Is 8 watts per gal. too much light??

[Ian]

Ive come to a point where I can not spend as much time with my tank. after losing a few sps corals, Ive decided to go back to lps. I bought a frogspawn, but before I buy anymore corals, I want to know if Im using too much light.

I have 2 250 watters and 1 150 on an 80 gallon. What do you think??

 

[Hypertek99]

That's not too much. I have 250MH and 150VHO over a 29gal.

 

[water hazzard]

Just raise them higher above your tank so you dont have to get new lights. They will work

 

[elegance coral]

It also depends on the Kelvin temp, placement of the lights, placement of the corals, reflectors, and how long the lights are on. I have about 14W/gl on my 29 and I consider it a low light environment. Most of my lights are actinics with low par values and the 250W 14K MH is only on of for a few hours a day.
Your light may be fine. What is the Kelvin temp of your bulbs?

 

[UN-Sizzlers]

I run a 250mh and two 95w VHO's over my 40 breeder thats 11watts per gallon and everything loves it!

 

[Hypertek99]

Well there you have it. 8 watts per gallon is good. You should just run 3 250MH instead of 2 and 1 150MH

 

[Hypertek99]

Oh and heating is not an issue even on my 29gal nano the metal halide doesn't heat up the tank and i don't run a chiller. But my canopy does have a open back.

 

[BOKER420]

If you are just going to have LPS then I would just toss the 150W. 2-250W is just fine for an 80g and then you save a little on electricity costs. Why use too much light where you have to raise your lights higher when you can use less and save money.

 

[jjmcat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10304110#post10304110 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BOKER420
If you are just going to have LPS then I would just toss the 150W. 2-250W is just fine for an 80g and then you save a little on electricity costs. Why use too much light where you have to raise your lights higher when you can use less and save money.

I agree with that.I run 2 250s on my 110.I do have a 175 watt 5500k in the middle that I run for 3 hours a day but its not needed.BTW it is a mixed reef.