Should I switch to 4 - 150W MH?

[Schplitter]

Hi guys,

I have a 100 gallon 6ft tank. 72X18X17H. I have two 250W MH over the tank right now with the Mini Lumenaric reflectors. Coverage is good but there are shaded places from the braces...

I really don't want to add a 3rd 250W becasue it would have to be placed over the center brace and that defeats the purpose. The reason I want to change over to 4 150W is: Coverage, There are 4 holes and 3 braces so 4 lights makes sense. It would only add 100W to the total consumption.

Let me know what you think.

Thank you,

BK

 

[tall_jason79]

well it would give you better coverage and an extra 100 watts of light ... but is it cost effective? you could always fill in your darker areas with coral that prefers low lighting ... of course I have only been doing this for a couple of weeks lol ...

 

[StupidsReef]

I wouls say 4 is better than one. You can play with the diffrent K"s of color. IM LON 2 did that it was really cool. But he only had 3 lights I think the 4 would be sweet.

 

[saltyshoe_nano]

I would go for the 4 conversion, and do the different K affect, that would look really cool.....I am sure you could sell the other 250s to someone on here. JMHO but in the end its up to you and your wallet

 

[Schplitter]

My wallet hates this but after seeing Steve's tank ( new guy on here) with 900W of light over a 4ft tank I saw the difference... It's like night and day.

I bet I can find some kind of deal on here. Someone who wants to upgrade to 250W from 150s. Maybe even a trade...

What does everyone think about 150's. Are they intense enough?

Thank you,

BK

 

[Schplitter]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12109584#post12109584 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tall_jason79
you could always fill in your darker areas with coral that prefers low lighting ...

That's what I'm doing right now.

You will see, as soon as you have your tank where you thought you wanted it you will change something to "make it better."

Don't be affraid to chime in even if you are new. Fresh heads are always a good thing.

 

[tall_jason79]

thanks everyone here has made me feel very welcome and believe it or not that makes a real difference there is alot of knowledge on this forum and thats hard to find ! oh and if you decide to go with the 150's i am looking for a set of 250's its on the list along with more live rock

 

[DrBDC]

4 175 Iwasaki 15,000k's would do awesome. Probably more ppfd/par each than what you're running now.

 

[Schplitter]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12110240#post12110240 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tall_jason79
thanks everyone here has made me feel very welcome and believe it or not that makes a real difference there is alot of knowledge on this forum and thats hard to find ! oh and if you decide to go with the 150's i am looking for a set of 250's its on the list along with more live rock

I will let you know about my setup as soon as i figure out what exactly to get...

 

[Schplitter]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12110853#post12110853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DrBDC
4 175 Iwasaki 15,000k's would do awesome. Probably more ppfd/par each than what you're running now.

I'm worried about my fuse box blowing up. I will have to get lostmarbles out to my place to add a couple 20A circuits before I do anything.

Another thing my wallet will hate.

 

[tall_jason79]

schplitter do you own your own place ? maybe a basement ? i'm an electrician so of you have the panel space and amperage putting a 20 amp recpt could be something i could help out with

 

[trottman]

i have 4 x 150 over my 4 foot tank. i woudl say do more on a 6 ft tank

 

[Schplitter]

tall_jason79:

I have my own place but I have no basement. It's a condo/villa. I can do anything I want inside but can't and won't clean the yard lol.

It seems to me like there are pleanty of empty spaces in the box to put another one or two 20 amp things in there. Wires would have to go up the wall 20ft across the attick and down the wall. I ran my RO/DI that way...

The reason I would like two dedicated 20 am circuits at the tank is because it seems like they wired half the place (2 bedrooms and dining room) to one 20 amp circuit and the rest of the place is all over the place...

If you have the time to come over and tell me what to do I'm handy and home depot is only 2 minutes away

Thanks.

Trottman:

There is no way I would do more then the 4. This is already going to cost $600+

 

[Schplitter]

What do you guys think about this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Single-Double-E...ryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[TWINPEAKS]

Look ok the only thing I notice is that they are using a magnetic ballast (less energy efficient) than a electronic one.

 

[chadfarmer]

what reflerctors are you using you might get away with 3 250w

how many center braces does the tank have?

 

[biz50]

bk you know thats how i roll baby if it was me i would buy 2 more 250 you got 2 already instead of buying 4 150

 

[sirreal63]

You could always retro 150's into LumenArcs...I did that and the difference it made was night and day. The LAIII mini makes the 150's a respectable light. It is an easy retro too. I would avoid the no-name lights, I had to learn the hard way to use the right stuff. I changed my lighting 4 times in 2 years before I figured it out.

 

[Schplitter]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12114641#post12114641 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chadfarmer
what reflerctors are you using you might get away with 3 250w

how many center braces does the tank have?

I have a glasscages tank with a really crazy thick center brace. There is no way I can do 3 and gain anything... I think they used 2 40 gallon breeder braces to make this tank.

 

[Schplitter]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12115610#post12115610 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by biz50
bk you know thats how i roll baby if it was me i would buy 2 more 250 you got 2 already instead of buying 4 150

AmerenUE already loves me. I don't want to marry them.