150 or 175watts HE DE would i need for a 80 g tank

[juicebox]

and i am looking for HQI pendant style any one know where to get some cheap or is someone selling?

 

[clkwrk]

Average is 200 bucks new or used .Thats pendant and ballast .

IMO 150 de would be ideal. IME

Or you could go with t-5's

Anyways what do you plan to keep thats the real question ?

 

[juicebox]

it is going to be a reef tank but wat do u mean wat do i plan on keeping???

 

[rljlll]

juicy man he is talking about soft coral lps coral or lps corals or a mix

 

[clkwrk]

Yup thats what I mean . If you want softies only like leathers zoos and mushrooms then choose different lighting if you want these then 250 DE will do the trick.

 

[Elementz]

yea no 150s you would need a few. I would go with 250 at least.

 

[clkwrk]

Still depend s on the corals. Why have 250de's if you only plan to keep leathers , zoanthids or mushrooms and a few lps?

I have a 2ft deep tank with a 150de bulb above it and I had no problems keeping anything including clams. A good 150de setup with the right pendant will do great while a 150de like the coralife units will suck .

 

[clkwrk]

We are also talking about a tank thats what 20 inches tall maybe and may have a 3-4 inches of substrate.

 

[rljlll]

yeah and on top of the shorter tank substrate and rock light is not the most important water quality is

 

[juicebox]

i guess i will just get 250 then cause i want like caps and mushrooms and a mix of coral and color...

 

[juicebox]

how many would i need i read some poeple have like 2 or 3 do i just need one or how many?

 

[dgin]

What is the area that you need to cover (length and width)? I'm not sure about a 80g dimensions but for a typical 75g, 2 fixtures should cover it nicely. Generally speaking a MH fixture can cover a 2'x2' area.

 

[juicebox]

it is 48x18x24 so i would need 2 250watt i was looking at the pendant type and not the retro kit right now i just want some light that will keep the coral alive right now

 

[juicebox]

any is anyone selling 250 watt pendant DE HE? or some where i can get new for a good price