Would you use 250 watt or 400 watt halides for this setup

[reefsafe]

I will have sps on the top, LPS on the bottom of the tank

dimensions 84 long x 30 deep x 26 high? Thanks for your input!

 

[kar93]

1000w IMO. If you want SPS 4-5wpg is usually recommended.

 

[greenmonkey51]

250w should be enough as long as you're committed to SPS on top.

 

[kar93]

In a 280g, 250w will definitely not be enough. Think of coverage and penetration aswell.

 

[hahnmeister]

I have a buddy in WRS who has almost those exact same sizes with his tank, only 21" tall rather than 26". He also keeps loads of SPS up top and LPS down below... just like you want to. He uses 3x250wattDE Ushio 10,000K and 6x54watt T5s for blue and actinic suppliment.

I think its very boarderline... most likely depends on how many bulbs you want to use, and what K rating. With the extra 5" of depth, you would most likely need 4x the 250's, and have to keep them as 10,000Ks (so you would still need some supplimental T5s).

I could also see running the tank with just 3x 400 watt HQI ballasts and Aquaconnect 14,000K bulbs.

There is always a way to make either work... with a tank like that... its just a matter of how many bulbs and what color you are going for.

 

[kar93]

If you mean using more than one then i ignore my posts. 3x250w and T5 suppliments will be fine like hahnmeister said. either 250 or 400 would be fine.

 

[hahnmeister]

Yeah, I mean, you could opt to use just 3x250wattDE 10,000Ks or something, and then have 12x54wattT5s or something... that would be enough as well. That tank has many options.

 

[reefsafe]

thanks. Maybe 3 250 reeflux 12k and some nice t 5 supplementation

 

[McCrary]

I would do 250 watters if you are going to be running 10K and 400 watters if you are going to be running 14K, or 20K. A tank I set up for my buddy used a 400 watt 10K in the middle and 2x250 10K on the outsides in Lumenarc reflectors. The tank was the exact dimensions as the tank that you are setting up with the exception of being 24" tall rather than 26". Coverage was very good with the Lumenarc reflectors.

 

[reefsafe]

anyone else running one 400 and two 250's?

 

[snorvich]

Personally, I would go with 3x400 because it gives a huge amount of flexibility in how you aquascape when considering coverage. But that is just me. I do like those tank dimensions by the way as it will allow awesome aquascaping.

 

[McCrary]

If it was me I would go the 3x400 watt halides in like a 14K, but my friend had some LPS and such, so we didn't think that the LPS, shrooms, zoos and such needed the extra light, especially in a 24" tall tank. I'm sure they would have been fine under 400's, but the added cost and heat weren't needed so 250's were used.

 

[BangkokMatt]

I would certainly go with the 400w. You wouldn't have to worry about placement due to lighting needs and running costs wouldn't be excessively higher if you're using decent ballasts.
Just check out this months TOTM and see how much light Chingchai has running. The results speak for themselves.

 

[hahnmeister]

Im sorry, Bill's tank is 25" tall, not 21" like I said... He uses 3x250wattDE Ushio 10,000K and 6x 54wattT5...

Here is a composite PAR/photo of Bill's (gopack) 84x36x25"h reef...

 

[hahnmeister]

Thats when it was new, now its packed...

 

[basssnake]

I agree, i would put at least 1000 watts over it. that isn't even 4 watts per gallon if the tank is a 280 or so. I am sure there is too much light, which would probably be like in the 9 watts per gallon, but there is for sure not enough light.