would you do 150's or 250's

[xxxbadfishxxx]

Well i am getting mixed reviews from people, half say get 250's, half say get 150's. I am upgrading to a 120 (48x24x24) probably sometime over the summer. My reef will be predominatly a mixed reef with some SPS, a lot of Zoos, Rics, some soft corals and LPS. I have heard from people with 250's bleaching and killing there lower light corals. I am still up in the air between the two.

It will be an Outer Orbit HQI/T5 fixture, which would you choose?
A) - 2x150 MH 4X54 T5 Actinic
B) = 2x250 MH 4x54 T5 Actinic

 

[kar93]

250's will be good for growth, if u keep the lowerlight corals in the lower light ares, they should be fine.

 

[mfinn]

You can have just about any coral you want with 250 watt mh.
You just have to acclimate them to the light, and it's very easy.
I use 3x250 watt mh on my soft coral only tank. I never considered 150's.
Do yourself a favor and get the 250's now.

 

[mkbtank]

I had this fixture in 150 and just upgraded to 250's. Save yourself the money and buy the 250's the first time IMO.

 

[maroun.c]

Lots of factors go into play here and you really should be answering this question for yourself.
Do yo uhave a chiller?
what typte of corals do you have now and what are yo uplanning to keep in the future, seeing that yo uworry about the lower light needing corals it looks like your main interest is softies (this could change though)
Is running a lower electricity bill a concern?
In my case I also have a 24 inch high tank and I went with 150s as I believe that at this dealth they are sufficient. of course 250 would be stronger however my corals don't really require them. I will be supplementing with T5 and actinic fluorescents and I believe I will have enough lights for many types of corals. In my case we suffer of very frequent powerfailures and my backup generator/UPS is very limited so 150 was more logical than 250. also I can't fit a chiller in my stand nor anywhere in the room where it would not be annoying so I believe I can manage the heat of 150s more than 250s. Hope I will not regret it soon.

 

[Macimage]

If electrical cost is not a concern, get the 250's.

Joyce

 

[snorvich]

I highly recommend 250. You get a better bulb choice in addition to the other benefits above.

 

[cashman95]

Some 150's put out great par, and would be a great option, but 250's will accomidate you for all your future needs!

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

Thanks for all your replies. I do not need a chiller since i will be doing a basement sump and it is pretty cool year round. That and my wife is a big A/C Person and it is always cool in our place year round. Our basement is so cool i imagine that the heaters will kick on more then i would like. I would imagine the 250's will heat up the water more requiring the heaters in the tank to come on less, but the turn around is the A/C will probably need to run more as well.

Where i live Electricity is just over 10 cents KWH, just using RC's Electricity calculator at 12 cents kwh the difference is only around 5 bucks a month, which isnt that bad. That is running full spectem at 7 hours and actinics at 10. The 150's come out to 15.55 and the 250's come out at 20.66

I really enjoy everything, I have some SPS (i like monti caps) and a few easier peices, but i cant give up the movement of my LPS like my Torch and hammer, and i absolutely love Zoos, Rics, Colt, colorful shrooms and even GSP's.

I am still on the fence.

Below is a pic of my tank currently, it will probably be similar just bigger.

 

[Whisperer]

Go with 250. I used to have 150 on one end and a 250 on the other in my 120G tank. The SPS under the 150 lived but never grew until I decided to get another 250 (ballast was on sale). The corals began showing new buds when the 250 was installed.

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

so 250's hands down?