29 gallons, and ALOT of light... questions

[mr pink floyd]

i have a 29 gallon mixed with a 150 DE and 2x65 Pc actinics, and it is a crappy odyssea, so i would liek to upgrade ASAP, i have sps under it now, nad everythign is good, i love the 150, but i can get a great deal on some lights...

a 250 watt EVC tech retro with reflector, mogul base, all wiring, ballast and bulb for 160
http://oceanencounter.com/Merchant2..._Code=OE&Product_Code=E2R&Category_Code=EVMHR

a sunlight supply 2x24" (24w) T5 HO retro, with ballast, wiring, actinic bulbs and individual reflectors for 160
http://oceanencounter.com/Merchant2...e=OE&Product_Code=2TSSTR2TH&Category_Code=ST5

the total shipped would be 329.50 dollars

i would put this into a canopy on my 29 reef, the MH 12-16 inches above the rim of the tank, and the T5 slightly lower, or at the same level as the MH (for simplicity, and to keep things out of my way as i work in the tank


now this will not be done for a while, but anyone with a 29 gallon reef (or similar size) and 250 watts over it, please help me]

the tank is only 18 inches deep, so how high should i mount it to not burn things, and heat up water too much

(chiller is not an option, will be using a big 9" fan to suck air out of the canopy most likely)

thanks for any help!


~Mike

 

[jasutton]

that is an aweful lot of light, heat is going to kick your butt man...i would forgo it and wait for a 150 set up...

 

[mr pink floyd]

thats what i was worried about...

i am going to save more money, and spend the extra 30 bucks to get the 24" aqualight pro retro...

id rather spend 30 bucks and keep my corals happy, then bake them with a 250 watt heater for 8 hours a day

 

[mister crabs]

get the t-5 setup....less heat and good amount of light

 

[mr pink floyd]

i did consider T5s, but i gotta have some shimmer in my tank!

 

[mister crabs]

depends on if you have heat issues in your area....i live where its rather warm in the summer and i dont wanna pay for a chiller

 

[mr pink floyd]

i did have one heat issue, tank crashed, lost all fish and my green slimer

i simply mounted a fan on a shelf a foot or two away, nice big 9" fan

if im going to be out, and not be able to watch the tank, i turn it on low and it keeps it below 80

havign it on high can bring the tank down a few degrees in minutes, which isnt really good, but it works

i would put lots of fans in the canopy to draw air out over the bulb, and over the water surface

 

[easye123]

I have a 150w retorfit with a phoenix 14k.. and also the SLS Tek light t5 2x24w retokit..

everything looks awesome and lookin good... i suggest it highly

 

[easye123]

i would suggest hellolights for the T5's

http://www.hellolights.com/242x24wtekli.html

its 140 shipped

 

[mr pink floyd]

where did you get the 150 retro?

i do liek the aqualight though, comes with 1 watt leds and a fan also... probably cheaper then buying stuff seperate

 

[easye123]

someone at a lfs had the coralife clamp on fixture he wanted to get rid of for a 100 bucks

i bought this though for the reflector insted
http://www.hellolights.com/mhreflector.html

any of thes seem like a good deal though
http://www.hellolights.com/elbalsys.html

 

[mr pink floyd]

good links, i was goign to get it, then i thought, hmmm, no lunars, or no fan

the aqualight retro has a 3" fan, and 2 1watt Led lunars, and its still 2 dollars cheaper

 

[DarkXerox]

Why not just a single 250w HQI? Running a 14k or 20k would be fine without actinics.

 

[wav3form]

I like that reflector... are 150w de bulbs the same size as 70w de bulbs? I could use one of those for my 70w.

 

[mr pink floyd]

Why not just a single 250w HQI? Running a 14k or 20k would be fine without actinics.

i like day/night effects

but mainly heat. the actinics wont throw off much heat compared to a 250 HQI, and i wouldnt have them on at the same time

i also like day/night effects


it would be in a closed canopy, making it worse(heat), so ill just get a 24" PRO retro, comes with LEDs adn a fan to get started

i found some good deals on them

 

[easye123]

where did u find the good deals????????

 

[mr pink floyd]

hello lights has a good deal, and so does marinedepot...


well not great, but its the cheapest at those places

 

[DarkXerox]

Yeah I got mine to have the day night effects but when I got home from my dorm, I found out that my PC's trip my GFCI outlet since it is so sensitive, so I haven't run them all summer. Haven't really noticed a difference tho and I don't miss them too much.