Lights for deeper tank

[AndyReef]

I have a 110 gallon tank that is 30" deep. I am planning on housing SPS and clams, would 250 watt HQIs be strong enough, or should I go for 400 watt HQIs?

 

[cham]

Depends on what bulbs your thinking of using. For the most part 250 HQI's are good but if your wanting clams on the bottom and you run 20k's then that might be an issue. On the other hand, if you're running high par bulbs like 10k's then you should be fine.

I'd suggest 400w 20k Radiums in lumenarc's personally. I've seen so many amazing tanks use them.

Or a 10 bulb powermodule would be nice too.

 

[downhillbiker]

I would have to agree. With a deep tank like that you are going to want good reflectors such as Lumenmax or Lumenbrite, Lumenarcs are good, but not as good as the other two. For spread, the Lumenmax is best, for focused PAR the Lumenbrite is best. 20k Radiums are great, and 400w will make everything throughout the tank very healthy. I am running 2x 400w mogul with Lumenmax reflectors on my 200g which is 27" deep.

 

[AndyReef]

Would you supplement 20K bulbs with actinics? Also, is there a big difference in performance between the mogul type and the HQIs?

 

[downhillbiker]

I wouldn't worry about supplementation. 20k bulbs are really a nice color without supplementation. With a 400w setup you shouldn't need any more light, and in the long run will probably save you money over buying bulbs/electricity and initial cost of MH and supplements.

DE style bulbs are generally a more focused beam, and SE bulbs give a better spread. IMO having bulbs side by side that have a good spread stacks up the PAR and equals the DE, plus gives you better coverage. I have both, and like the SE 400w with Lumenmax better than my DE. Just better spread and light everywhere in the tank.

 

[AndyReef]

I have been reading the thread of the month about LEDs. I think I am going to try to build an LED fixture with optics to get the deeper parts of the tank.