questions about lighting

[Dynaguytn]

Hello in here!
I am new to the reef tank scene, my wife got a 240 gal tank as a Christmas present, so I'm hoping for some advice. I should mention that I prefer to buy an expensive tool once, as opposed to buying a cheap tool several times over. I am most concerned about long term value-

1). I am impressed with the IceCap ballasts for MH lamps, if their advertizing claims are accurate. Does anyone here run them?

2). Our plan is to reuse a ~500 watt 48" Fluor fixture (with Actinic) from the current 55 gal, augmented with a 250 w MH at either end. Corals will be bunched near the ends under the MH. Would this scheme promote growth of both SPS and Clams?

3). As time & money permit, we may upgrade the lighting to promote faster & more varied coral growth. Does it make sense to start with 250's, or will I end up at 400's eventually anyway? (tank is 24" deep, 24" wide")?

Thanks for your time!

 

[cee]

Welcome to the obsession we like to tell our spouses is a hobby, and welcome to RC! IceCap ballasts have a very good reputation, although I don't run them personally. As far as you overall lighting plan goes, it really depends on what you want to accomplish. If you like the bluer look of 20k bulbs, you'll probably be happier with a 400W installation so you can get sufficient PAR to bring out the colors of the SPS corals. If you're OK with a 10k bulb or go with double-ended bulbs or Aquaconnect 14ks, 250W would probably be OK, especially if you purchase quality reflectors. My tank is 18" deep and I run 250W on LumenArc reflectors, and some of the corals receive too much light. Check out Joe's site http://www.cnidarianreef.com/ or http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=254667 for pictures of different 250W bulbs and Sanjay's site for PAR numbers and spectrums on different bulb/ballast combinations http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/. Hope that helps.

Dave

 

[acrodave]

[welcome]

 

[Dynaguytn]

Dave,
Thanks for the help, I'll be surfing awhile just on those-
-
Rich

 

[cee]

Rich:

Just trying to help out a fellow engineer and reefer. If you have further questions about the SE bulb, LMK. I've probably tried most/all of them.

Dave

 

[ct_vol]

I run Icecap ballasts on two Lumenarc mini pendants... I run 250w double end bulbs though... I'm very pleased with the ballasts... They give you good power without running up the electricity bill like my old ones did...

They are on my 120 which is pretty much half of what your tank is, so if you guys want to come take a look, you're more than welcome...