. I had a 150w MH and nothing else for my 30g long (36x12x16h), and that was plenty. Just my 2 cents. Tell us how it turns out if you go 250w plus 2x55 PC. peace. Link to comment
ReeFer247 Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 i will also have a glass cover on the tank.. pluss an overflow going to a 20x8x12 sump with a regular strip light for lighting for my macro if i dont run a heater in either tank that should help? my room stays on the cool side as i dont like to open my heat vent and in the summer i have ac on in my room or fan most of the day. Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Oh...I didn't realize you had a sump...that does make a big difference. But take it slow. Like you could just add the mh first....see how the temp goes. if everything looks kosher, then add whatever extra lighting you wanted. Good luck w/ your set-up. Link to comment
chadfarmer Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 a 250w is fine in the tank i have mine about 14 inches from the top zenia will love it i use a 12 inch fan hitting the top of the water of the tank Link to comment
ReeFer247 Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 the sump is maybe 8-10 gallons is that still ok Link to comment
chadfarmer Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 the more water volume the more stable the tank just be careful not to cook the tank! Link to comment
ricky1414 Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Ditch the glass top, as it will trap heat in there. It may just be ok during your colder winters, but wait until you get a hot, humid sumer in Ohio, where the humidity will reduce the ineffectiveness of the evaporative cooling process. Believe me, I used to have a 250w MH over my 20. If you want that kind of intense lighting, I would consider the smallest of the Teclima chillers. I think they have one for $249.99. Link to comment
ReeFer247 Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 now if i mount fans in should i have them blowing in or out or have like one or 2 going in and one or two going out etc? in the sides or back ? Link to comment
Jbritt Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 I have one fan as an intake and one as exhaust, it seems to work well. I did a bunch of testing even before I put in live rock to see what my temperature swings would be like. LOTS of evaporation though. The reason I went with such a big light is because it was super cheap to do so. I actually bought a couple of m58 ballasts a while back one for 36US off of ebay and one for 70 dollars CND from a local hydroponics shop. I picked up a reflector for 40 dollars, bought some wood, salvaged some fans and had a complete hood made for under 140 or so dollars CND minus the bulb. Back when I did it, that would have been around 100 - 110 US dollars minus the bulb. It looks great, the USHIO 10 K is really really white in my tank, I like it but it could probably use a little more actinic suplementation. I also installed a few blue LED moonlights. Originally posted by ReeFer247 now if i mount fans in should i have them blowing in or out or have like one or 2 going in and one or two going out etc? in the sides or back ? Link to comment
Daemonfly Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Fan positioning usually depends on the hood design itself. Usually one blowing in & one blowing out works for most of the common setups, but you can easily experiment to see what works better for your setup. Link to comment
ReeFer247 Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 the sump im getting is going to be around 8 gallons but im thinking of going with a 10 or so since they are only like 4 bucks here. im going to run a regular strip light with a 20 watt 50/50 bulb on it. and no heater so the water stays cool. i will put a 1inch sand bed with live rock and tons of macro in this. (anything else i should consider doing? im thinking of putting my skilter and heater in the fuge and just having power heads and the overflow in the tank. what do you think? thanks everyone your a great help Link to comment
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