120 Lighting

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thinking about changing the current lights to mhs.The current lights are 48'' 6x54 watt t5s.The mhs i am looking at are 2 400 watt. Would that be overkill or not.Planning on keeping gbtas/rbtas.

 

[wjhuie]

No definitly not overkill sounds just right to me. What type of bulb are you planing on?

 

[wjhuie]

I am really partial to the xm 20k's I have 3 400w on my 125g its a 6' tank.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I was looking at the 14k xms.By the way the clown fish are doing great.

 

[willember]

I may be wrong, and it may not even be the same for the 400w, but the output of the 14k 250w is pretty low. But if you are worried about "overkill" the that may be the way to go...

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I figured the 10k would be to bright,and heard the 250 just don't penatrate to the bottom that good

 

[drowzee]

Re: 120 Lighting

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11421409#post11421409 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SNAKEMANVET
Thinking about changing the current lights to mhs.The current lights are 48'' 6x54 watt t5s.The mhs i am looking at are 2 400 watt. Would that be overkill or not.Planning on keeping gbtas/rbtas.

I am assuming your tank is 4 x 2 x 2. If so 2 400w MH is fine. I personally know 1 reefer that have 3 400w in his 120 and the other has 2 400w and 250w in the middle. Your tank will get hot unless you have a chiller or very good ventilation.

If your keeping stoneys your in the right direction but softies i might go with 250watts. As far as XM 10k they are yellow. You will need supplementation to make it bluer. I have used xm 15k's before. They have very good color but poor par. I am currently using xm 20k's for both 400w and a barrowed aquaconnect 14k in the middle. By the way xm's do not have 14k's.

You need to experiment with different brands(bulbs and ballast), kelvins and wattage to really determine what your looking for. You are always welcome to peak at my tank although from a distance...200 yards maybe if you want and see if you like the combination.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

Thanks for all the input, so i will be going with 2 400 watt 15k xms.