Dual 400w MH's?

[KBurn]

I'm looking into putting dual 400w MH's on my 130g reef tank. Can anyone give me some input as to whether or not it's a good idea? I had dual 150's and they weren't cutting it, and I got a hell of a deal on these 400's so I thought I would give it a go and see how well it works out.

 

[rwessels]

Probably ok just make sure you have the ability to move them fairly high above the water. 150 to 400 is a HUGE jump, so make sure you slowly acclimate them with either screens or shorter cycles.

 

[psimitry]

Out of curiosity, what about the 150's wasn't cutting it?

 

[DarkFORCE]

Also your electric bill for lights will about triple. I had 2 400watts over my 180g before I took it down. Since taking it down our electric bill has dropped $350 a month. I had other things running but lights were a big cost.

 

[rwessels]

I run 6 @ 250's on my 10 foot tank, but they are PFO HQI's so they are taking 350 watts a piece. I think they are costing me at most $50 a month.

 

[Philwd]

Your biggest elec cost is likely your return and closed loop pumps.

400W SE Reeflux 12Ks are killer bulbs. A few folks in town run them. 400W 20K Radiums are another popular choice.

 

[KBurn]

It seemed like to 150's were pretty dim on the bottom of my tank compared to other people's tanks.

 

[KBurn]

I there anyone else here that's running 400's on a 130g tank?

 

[ADA33]

I run 2 400w with 12k reflux on my 180g. I also ran the same set up on my 75g

 

[KBurn]

Awe, cool, I just wanted to hear someone else's experience, I didn't want to turn my tank in to a bleached coral tank, lol. How well did it work on your 75g?

 

[ADA33]

It actually worked very well. I had great color and growth on my 75g. I ran them about 10" off the water line.

 

[KBurn]

Thanks, that is reassuring!

 

[Pyrrhus]

I used to run dual 400 in a self made fixture over my old 95, never had any issues unless the roommate closed my bedroom door...

 

[KBurn]

How much did your chiller have to run to keep the tank reasonable?

 

[ADA33]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13592800#post13592800 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bonzo
How much did your chiller have to run to keep the tank reasonable?

My chilled during the summer will come on
3 times in a span of 24hrs. The rest of the year it comes on once day

 

[kirstenk]

I run 3 400W over my 150. I do not use a chiller, temps are controlled by fans.

There is a guy selling some LumenMax reflectors for $150 that would help with spread. Here is the thread.

http://www.azfrag.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=633

 

[Robgixxer]

this is interesting to me two. I have 2 175 watt 20k's and am building a whole new cabinet and canopy that will be like a built in wall unit. Thing is my tank is a 150 gal. but measures 48w X 24d X 30h. So the light is not very bright to the bottom of the tank. Do you guys think it would be better to run one of three of these options 3 250's 2 400's or 3 400's???? and if I run any of these setups should I run actinics still or just the halides.

 

[kirstenk]

You could run 2 250W in Lumenbright reflectors and get great coverage. IMO You would need the reflectors to make it happen. Check out this article:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-06/review/index.php

 

[KBurn]

Thanks Kirsten, what bulbs are you using, I have ordered some coralvue 14k's but they won't be shipping til the 29th, so I could change, I don't plan on running any supplemental lighting but I would like to have some blueish color, does anyone have any recommendations? I wanted to go reeflux 12k but they only go up to 250w for hqi.

 

[kirstenk]

I run Reeflux 12K. I don't need any supplemental lighting but I have it already so I use it for the extra pop.

So you need DE bulbs? Bummer.