2 400Watt MH over a 75 gallon tank?

[paininthewrasse]

As the title says.. I have 2 400 watt MH lights that I'd like to put over my 75 gallon tank. Would that be too much light for softies LPS & things like that..?

 

[RobTop]

I'd say it's more than you need. For 2 yrs I had that on a 220 and was good with sps and clams. If all you are doing is softies and LPS you can scale it back big time. When I was running a 75 reef I had 1 250 centered on it and was good with everything. Just had to keep sps towards the top center.

 

[anjhof]

I would sell the 400, buy 175 or 250's and before you know it, you'll make up the money you lost by selling used and buying new in electricity costs.
I would say the 400's will cause heat issues too.

 

[paininthewrasse]

Yea.. i have 2 175watt Mh's over it now..

but my neighbor gave me 4 MH setups which i was going to take 2 of them out of the ugly fixture they're in and use them w/ a reflector and make a canopy the other 2 I was planning on selling or trading... Sounded like a good idea.. but maybe not so much now.. Would one over the center of it all get enough light through the whole 4 ft tank? I dont know..

 

[anjhof]

I have a 75 now, with 2 250's over it. I also have 2 VHO's running on the tank. I have 10K XM's over the tank and it looks a little washed out. I have no heat issues with my tank now (running two 4" fans in the canopy though). The lights are also about 12" above the water line. This is something to consider in terms of heat too. I can't imagine running 2 400's over a 75g tank. I also think you could easily get some money for the extra 400's and buy some 250's. According to the calculator on RC, you will spend an extra $13 a month running 200 extra watts over the 250's.
I would rather have 2 smaller lights than one large one. If you put it high enough, it would probably work, but it seems like you are forcing it a little.

 

[paininthewrasse]

right..

where is this caculator your talking about? Do you have a link?

I'll maybe see about trading or selling the 400 watters

thanks for all the help!

 

[anjhof]

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

It's on the home page of RC - on the left hand side - there is a section called calculators - some helpful tools there.

No problem....

 

[rickyb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8187465#post8187465 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by anjhof
I have a 75 now, with 2 250's over it. I also have 2 VHO's running on the tank. I have 10K XM's over the tank and it looks a little washed out. I have no heat issues with my tank now (running two 4" fans in the canopy though). The lights are also about 12" above the water line. This is something to consider in terms of heat too. I can't imagine running 2 400's over a 75g tank. I also think you could easily get some money for the extra 400's and buy some 250's. According to the calculator on RC, you will spend an extra $13 a month running 200 extra watts over the 250's.
I would rather have 2 smaller lights than one large one. If you put it high enough, it would probably work, but it seems like you are forcing it a little.

Does the calculator have the new rates

 

[TellyFish]

400w is great if you can pay the $ and move that heat somewhere. I use a 1000w for the greenhouse, at night for a 24hr cycle. Its still not the sun, so I wouldnt be concerned about too much light in most cases.

 

[Ride Red]

Can't you just use 1 of them?

 

[desjardiniidj]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8187522#post8187522 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by paininthewrasse




I'll maybe see about trading or selling the 400 watters

I'm interested in one of the 400's. I need it for my 20 gal frag tank. What were you looking to trade for? Coral? Let me know.