Need lighting help with 12" tall frag tank!

[SPSkeeper]

Hello everybody, I am embarking on a new quest into frag tanks. I am thinking about getting a 33 long, which is 48 inches long, 13 inches in width, and 12 inches high. I am thinking about getting the fishneedit 70 watt metal halide and changing out the bulb. Since the tank is only 12 inches high, would the 70w be adequate? I do not want to go with a 150w due to heat and cutting down a little on the electrical cost. So here is what my thought is and where I need your help. I want to do one half with the halide for growth, and the other half with my favorite T5's for them to color up and get ready to sell/trade or whatever. Would that be feasible? What are your thoughts and advice? I will not have fish in there so I am not really thinking about running a sump or skimmer. It is going to be an SPS dominate frag tank. And maybe something like non photosynthetic corals in the middle or something. Anyways let me here the bad, the good, and the ugly lol.

Thank you for any input/advice, it is much appreciated!!!

 

[SPSkeeper]

Also, does anyone have any pros or cons about the fishneedit fixture if I change out the bulb? I was going to get the K2 viper but the reviews were not so great.. How long should I hang it over the tank?

 

[ronnie]

70w will be close to the minimum IMO.

Frag tanks are meant for quick growth. Get a 5 or 6 bulb T5 fixture for that sucker and grow some sticks!

 

[SPSkeeper]

70w will be close to the minimum IMO.

Frag tanks are meant for quick growth. Get a 5 or 6 bulb T5 fixture for that sucker and grow some sticks!

Even though it's only 12 inches high? Would a 150w ultimately be better? Because I will go that route if need be. I really wanted to try a dual setup, MH on one side for growth, T5's on the other to color up. :) better yet, what would you guys light it with if you were going to go with the dual setup.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

It's the spread issue . U cannot cover 4 ft with a 150 watt halide and get good color n fast healing with growth . The higher u raise to attempt to cover the length . The more the growth and color go out the window . I would do the 70 and 2 3 ft t5's minimum. Just my take on it .

 

[ronnie]

The other down side to 70w is the availability of bulbs, and price. You will pay the same for a 70w (or pretty close to it) as a 150w bulb, and are limited to only a few choices.

 

[SPSkeeper]

It's the spread issue . U cannot cover 4 ft with a 150 watt halide and get good color n fast healing with growth . The higher u raise to attempt to cover the length . The more the growth and color go out the window . I would do the 70 and 2 3 ft t5's minimum. Just my take on it .

Ohh no, I am going to have a halide on one side and T5's on the other, so it will only need to cover half of the tank. I guess I am going to go with the 150w but this will be my first venture into halides and have some more questions for you pros. One is the ballast, how hot do they get and where the heck do you put them? You can't put them on the carpet can you? They get really hot.. What about the ballast, electronic or magnetic, which is the way to go? And bulb choices, I am in over my head here lol. Please help! :)

 

[bkoppes]

Have the same tank. Get a 4 bulb tek fixture. Perfect coverage.

 

[ronnie]

I would never put anything electrical on the floor near a saltwater tank. You can mount the ballast on the wall near the tank, or under the stand if you want. I'd prefer out of the stand to eliminate any heat issues it might cause.

For bulbs - 14k Phoenix for color and growth - plus I've gotten 20 months out of mine easily when I was running 150s on my 75g SPS tank.

Ushio 10k bulbs are great for growth too. I've ran them as well, but had VHO actinics to add some blue.

 

[SPSkeeper]

I would never put anything electrical on the floor near a saltwater tank. You can mount the ballast on the wall near the tank, or under the stand if you want. I'd prefer out of the stand to eliminate any heat issues it might cause.

For bulbs - 14k Phoenix for color and growth - plus I've gotten 20 months out of mine easily when I was running 150s on my 75g SPS tank.

Ushio 10k bulbs are great for growth too. I've ran them as well, but had VHO actinics to add some blue.

Sweet, this is what I was looking for, thank you!!! What about the ballast, magnetic or electronic? Is there much of a difference? And I am probably going to find some type of metal box and put it up on there for safety.

 

[clowns101]

Here this will be very simple.

Put a 150 fixture on one side,a fish need it,aquatraders,etc

Then put some nice LED's on the other side,never have to by another bulb to color up your corals again........

 

[Troylee]

I got a diy 8 bulb fixture on my frag tank and it bleaches my sticks pretty bad... I had to raise it like 14" off the water..:( I would go with a all t5 set up myself... My display is radium, mh powered and the colors are more intense but the t5s in a shallow tank get it done..;)

 

[macawmagic]

Coming from someone who used to use a 33 long as a frag tank. I had a dual 150 mh fixture over it. My problem was taking corals that were under 250's, fragging them, and putting them under 150's. majority turned brown and I thought it was due to the lack of light.

If I were to do it again I think I would use a 4 or 6 bulb t5 setup over the tank and try that route out. Good luck with your setup!

 

[Reefwizard]

Why not use one of these, iot fit in normal socket

7 LED PAR38 Bulb

 

[solitude127]

I have a 24x24x12 frag tank and it was lit by a 150w MH w/ a phoenix bulb on a LumenMax3 pendant and didn't think there was enough light. When I tested the PAR on that tank I was only getting 130ish in the center and my frag rack was 6" tall. Since then, I changed to a 6x24w ATI SP and now I'm getting 300ish in the same spot.

 

[SPSkeeper]

Reefwizard, I do not like the "unspreadable" light with LED's, you just don't get the coverage like other types. Plus it's just too new for me to try yet. Thanks for the input though.

Thanks for the input solitude! With par numbers, that really helps bud! I have decided to go with a 150w metal halide for the one side of the tank, If that works out better than my T5's I might just get another one for the other side. But need some more help from you guys. I have about $250 total and would like to stay as close to that as possible. Marine Depot has a Hamilton Cayman sun 150w pendant with a 14k bulb and their ballast. Here is a link to it, does anyone here have anything pro or con to add about this option or maybe another option you could give me? Hamilton Cayman Sun Reflector DE HQI 14K System

The LED moonlights are not a selling point in case someone has it out for them lol. What about the bulb in this unit, is it compatible with other bulbs? It looks like their is some type of weird end caps to their bulbs.