opinions on my lighting

[mos90]

i want to get everyones opinion on my lighting setup on my 125g (72X18x21) mainly sps tank. i will have some lps's in the tank also.

i am using 2-36" aquatraders mh fixtures. each fixture has 1-250 phoenix and 4-39W t5's. i took out 3 of the 4 true actinic bulbs because it was way to blue for my likings. here is the new bulb order.

front
ati blue plus
ati aqua sun 12k
ati purple plus
ati true actinic
rear

right now im only running the supplement lighting for 6 hours a day and the mh for 2. i will bump them up to 10 and 5 slowly over the next few months.

i measured par with the supplement lights. it was around 85 on the sandbed. 100 in the middle, 130 on top. is this to high for suppliment lighting?

then i measured par with all the lights on. average on the sandbed was 200-250. middle was 230-300 , top was 300-400. the area directly under the mh's was a little higher. the are a few areas in the middle that are lower par futhest from the mh's.

i didnt run a middle mh because i was worried about melting the center plastic brace, even though i wanted the extra light.

i would like some input if my par looks ok and opinions on the supplement bulb choice.

 

[mos90]

forgot to mention the lights are 9" above the water.

 

[dzhuo]

The PAR readings don't seem particularly high to be a concern. Your lighting set up seems very adequate. I find it unusual that your top PAR reading is only in the range of 300 to 400 with all bulbs on?

 

[mos90]

i meant the top of the rocks, sorry. at the top of the water line maybe 1" down is around 600.

i plan to do the whole tank and label a picture and post it, but havent had time yet.

 

[mos90]

i am also debating using a black eggcrate for a cover. i need to test and see if i loose par with it on.

 

[dzhuo]

i meant the top of the rocks, sorry. at the top of the water line maybe 1" down is around 600.

This seems much more reasonable.

 

[mos90]

what do u think about the supplement bulbs.

 

[dzhuo]

I personally do not use any supplement lighting but your set up is very typical; nothing jumps to mind that concerns me.