Another lighting q?

[PHOTOG]

Okay,....

would 250W metal halide be good for a hex tank 24 inches deep?

Could I keep zoa's, and soft corals under the 250 or is this not enough?

Also, what k bulb would be best?

 

[drummereef]

Yes, 250 watts is a good choice for 24" tank. Imo, you'd be able to keep anything from polyps, softies, lps, and sps. Are you planning on supplimenting with T5 or VHO? Are you going to use SE or DE bulbs?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

Ya you could keep way more than just zoas. You could keep whatever you wanted IMO. Well depending on how long the tank is...but if its long, then you could keep anything you want directly under the light (or within its beam)

 

[PHOTOG]

not going to have anything other than the 250,

the tank is a 55gallon hex so it is only as wide as it is tall.

I need to figure out what k bulb, this is the stumbling block for me.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

Think of it this way...normally the higher K, the bluer it is. Whatever you get, corals require 65K just to grow (and they actually grow faster under them from what i've read, but their colors are not that great)

A 10K is supposed to be white (but i've found it often isnt a perfect white...usually a bit yellow IMO).

I'd say start with either a 12 or 14K bulb and go from there. Dont get a 15K cuz i hear they give off the worst PAR (penetration or usefull light or something).

 

[drummereef]

If you aren't doing supplimental lighting then you will probably find 10k bulb a little harsh to the eye. Really depends if you are doing SE or DE. For DE, I prefer Phoenix 14k bulbs. They have a nice blue/white color and you'll have decent growth rates with this bulb. If you do SE, there is a bunch of options. I'm going to do 20k Radiums on my next setup. Similar color/growth to the Phoenix, but in a single ended bulb instead.

Are you doing a pendant or reflector of some kind?

 

[drummereef]

Also, check out this link for all kinds of great info on the subject.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=624185

 

[PHOTOG]

I will be doing SE mogul based bulb. I finally commited and bought a ballast, now just need the rest.

I will be making a DIY type hanging pendant.

 

[drummereef]

What ballast did you get - magnetic, electronic, hqi?

 

[PHOTOG]

I got the magnetic, Core and coil type. made by advance.

 

[drummereef]

Cool. I would also go to Sanjay's site and try to match your ballast to a bulb and see what kind of PAR you are looking at. Usually with any bulb, the higher the K the less PAR. So, color can be a trade off.

Link to Sanjay's lighting page:
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

 

[PHOTOG]

Thanks drummer,... Your help has been killer.

What does PAR stand for anyways?

 

[drummereef]

Photosynthetically Available Radiation. In Laymen's terms it indicates the total energy available to our tanks inhabitants, most importantly corals.

 

[PHOTOG]

Makes sense.

 

[drummereef]

The higher the PAR the more growth you will see most likely. Obviously depending on water quality etc... Sanjay's site is a great resource for matching ballast with bulb and what PAR values you will have with the combination.