Lighting

[markie mark]

So I have a 150 gallon sps reef,I'm currently running halides...2x250 watt..2x175 watt and 1x150 over the center...the tank is 5'x2x2...I'm not new to sps and have been growing them for years...what I'm wondering is that I just ordered a 8x80 watt fixture and is that gonna be enough for my tank or should I retro in 2 more 80 watt bulbs? I used to over drive 8x54 watt over my 90 and the color of my corals changed so fast to even brighter colors it was crazy...I just feel like 640 watts might be a little shy of enough light but looking for some input if anybody has any or has a sps reef with the same dimensions as mine...???The reason for changing is I just like t5 light much better and it seems to be more uniform across the tank...

 

[clowndude]

You should be okay with that setup. I know someone running a 4x2x2 with an eight bulb combo and he has no problem growing sps like a weed. Just make sure it's a good light fixture with good reflectors and bulbs.

 

[dzhuo]

If your tank is only 2' tall, the T5 should be more than enough. When you factor in rock and coral placement, there isn't a lot of water for the light to penetrate. Assuming your T5 fixture has proper cooling with individual reflector, I think you have more than enough as far as lighting goes.

 

[markie mark]

Cool...I'm just a little worried because its almost the same amount of light I was running over my 90 with the 8x54 but they were overdrived with 2 icecap 660s...I guess I'll know next week...and im gonna run ATI bulbs...thanks for the input you guys....