175W or 250W MH over 29 gal?

[blulegend]

I want to keep a maxima on the sand, 15" from the surface, some SPS frags 3-6" from the surface, and a mix of softies and LPS.

 

175W or 250W 10000K ushio?

 

Thanks.

[Physh1]

I've both on that size tank and personally I didn't see a difference between the 2 as far as expansion, color, and growth rates go. I suck with a 175w 10k and loved it. The 250w was nice too (brighter) but like I mentioned the results weren't any better.

 

Cameron

[anthony812]

IMHO, If you are planning on upgrading tank int he future, would buy the 250W simply cuz you can transfer the light to a much larger tank, but all you need for a 29 is a 175W..

[blulegend]

Physh1, how was the difference in heat between the two? Was the 175W much cooler?

[Dave ESPI]

see my 37 gal. get the 250 W with the Iwasaki bulb.

CSL Prizim pendant.

It rocks.

[Physh1]

I didn't notice any heat differences....just my electricity:D

 

The only reason i'd go with a 250 is if I was going to upgrade in the future so take that into consideration when doing this but 175 is all you should need in this application.

 

Cameron

[blulegend]

No heat difference in the slightest? My tank never went above 82 with my PCs. With the 250W it went to 84 yesterday. But that was because I left my door closed. I have fans in the canopy (2x 3" 1 in 1 out). My question is: Will the 175W make my room noticeably cooler than a 250W? Because if it is, it will make my room cooler and in turn my tank will be cooler. The guys at Hellolights.com said there isn't too much difference in heat produced by 175W and 250W.

[HuBu]

i have 2 175W over my 29 gal. 82 is the max temp.

[Physh1]

I noticed no temp difference from a 175 to a 250. The light was around 8"-10" above the tank and the tank was always a pretty steady 79-81. When I had the pc's the tank was a very steady 78.

 

Cameron

[blulegend]

Hmm. So if I can handle the extra light I should keep the 250? Seems a little bright. The 250 I got was only a total of $28 more than a 175 so I went with the 250. I don't know if I'll ever get a tank larger than a 29 because I like nanos and I built my stand just a couple months ago.

[HuBu]

29...a nano?

[blulegend]

My current tank is 15 gallon and it's running the 250W MH right now.

 

Today, I made an exhaust vent on the canopy and it's piped through my wall to vent outside. But I'm still on the fence of whether 250W is too much light or not. It's extremely bright when I first look at the tank but after a minute my eyes adjust and it seems normal. So every time I try to decide if it's too much it already looks normal to me before I make a decision.

 

You can view pics of my setup and my inhabitants here: http://lens.liteserv.com

[Physh1]

Oh.....if you already have the 250 than use it. There is no reason to switch it. Your first post made it sound like you were only shopping and didn't have it yet.

 

Use the 250...it will be fine:)

 

Cameron

[blulegend]

I didn't receive the light yet when I first posted. But I could still exchange it.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Physh1, BTW, I love the auto-top off switch I bought from you. I made a PVC cover for it so it wouldn't get algae and stuff growing on it.

[Physh1]

Stick with the 250....it'll be cool.

 

Cool....I'm glad the top-off is working well for you:)

 

Cameron

[blulegend]

Physh1, just wondering if you noticed more evaporation with the 250W since you didn't notice any temp increase.

 

Thanks.

[Physh1]

When I went to halide from PC my evap. went up considerably but I didn't really notice a difference from 175 to 250. I got more of a change from the California weather than anything.

 

I think if this will be a hanging pendant the differance will be minimal if anything BUT if your mounting this into a canopy the evap may go up a bit with a slight temp bump too.

 

Cameron