Suggestions on replacement lights - newbie 125G tank

[greyskyblue]

Hello,

We recently purchased a home with a 125G saltwater tank. The previous owners had the tank for 10+ years but had let it go. Out of the 7 bulbs, only 2 are currently working.


TANK SETUP:

125G, dimensions 72"W x 18"D x 22"H. It has a hood with 3 - Sunpark HID Electronic Ballasts, 120V, 150W. In it are 3 metal halide 10000 K bulbs. In addition, there are 4 - SunPaq Compact Fluorescent Lamps 96W Dual Actinic 420nm/460nm.

My tank has 2 spiny urchins, an old clarki clown, and 4 new fish - a yellow tang, blue tang, pyramid butterfly & a coral beauty. There are a couple of corals in it that are small and I have no idea what they are.


What would be the best bulbs I can buy to grow corals with this setup? And for the future, what could I replace this hood with for optimal light conditions for growing coral?

Any advice or suggestions are appreciated. Photos posted.

Thanks,

Gina

 

[rezac]

MH bulbs are pretty expensive. I was in a similar situation. I upgraded to the ebay LEDs and my corals have been growing like crazy! Just an idea.

 

[Ocean envy]

These would work well:

Phoenix Electric Company Metal Halide HQI 14000K DE Bulbs

They give the tank a light bluish look. I would replace all the bulbs. Place higher light demanding pieces at mid to top of the tank.

It's really nice that your new home came with that beautifully done setup. You might want to consider adding an actinic led strip to add more color pop and par.

 

[greyskyblue]

So I have been considering going all LED for the energy savings vs. my metal halide/power compact setup. My setup is 10 + years old and there are better lighting options now - plus I'm not sure the current setup did so well in growing corals. I'd like to stick with a 72" fixture because of ease and space available. Attached is a photo of the space for the current hood. You can see the L/R wood brackets where the hood fits.

rezac - thanks for the suggestion going LED. Do you have any suggestions on a 72" LED fixture?

Ocean envy - I have been reading on the forums about higher wattage metal halide + T5 combo lighting. Would going to something like that be better for growing coral, to increase the PAR? Something like this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MH-72-Metal...-250W-Bulbs-/111449285835?hash=item19f2e524cb

And would you still recommend adding an actinic LED strip to that?

 

[greyskyblue]

Reposting photo...