150w MH fixture enough?

[Saadatski]

I was looking to getting a used Coralife Aqualite Pro, which i found a decent deal on. I have a 75g, and i am hoping to covert it to a reef with much SPS. Is 150w enough? Remember this fixture also has two t5 supplements. Thank you for your help.

 

[Flanders]

You will be able to grow SPS, absolutely. If the idea of using 10k MH bulbs turns you off though, you'd be better off going with 250s which would allow you to run a bluer bulb and still get good PAR numbers.

 

[sirreal63]

You can but stay with high PAR XDE 10K bulbs. Supplement the color with the T5 bulbs. I would use blue plus bulbs as most actintic bulbs will have a hard time overcoming the 10K's. I have used 150's for years with no problems with growth and color. I currently use Radiums which are also high PAR bulbs, but they do not compete with the power of 10K's.

 

[allsps40]

Well I have 2 250w MH over my 75G and keep mainly sps. IMO 150w is not enough. Will it work yes but you will get slower growth and less color.

 

[Waterobert]

You will have to change your 10k bulbs religiously and keep sps corals on very top of your tank. IMO you will be better off with 2 250w

 

[sirreal63]

Wattage does not equal PAR. Here are two different setups...per Sanjays testing.
150 watt 10K XDE with M81 and shielded...PPFD of 61
250 watt 15K XDE with Icecap electronic and shielded...PPFD of 45

It isn't the wattage, it is the setup. Bulb and ballast make all the difference, not the wattage. If I understand what you are saying, the 250 watt in the above reference will grow SPS better than the 150?

Here is another example, also from Sanjays testing.
150 watt Radium 20K on M81 and shielded...PPFD of 47
250 watt XDE 20K on Icecap and shielded...PPFD of 36
Same 20k rating, same shielded fixture but the PAR is not the same.

See where I am going here? Yes in most cases the 250 will be more powerful but that is not a given, in some cases it is much worse that the 150. Another benefit is less electrical usage and heat. And the bulbs last just as long.

 

[Saadatski]

Agh I was not find of the 10k color and we going to change it out somehow. I thought thy made blue bulbs for the 150w

 

[sirreal63]

If the fixture has M81 ballasts, you can use the Radiums or the Phoenix and get the color you want and still keep decent PAR.

Personally I would go with 250's on a 75 but that doesn't mean you cannot use the 150's. You can, but bulb and ballast come into play as well as the color you want and how far down you can keep SPS. Caps lower down and Acros higher up and it works just fine.

 

[RotaryGeek]

I run 3 150w MH on my 24" tall 125 and it grows SPS fine. I'm even using cheapo oddysea 20k bulbs. I switched out from XM 10k's because it was just too yellow.

 

[RotaryGeek]

Oh the light is a gutted current outer orbit fixture, so crap reflectors and no actinic. I think water quality and flow are more important than light output. Not saying light isn't important, but I think you can do just fine with good water chemistry and flow.

 

[Alex482455]

I know there are many different ways to go about lights. But since you are going T5 & MH follow the rule of at least 5 watt per gallon. im using 1 150w MH and 2 65w PC on my 40G which is around 7W per gallon.

 

[noahlito]

watts per gallon

watts per gallon

I know there are many different ways to go about lights. But since you are going T5 & MH follow the rule of at least 5 watt per gallon. im using 1 150w MH and 2 65w PC on my 40G which is around 7W per gallon.

I definitely agree with alex. You can get away with 3watts, but on the safe side 5W per gallon of a tank. I don't know if that would include a sump and I don't think that applies to LED but that is the rule of thumb for every other light. I under the par value thing and the ballast and the bulb, but if one is not that saavy the layman's way is watts per gallon.

 

[sirreal63]

WPG? Scenario for you. I have a 150 gallon tank, lit by a single 150 watt halide, lighting a solitary island which is directly under the fixture. Since I only have 1 wpg there is no possible way I can grow SPS...right? :spin1:

The above scenario would actually be healthier for the system than to have a 15 gallon tank lit by the same halide, which would be 10 WPG.

WPG has no real direct correlation to lighting a reef tank. Adequate PAR over our corals is what we strive for, watts per gallon does not work out very well. 500 watts of incandescent bulbs is not equal to 500 watts of Halides or T5's or VHO's or LED's. They are all 500 watts but the PAR is not the same.

 

[Guillaume]

Good thread here. Sorry I'm joining pretty late.

Anyone has seen an article with PAR readings from a 150w MH (10k, 12k or 14k)?

Sirreal63, you mentionned some readings from Sanjay. Would you remind the article?
I'm planning to replace my 150w MH 14k Phoenix bulb (which work just fine for SPS but still miss some colors) with LEDs and would like to have an order of magnitude of what can be my current system...
Tx

 

[sirreal63]

Sure thing. It is a good idea to consult Sanjays testing before using any MH setup, it will give you an idea of what to expect. Just because it is metal halide doesn't mean it will be powerful and adequate for your particular setup. Unfortunately Sanjay has not tested the 150 watt Phoenix, but many of us who have used it prefer the Radium, it just gives reds and greens more pop and less of a washed out color. If being run on the correct M81 magnetic ballast, the color will be more white with a hint of blue instead of the "windex look" that most 20K bulbs have. Based purely on 250 watt bulbs, the Radium and Phoenix are pretty close in PAR, since we do not have 150 watt versions of the Phoenix tested, we can only use the Radium and hope it is close. Select MH Lamp and Ballast and choose 150 watt from the dropdown list on the left.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting