Lighting

This is the largest area of controversy. Personally I prefer to use fluorescent tubes with a combination of 1/3 actinic white and 2/3 actinic blue. I use approx 3.3 watts per gallon and on my 200 this comes to 660 watts. My lights are 2 sets of HO and one set of VHO .One HO is actinic white the other is actinic blue, the VHO is also actinic blue. Each set of lamps are on a separate timer so as to come on and off gradually , also the lights are on for approx 9 hours per day. They come on at 2pm and off at 11 p.m.

I feel that the FLO light is more evenly dispersed across the tank than a halide. Halides IMO are to really boost the wattage say above 6+WPG where if you were to use FLO it would not be physically possible. I would think this high power lighting to be used by those who are planning to keep allot of hard corals and are aware of the initial and more importantly long term cost of operation.

Above 5 WPG is VERY costly to run day in and day out. Do some simple calculations of wattage for your tank and estimate the amount of electricity used. In my case, the example is... lights on 9 hours a day X 365 days = 3285 hours per year X 660 watts = 2,168,100 watt/hours per year or the equivalent of turning on 21,681 100 watt bulbs for one hour!!! My electricity costs approx $50 per Mon. to run a 200 gallon, including pumps which are 2 little giant 1200GPH presspumps. I am sure it would be considerably more if the wattage were doubled. This is a fact that should be seriously considered before beginning your desired set-up and purchasing the livestock.

I've noticed on the big tanks, 55g and up, that the lighting is much more intense per surface area of the tank. Is it? figure your surface area most factory tanks excluding odd sizes have a surface/bottom ratio of 9 LXW divide by gallons

Also, halides usually they have to be supplemented with the long wave blue spectrum (usually actinic blue FLO) I also feel the actual light from halides to be more confined to the area directly under the lamp. This can be a benefit if you use them and place the highest liverock specimens under the lamp. What I would really like to see from reefkeepers is a long term cost Vs wattage as to what really is the most effective. These are my personal preferences and reasons.

To conclude here I use a combination of HO and VHO conventional tar ballasts to get the desired wattage. I have been hearing allot about the electronic ballast these days but they seem to have their problems. I understand my ballasts are not the most efficient but have worked without fail for over 5 years in this particular example. Also I replace the bulbs approx every 6 to 8 months. Replacing the lamps at this interval has the largest positive effect on my photosynthetic livestock.

Lighting Adjustment

I am using a 150w metal halide lamp(6500k, dupla) for my 3feet overflow system tank. Is the light too strong for my corals? I have red,brown mushroom,star,yellow propts,leather,tube worms, buttons.

You don't say what size the aquarium is? length? width? depth? gallons? although the livestock you describe is relatively lower light in a 3 to 4 watt per gallon range, possibly less.

I have just installed the lamps for 2 days, 15 inches above water level, but the corals seems to shrink. This is most likely temporary the animals should adjust It seems they are in the process of doing that. I am using actinic tubes 4(40w) previously, it's OK!

What is the K? And are some of them Blue? This may be missing from the halide From a wattage standpoint you have 4 x 40 = 160 watts and the new bulb is 150 so It doesn't seem to be an impact from increased wattage.

Can I keep the corals with the new lamp?

I think so, give them a week or so and see how they adjust. If they don't seem to do well after 2 weeks you may want to go back to your old system.

I am fairly new to reefkeeping and I want to set up a 60 gallon tank. I figure 2 175 watt MH 4 40 watt Compacts Total wattage 510/60 = 8.5. Is this right?

Lets see...

2x175=350+4x40=160=510 divide by 60gal=8.5per gal

Well, IMO thats allot! especially for someone who is starting and will cost allot to run and replace bulbs for the long term. Most people who use that amount of light keep SPS or small polyp stony coral and high light Tridachna clams. The SPS are THE most difficult to keep and IMO are only done by experienced hobbyists. I would recommend, going with lower light creatures for a year or so then if you decide you want to go further...you can. Low light creatures are very beautiful and most are extremely hardy moreso than high light see my talk

That pretty much sums up my approach, and what I would recommend. Doing a reef,well...put it this way, is much more than powerful lighting. Things such as animal selection, skimmer choice and placement,aquascaping, amount of liverock and water turnover are very important as well. To try and sum up about lighting...consider the long term cost of bulb replacement and running high wattage day in and day out. Also notice the average watts in the survey is 5.2 I recommend a min of 3 to max of 5 for beginners (do I ever catch hell from that, BUT the survey SHOWS an average of 5)

BULBS / WATTAGE This is how I understand it VHO=very high output 48in=115watts HO=high output 48in=60watts NO=normal output I refer to this as "standard" output48in=40watts 3 Different bulbs from a wattage standpoint as would the ballast’s be to drive them wattage examples are next to the description.

I'm matching two of these with 1 VHO NO super actinic white bulb and 1 VHO NO blue bulb. These are both URI bulbs. I buy from URI actinic white looks "white" but has blue you cant see in it actinic blue is BLUE never used the actinic "sun"

I don’t know about VHO NO... sounds like an oxymoron, I'm sure when you ordered them you told the guy what kind of ballast you have, so...?

I HAVE BEEN WONDERING IF ITS POSSIBLE TO POWER THESE H.O. FLOURESCENTS WITH STANDARD BALLAST’S. SPECIFICALLY, CAN 2 40WATT 24" H.O. BULBS BE RUN ON A 12$ BALLAST DESIGNED TO POWER 2 40 WATT 48" BULBS?

I doubt it Ballast’s are designed to power/run a specific wattage so even if the lamp lights I don’t think you will be putting out the correct wattage. I would check with your supplier

I have a 60 gallon tank and my lighting system is a Hamilton 4' system with 2 5500K 175 Watt MH bulbs and 4 - 4' VHO actinic blue bulbs. 2x175=350 4x115=460 for a total of 810 watts divide by 60 gal is... Oh... lets see .... 13.5 watts per gallon.

It seems like way too much, Yes it does either ONE of the systems would be fine ;-)

I'm a little confused about the lighting suggestions anyway. Most manuals like your book recommend 3-5 watts/gallon. I seem to have about 9 or so, but if I had a 120 gallon tank that for some reason was 48' x 30' (same width) then the recommended wattage would be 360-600 watts, but the depth of the tank would be the same...?

This hypothetical 120 gallon... 48 x 30 x ? the ? would come to 18 in deep and the 3 to 5 WPG would hold in effect IMO You can have all kinds of hypothetical examples of tank sizes and WPG comparisons that very obviously become ineffective with the WPG "rule of thumb"

The best one I have heard is... "If I had a 45 gallon tank that was 12"X12"X 72" tall using your recommended 3 to 5 watts per gallon would not effectively reach the creatures on the bottom of the tank and the top of the tank would be drastically OVERLIT" When I talk about WPG, that range is for commonly available tanks, tank sizes most people use, particularly in the range of 55 gallons and 120 gallon.

My simple survey shows an "average" of 5 WPG There are very few people using above 8.

Keep in mind... Long term costs! replacing 4 VHO and 2 MH is allot of $$ and running high wattage day in and day out is allot of $$ If you choose high light creatures from the beginning...then basically you are committed for long term BIG $$$ replacement costs and electricity consumption.

To sum up about lighting, what is most important is.. what kind of creatures you plan to keep? The book Simplified Reef Keeping is directed at beginners. So, I would assume the novice would want to start with relatively easy to keep creatures (low larger light) or in the 3 to 5 watt range. Then, once a decent level of personal experience is acquired, one could "move up" to the more demanding creatures.

I have given a talk specifically about this called high tech low tech tanks. I plan to try and clear this up in the revised edition due in mid fall of 97.

How high should I suspend the lights of the tank? They're probably about 6" from the water right now (the actual bulbs, I mean). The VHO should be around 4 to 5 in ( bulb to waterline) depending on your hood and how it sits on the tank Closer is better, but not so close that splashes could be a problem or electricity "jumping" from the bulb holders. 4 to 5 in is about right. IMO

The halides depending on the fixture enclosed with the VHO? then your dictated. Using a hanging pendant you can start with 6 to 8 in. A good setup for pendants would be to have it hung from the ceiling and adjustable.

270 x 4 = 1080 watts, which is 6 - 175 watt metal halides! I'm thinking 4 (still that's 700 watts) is more reasonable.

How about 2 10000K 400watt halides? cheaper to relamp than 6 175

2. What size tank will the protein skimmer design in your book handle? Will making it taller or bigger in diameter with a larger pump make it "better"?

Yes But why don't you build a downdraft? Its pretty easy I could also dig up a URL for a online version here you go http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cap/pictures/myreef/skimmer/index.html if you need help I can give you some ideas

Is lifting the cup off and wiping out the lift tube all that is needed to clean a skimmer on a regular basis?

Basically, but you want to have it be "pretty easy" to take outside and blast with a hose like monthly..

Several posts to the newsgroups suggest continual cleaning is necessary to keep the skimmer operating efficiently. Well you'll get allot of opinions there . Yes, cleaning it regularly will improve performance, BUT not enough to warrant being a fanatic. You'll see its no big deal, just have it so its not a PITA to take out. The easier it is to come out the better.

What is UV absorbing acrylic?Would it be lexan?

have a look @ http://www.athiel.com/lib4/par1.htm and http://www.athiel.com/html/library.htm that will give you some more ideas

How can I calculate heat temperatures/distance of the lighting cover so I can select the right cover the first time?

IMO you are better off with glass or no cover again its the old "don't try and cram as much as possible in a space"

I have a couple of MH 175 watt Coral life pendants that I picked up used.

well sure, if you picked them up used go for it they are nice lights

What are the pro's and con's of using pendants? pro nice clean looking light "shimmering" on the surface. Powerful and direct, you can place high light corals rite under the bulb. corals do very well under mh light Pendants give you an open top for ++ evaporation good opportunity to add kalk.also probably gives a less cluttered look to the top of the tank....more high tech looking.

con possibility for heating the tank or making cooling difficult. More difficult to cool with a fan?? More coral growth = higher calcium demand you have to be on top of that..Calcium and alkalinity. Lamps are fairly expensive (but what isn't) they are from 80 to 100 ea and need replacing in a year max

I was considering replacing the 8 month old bulbs with 10K bulbs I've been hearing the 65K being more desirable... This is always changing I hear the 10 k are a greenish white and may need actinic (blue) supplementation. Using *just* 0r *only* 10 K may not be desirable. The real expert on this is my friend Sanjay Mani you can get his email address off of my survey send him a mail asking about using only 10K and you can tell him I sent you ( he is a very nice, well informed fellow and uses all kinds of MH.)

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