? about MH lights and heat issues...

[nbgen12]

I have a 55g long setup, and am thinking about buying a 4ft light with 2 150 watt or 250 watt bulbs....would I need to have a chiller in order to have either one of these lights?

What would be a good light to support both sps and lps coral instead of having the 4ft HQI setups?

 

[Henry Bowman]

Depending on a few other variables, you will end up needing a chiller with 250's for sure on that size tank. 150's maybe not. You can most likely be successful with SPS in the top portions of the tank with 150's depending on they type of bulb you use.

Variables mentioned above include...but not limited to.
How cool do you keep the room that the tank will be in?
Do you have fan(s) on the tank?

 

[nbgen12]

I could get a fan....the tank is in the basement of the house so its cooler than the rest of the house, probably like 68-70 degrees. What would be a better light for the lps than the 150's? It doesn't sound like your a big fan of the 150's for lps...

 

[nvdiz]

if your room temp is almost consistently at 70 F then i think you'll be fine getting away w/o a chiller w/ either a 150 or 250s. I run a 250w on my nano w/ only a fan and my temp is consistently at 79-80.

i would go w/ 250s.

 

[Henry Bowman]

It's not that I'm not a fan of the 150's. I may not have been clear. 150's are fine. You just need to be careful of what you may want down the road. You mentioned SPS corals in your original post. 150's for SPS at any depth more than 12-16 inches is going to be a delicate balancing act. The SPS will survive but the algae in the flesh (xoozoanthaele) will multiply rapidly in order to produce appropriate food for the sps. In turn the sps darken with more algae (without enough intense light).....

It definitely can be done IF you are careful about coral selection and placement. As for LPS, they can be kept lower in the tank as ...generally... they dont require as intense a lighting set up as their stony brethren.

 

[dolphinman213]

It's not that I'm not a fan of the 150's. I may not have been clear. 150's are fine. You just need to be careful of what you may want down the road. You mentioned SPS corals in your original post. 150's for SPS at any depth more than 12-16 inches is going to be a delicate balancing act. The SPS will survive but the algae in the flesh (xoozoanthaele) will multiply rapidly in order to produce appropriate food for the sps. In turn the sps darken with more algae (without enough intense light).....

It definitely can be done IF you are careful about coral selection and placement. As for LPS, they can be kept lower in the tank as ...generally... they dont require as intense a lighting set up as their stony brethren.

i beg to disagree a little, one of our club members run 2 150 radiums on a 75 gallon and his sps and lps are growing like weeds and most if not all of his sps are at the bottom of his tank( check out ONEREEF in the wtmrac club)

 

[problemfixer]

I have 250w for a 30" deep tank and it's adequate for SPS - better if they're placed in the top 1/2 of tank. I even keep a clam on the sand with this configuration.
I think the 150's would be adequate.
Regarding your tank in the basement, I don't think you'll need a chiller. Mine is in a basement and I don't have any temperature issues.

 

[nbgen12]

that sounds good, ill just go with a couple of fans to make sure that hot air circulates away from the water.

 

[a9reef]

i run a 250w 14k pheonix bulb on my 58g oceanic with sps and lps and a fan in my sump, no heat issues

 

[ganjero]

i run a 250w 14k pheonix bulb on my 58g oceanic with sps and lps and a fan in my sump, no heat issues

Just one MH bulb?