MH setup for a 450g?

[Spar]

I am thinking about switching out my LED's with MH. Just haven't been feeling my LED's working out... going to give them another month though before jumping on the change.

The tank is 450g in outer diameter, with dimensions 8'x3'x2.5' (96x36x30). Should I do 4 MH bulbs? Will that be enough to also cover the 36" width or will I have issues? Was thinking about 250w's on the sides and 400w's in the middle. I plan to have mostly SPS.

My tank is in a small fish room, 12'x8' that has its own exhaust fan in the ceiling on full time and a vent above the doors to draw in living room air. Plus an AC in the room, that doesn't seem to make much of a dent in the in-room temperature. The tank during the summer with my LED's sits at ~81 degrees. Does it sound like I might be setting my tank up for getting way too hot if I don't plan on doing a chiller, assuming I switch to MH?

Thoughts?

 

[tkeracer619]

My 360 has (4) 250w MH, (4) 54w T5, and (2) 160w VHO.

You will have no problem covering the 3' width. My system is 8x3x2. Depth wise as long as you get a good setup I think you will be ok with 250s.

Do you plan on keeping any LPS? How about any t5 supplements?

I would strongly consider Radium 250w bulbs with M80 magnetic HQI ballasts if you go with 250w. These drive the bulbs to spec unlike electronic ballasts and actually produce almost the same amount of light as the Radium 400w driven to spec.

If you go with 400w bulbs I would go with the Radiums on an HQI that actually overdrive the bulbs. They will only last about 6 months... but will put out a ton of light in the process. If you go this route you could get away with 3 bulbs.

Check out this plot from Manhattan reefs.

You definitely might be setting yourself up for a chiller. Especially being in Texas. All it would take to destroy your investment would be your central air failing on a hot summer day. A chiller is a solid investment for you regardless.

As far as the reflectors go it really depends on any supplemental bulbs you run and your aqua scape.

 

[Spar]

Thanks for the advice.

re: LPS - yes I do plan to keep LPS as well. I will have SPS up high, and a mix of LPS and Zoa's, etc, mid-to-low.

re: supplemental light - i have 4 39w T5 bulbs already on my tank as well, but is just the ATI Blue and Purple to help even things out. I run those throughout the day.

re: heat - one thing is that I have an Apex setup, so would have the lights turn off in the event of too much heat. also, I just replaced my entire AC system in the house, so hoping that reduces the chances of a failure or at least limits the frequency and length. But if the ambient temp is already going to be 82+ without having a chiller, then I need to figure out other options. Am hoping I can configure things to keep the temp around 80. Agreed though that a chiller as a last-ditch effort to keep everyone alive is a wise investment here... last summer pushed the limits.

re: aqua scape - here is a photo of how it is setup. it is in a 3 independent column look. it is about 16" wide as well (since can't easily tell from the photo) allowing for plenty of space away from the glass on both the front and the back. I have taken a few of the rocks off top since that picture and put them sloping at the bottom, but this gives a general feel for what I am working with.

Any further comments given my input back above?

 

[rl225]

Thanks for that info tkeracr619, this answers a lot of questions I had and goes with what rtparty was trying says hen answering my post.

Looks like 2 or 3 radium 250s would be better than my planned 400s for heat alone!

Awesome sauce

 

[CUZ]

What are you running for LED's right now??

 

[Spar]

I run 4 200w (5 drivers @ 40w each) Chinese LED's. They do actually work fine, I mean I am getting SPS growth (albeit, so slight it is hard to notice even over 6 months) and Zoa's/LPS's at the bottom of my 30" tank thrive, but color is obviously lacking. I get very poor PAR from them.

If I run 160 watts or more per unit at once my coral starts to bleach, but any less and I get color loss and less spread across the aquarium. I don't feel as if they give me uniformity of coverage across 36" width of tank. Maybe others will disagree? Here are some pictures of them; they don't/won't dim so I am required to run them in 4x40w 'lines' across the tank rather than having all lights on at say 25%--50%--etc power.

 

[tkeracer619]

I can grow sps at the bottom no problems. I would go with 4 250s on m80 ballasts.

Would probably go with luminarc 3 reflectors.

 

[CUZ]

on my 300 sps tank i run 6-250w halides and 10 T5's, I'm done with the crazy costs and am switching to AI's!!

 

[tkeracer619]

You do not need 6 250w halides and 10 t5 on a 300g tank.

 

[Spar]

with the 250w Radiums, anyone have preference on the Kelvin? I hear the 20K Radiums push off some really good color?

 

[Spar]

nevermind that last comment/question... appears Radiums are only in 20K?

 

[sirreal63]

No, they have other ones, but the ones most often available here are the 20K. They are a mfg. and produce a dizzying array of bulbs, only a few of which are aquarium related.

 

[tkeracer619]

They have awesome color rendering. It's the best combo imo/ime.

 

[Spar]

tkeracer, what ballast specifically do you think would best? Was thinking this one below, but I don't see "M80 HQI" listed on it. Is what PA recommended though.

http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/M3-LK1235.html

I am going to go the radium 250w route you recommended. Just to confirm, this would be the single-ended MH bulbs, not the double-ended HQI bulbs, right? Any help you can give pointing me to specifics online would be very helpful (PM if preferred)

thanks!

 

[tkeracer619]

PA doesn't sell the proper ballast. The 250w 20k radium is a single ended bulb but is driven by a m80 HQI ballast.

This is the one you want.

http://www.aquacave.com/250W-Reeflex-Cube-HQI-Ballast-by-Aqua-Medic-P2190C208.aspx

 

[Spar]

Will I be able to mount those up high? Looks like they just need to sit somewhere...

Thanks for sending the link! I will grab that model.

 

[tkeracer619]

Need to build a shelf of sometype. Your welcome.

 

[Spar]

How high above the water line would/do you run your bulbs given the 30" depth? I will be using LumenMax Elite reflectors if that makes a difference. Has been about 5 years since I have run MH!

 

[tkeracer619]

I think my bulbs are about 10" off the surface. Wire One up and turn it on. Hold it above the tank and go up and down. I would do it with the lights off. You will know the correct height when the tank lights up the brightest. Total internal reflection is when you get all the light entering the tank to the point very little escapes.


Lumen max elites generally need to be higher up.