30" Deep Tanks 250w or 400w

[MstgKillr]

Those of you with tanks that are 30" deep or more, what wattage bulb do you use?

 

[91yota]

my tank is only 2/3 that depth but if i were running a 30" tank, it'd be 400w all the way

 

[MstgKillr]

I keep going back and forth between staying with my current 250's or upgrading to 400's. Its time to change the bulbs anyways if I decided to go with the 400's.

 

[mflamb]

My tank is 31" and I use 250's.

 

[Znut Reefer]

My tank is 120L x 36W x 29T. I use and voted for 400's. Before I upgraded I had a 225 I used 400's also.

 

[DmitriyY]

My tank is 27" Mariland 36x36x27 and I use 400

 

[MstgKillr]

Does anyone regret going to 400's?

 

[Znut Reefer]

None here.

 

[Ryan009]

I found this article fascinating:

http://www.melevsreef.com/par_readings.html

It really depends on what bulb you're running and what you are hoping to keep. As the above link shows, a 10K 250W will have equal or better PAR at the bottom of a tank vs. a 20K 400W

 

[tom obrecht]

I think it also depends on what you plan to keep as well as what reflectors you are using. I ran 400's in Luminarc reflectors over a 28" tank and IMO was too much. If you have good reflectors I would opt for 250's.

 

[civilengineer40]

Go with the 400W....In the end you will be impressed....

 

[MstgKillr]

What reflectors would everyone recommend for a 72x24x30 tank. I will probably also use some type of supplemental lighting also?

 

[kdblove_99]

I have a 30" deep tank and will be using 250 watts. Your tank i would go with 3 Lumenmax elite reflectors. JMO

 

[SnowManSnow]

had 400s i now run 250s.. les $$ and less heat. Also a LOT better selection on lamps, assuming you mean HQI.

 

[chris0942]

For the price I went with 400's, I also use 10k xm bulbs. they are about the same price as 250's. so for a little bit more money to start out with. no regrets. i was running 250 and up graded to 400 and seen just a little incease in the electric bill.

 

[spleify]

My bulb is 39" from the sand bed and I run 250W and get good growth on the sand.

Spleify

 

[8BALL_99]

IF your using 20Ks then probably 400s would be best. But 250s would work.. If your going with 10ks I'd use 250s for sure.. Electricity is only going up. If you can get good growth with less heat and wattage then its not even a question to me..

 

[turtleman9100]

I run 250's DE on my 30 inch tank. I also supplement with vho's. Everything is doing great in my tank. If they were 250 SE, I would be upgrading but the DE's do great. I use icecaps with XM 20k's.

 

[Cove Beach]

I run 250w SE 12Ks on Coralvue ballasts in Large Lumenbright reflectors over a 30" tank with bulbs 14" off the water.

 

[Chihuahua6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13663220#post13663220 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 8BALL_99
IF your using 20Ks then probably 400s would be best. But 250s would work.. If your going with 10ks I'd use 250s for sure.. Electricity is only going up. If you can get good growth with less heat and wattage then its not even a question to me..

Agreed.

I'll be using 250 watt 10000k along with sun tubes on my 29" tall 280 gal. I will supplement with actinic vho for asthetics and only turn them on while I am home viewing my tank. I'm too frugal to upgrade to 400 watt lights just to have 20000k color spectrum.

I had one 250 watt 10000k Ushio SE bulb 13" above the water in my 30" 47 gal column tank. It was extremely bright, more than necessary on that tank. I'll be using the same bulbs on the 280 in good reflectors. None of my 12000k or 14000k bulbs come remotely close to the brightness of that bulb.