light question

[inthesea]

HI,
I am thinking about lighting for my 250 gallon. Its 6ftX2ftX33 inches tall. Will 2 400 w mh be ok for this or can I go with 2 400 w and one 250 in the middle. Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[125G Reefer]

6' tank, 2 won't cover it all. And a 250w probably will not penetrate enough for SPS. But on the other hand if you don't put any high light critters in that area, you should be fine with the 2 400w's and the one 250w.

 

[RokleM]

Actually, 2x400 would cover a "normal" 6' tank without any major problems given the right reflectors and height above the tank. The problem is with the 33" tall, being that PAR would be very low in the middle deep ranges. I ran a 6x2x2 180 SPS heavy but mixed tank for years with 2x400's.

If you're keeping SPS, I agree with the 400+250+400. for the best spread/penetration of light. If you're keeping softies/LPS, 3x250 would likely work.