2x400wMH or 3x250w MH?
- Thread starter mc-cro
- Start date
110galreef
New member
MC....off topic, but
How you like the MP-40's on the back wall? I was considering adding one or two along the back as you have. How are you running them?
How you like the MP-40's on the back wall? I was considering adding one or two along the back as you have. How are you running them?
I would say for a 150g tank 3 250w MH's would be more than enuf! Especially with good reflectors. 2 400w & a 250w would be overkill. Is this gonna be in a canopy?
trinity1012
sps addict
i have a 150 with 2-250 halides "pheonix bulbs" and 4 t5's,deff plenty of light.
IMHO i think 2-250's is plenty for a 150
there are 180g with 250's full of sps,chemistry is were the color is
IMHO i think 2-250's is plenty for a 150
there are 180g with 250's full of sps,chemistry is were the color is
biggles
Premium Member
As others have stated, 3x250W over your tank will be more than enough light. My point was that the diff in brightness between the 250W and the 400W was too great and you will see a distinct separation of light intensity in different areas of the tank - it won't look pleasing to your eye.
mc-cro
(macro)
I am very happy with the MP40's on the back wall. I have a 3yr old in the house, so putting the pumps on the side just wasnt an option, as he would pull them off. I also dont particularly like being able to see them from the side of the tank.
I get plenty of flow, and very random. I have them running on the WXM Neptune module, and each pump switches through 3-4 modes each day, independantly. So I get all kinds of random flow.
the only downside is that I cant set up a standing wave, but I really dont care.
mc-cro
(macro)
2x250W I think would definatly be enough over a standard 150. My tank is technically 160g, and the 2x250W with the Lumatek reflectors are plenty for the average mixed tank. Even with the current 2 bulbs, I have to shade the LPS on the sand bed pretty good.
I am going with 3 bulbs, for the specific purpose of blasting high light SPS, and getting betting coverage for those sps in the center.
rlpurdue, I would not recommend mixing the bulbs, you tank will have stripes, and I dont think it would work very well. I personally prefer to stick with all the same bulbs.
I am going with 3 bulbs, for the specific purpose of blasting high light SPS, and getting betting coverage for those sps in the center.
rlpurdue, I would not recommend mixing the bulbs, you tank will have stripes, and I dont think it would work very well. I personally prefer to stick with all the same bulbs.
mc-cro
(macro)
I totally underestimated the heat this 3rd bulb would generate.
With a basement sump, and the 2 bulbs, my tank usually ran 79-80 in the winter. On really hot days, it may creep up to 82 then the APEX would shut down the lights.
I fired up the 3rd bulb the other day, and within just a few hours the tank went up to 81.8* from about 79.
I upped the size of cooling fan on the sump downstairs, and that held it a bay today, but I think I am going to vent the hanging canopy a little more, and I may actually put some exhaust fans in that will kick on a certain temp.
I have class tomorrow, but hopefully Thursday the new bulb will have about 15-20hrs of burn in time and I can take some PAR reading off just it to get a good baseline.
With a basement sump, and the 2 bulbs, my tank usually ran 79-80 in the winter. On really hot days, it may creep up to 82 then the APEX would shut down the lights.
I fired up the 3rd bulb the other day, and within just a few hours the tank went up to 81.8* from about 79.
I upped the size of cooling fan on the sump downstairs, and that held it a bay today, but I think I am going to vent the hanging canopy a little more, and I may actually put some exhaust fans in that will kick on a certain temp.
I have class tomorrow, but hopefully Thursday the new bulb will have about 15-20hrs of burn in time and I can take some PAR reading off just it to get a good baseline.
mc-cro
(macro)
Today was about 102hrs of burn in time on the new 3rd bulb, so I took some additional measurements today.
The 3rd bulb by itself was 600 at the water surface and 500 just below the surface.
The other 2 bulbs, 10months old, measured 625 at the surface, and 500 just below. (by themselves)
So there you go, 10months on a Lumatek dimmable ballast on HQI, and the PAR numbers are almost exactly the same as a bulb that has 100hrs on.
It may be worth mentioning, that I rounded the multimeter reading to the nearest 5 just for simplicity before I multiplied.
The updated numbers in red show the new reading with all 3 bulbs
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/12-1-12PARMAP.jpg
The 3rd bulb by itself was 600 at the water surface and 500 just below the surface.
The other 2 bulbs, 10months old, measured 625 at the surface, and 500 just below. (by themselves)
So there you go, 10months on a Lumatek dimmable ballast on HQI, and the PAR numbers are almost exactly the same as a bulb that has 100hrs on.
It may be worth mentioning, that I rounded the multimeter reading to the nearest 5 just for simplicity before I multiplied.
The updated numbers in red show the new reading with all 3 bulbs
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/12-1-12PARMAP.jpg
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