lighting

[vipjd39]

The day has finally come where I can turn the 125 into an SPS dominated tank. Nikki wanted to keep all of the seahorses in one area so we are moving them to a 75 upstairs with all of the 1000s of seahorses we have.

I have spending the last couple weeks getting all of my equipment that i need to convert from a seahorse tank to a sps tank.

Just acquired an even bigger skimmer...Octopus TDNW 300! Quite excited, plus this will allow me to plumb whatever in i want later. Really wanted the Orca but couldn't spot the extra $. But im happy. gotta go big or dont go at all right...????!!!!!

My question is now about lighting. This is a standard 125 so I want to go with 3 retros. The tank is in wall so I have a dedicated room and canopy space is not an issue. I am going to go with either lumenbrights or lumenarcs. i found a really good deal on 3 400w lumenarcs with galaxy ballasts and new bulbs. I thought about getting this setup but i dont truely understand the difference between 250 and 400w. I want to run without a chiller preferably, and without a heater my tank temps are 68 or lower. Will 3 400w heat up my tank enough to have to use a chiller? will it be too much for a standard 125 (24"deep). Will it be too much for the corals as well? And is there that much of a difference on the electric bill between 250 and 400w?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

 

[Runner]

I think 3x400W MH is pretty standard for a 24" deep, 6' long tank.

The heat may require a chiller, but if you get 68F right now, I am amazed. You must be cooling your fish room somehow. Do you have a dedicated A/C register in there? But the real question is will 1200 Watts more heat raise the water temperature more than 10F? Perhaps. I would try it without and save myself $500. But I think you are good for now unless you tank room goes higher than 68F in the winter when the heat is on.

Anyway, to minimize the heat gain use electronic ballasts. I had my magnetic ballasts located in my garage (through the wall) to keep the heat out of my tank/house.

As for costs, you pay about $0.07 per kWh here in Knoxville. If your lights run 10 hours a day, that is like 0.07x3x10x250x1.25/1000=$0.66 per day for 250W lights and 0.07x3x10x400x1.25/1000=$1.06 400W lights.

 

[vipjd39]

No dedicated A/C register in there, but have definitely thought about it. Unfortunately for the beautiful lady, I do not turn the heat up past 69 in the winter. (i dont get cold...ever!) Since the tank is in my basement which is always 3-4 degrees cooler than upstairs and what the thermostat says, I hoping I will be alright.

I really want to avoid the use of the chiller...not to mention, Im quickly running out of room in there. Big Skimmers are no joke!

will it be too much for sps

 

[Flavum]

woot woot getting on the sps train! Im excited for ya buddy

 

[Runner]

Sounds like you have an good situation for attempting a setup without a chiller. You would still need a couple of small heaters to keep the temp up to an acceptable level when the lights are off so as to minimize the temp drop during the night.

Keep in mind that bigger pumps (both recirc and chiller) add more heat, too. But even with that, I'd give it a try. You can always add a chiller later if it is necessary. And there are some small 1/10 HP ones out there now that are less than $300 new that can help if you find you need just a 2 or 3 degree drop on your 125G tank.

 

[vipjd39]

Finallly talked Nikki into it! But at a cost. I have to get her another tank for the seahorses. So that will equal, lets see, 5 tanks. Its getting outta control.

 

[vipjd39]

Runner, thanks for the help. I think im gonna give it a try. I guess i can always resell it later if it seems like it will be too much. is there a huge difference between the heat in a 250 and 400

 

[Runner]

No problem. And if you'd like a 75G tank for your seahorses, I have a nice one for sale.

 

[vipjd39]

I have seen it and almost decided on it. Only thing that stopped us is Nikki really wanted something reef ready. Your stand and canopy are amazing though. Im surprised no one has snatched it up yet.

 

[Runner]

Heh. Thanks. I have had a few calls -- mostly from my craigslist posting to my surprise. Somebody is supposed to look at it this week. And another said she'd buy it if I still had it in about 5 weeks. So I am not too worried about selling it eventually.

 

[fishdoc11]

FWIW I have allways used 250's and have been happy. I currently have them on a 120 gal 24" deep tank and they provide plenty of light for SPS.
A lot of it depends on what bulbs you plan on running.
I have heard that 400's put out a lot more heat but I personally don't have any experience with them.
Chris

 

[vipjd39]

Hmmmm, the 250s would save me about 15/month, not too overly concerned about that. I just dont want to have to run a chiller and then wind up paying more for that equipment and on the electric bill....

 

[Runner]

If Chris grew what he has on 250W, then that would settle it in my mind. The lower the watts, the lesser the chance of needing a chiller, too. Other factors that will reduce your heat load would be the use of external instead of submersed pumps and exchanging the air of your fish room with the rest of your basement to keep heat build-up out of the room.

You could also go with 2x250W with a 400W in the middle (or over the low-rock area) if you were worried about not having enough light for some corals.

 

[vipjd39]

I think what i might do is get the 400w setup because its just too good of a deal to pass up. And if I find im having heating issues, i could always just sell or trade the ballasts for 250s and get new bulbs. Those sockets will accept either 250 or 400 i believe.

All of my pumps are external so hopefullly that will help.

 

[cee]

400 W puts out a lot of heat and will probably force you to use a chiller. That, and your AC will work quite hard to remove all that extra heat. I used them for awhile but it got hard to keep up with the heat load, even with my 1/4 hp chiller. However, Jeff runs them on HQI ballasts, so he may want to chime in. So, it's not just the extra 150 W to drive the bulb but also the extra time your AC will run to remove the heat. However, in the winter, my tank practically heated the whole house.

 

[vipjd39]

cee, now you have me a little worried. Were you using yours in a canopy. Mine will be wide open so I am hoping that will help too.

 

[Runner]

Dave's (cee) tank is open on the top, if I remember correctly. Wide open helps. Fans on the water tied to your light timer helps, too. And your cool basement helps. Adding a duct line from your main system into your fish room might help, too, in the Summer. But lights like that put a lot of radiant energy into the water. I think you are borderline needing a chiller depending on what your peak room temps are.

Plus more heat means your house A/C runs a little more. Even a small chiller will help out if you can locate it in a non-climate controlled area such as your garage.

 

[vipjd39]

I think what I might start by doing is rigging up 6 fans to dissipate the heat and see how that goes. If I can't keep it under control I might have to change the 2 outter ones for 250s.

 

[cee]

I've got a "semi canopy". It is enclosed, but elevated about 2" off the tank top. Also, the Lumenarc reflectors don't lend themselves well to cooling the bulbs and also reflect the heat into the tank in a similar manner to how they focus the light. I keep the house no cooler than 78 degrees in the summer, though, but the chiller runs every afternoon even with 3X250 W bulbs.

 

[vipjd39]

I will not have any canopy. Just some metal strips so it will be completely open all around it. Dave, if I came over your house I might sweat, lol. I like to keep it freezing in my house. Normally the bill is pretty high in the summer, but I dont run any heat in the winter (thats my favorite) Nikki doesn't appreciate it, but thats why i buy her hoodies and blankets