Enough for a 29 gal?

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Iceburg98

New Member
I'm planning on setting up a 29g tank soon, and was wondering what the best lighting setup would be...

So far, i'm trying to weigh the options between:

4x55w PC's
250w HQI MH
175w (might go to 250w) MH with 2x55 actinic PCs

Obviously, the third option is probably the best, but also the most expensive, and the first option, while the cheapest, would only let me keep softies and LPS.

Would the single HQI be adequate lighting? I know it'll be bright enough, but will it provide the right color spectrum (10k) on it's own for corals? or should it really have the actinic suplementation?

Also, the reflectors for these would only be 24" - is that ok if the tank is 30" wide?
 
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incysor

New Member
The actinic light is to make the light more appealing to our eyes. 10k is fine for the coral. Lots of folks use a 20k bulb which is bluer, and go without actinic supplements.

The 24" reflector will be fine. The height it's at over your tank will determine the spread of light through the tank.

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Iceburg98

New Member
I went and talked to the guy at my LFS today, and he said to go with a 250w 14k DE MH by itself.

He said that would be enough light to do anything i wanted in the tank (even SPS and clams), and the 14k spectrum would give everything that nice blue cast. Does this sound pretty accurate? He's running a few of those over his coral tanks and everything he has there always looks great - even the not-so-good looking stuff he gets traded in every now and then comes "back to life" under his lights within a couple of days.

I thought the specific wavelength of the actinics was the most beneficial for the corals??? Is it really just to "blue-out" the other lighting?

Also, would 2 3" fans be enough to not cook the tank with a 250w MH, and a glass top on the tank?

Does anyone make a 250w DE MH retro? All I can find are mogul socket retros... Is it possible to screw an HQI pendant (like the PFO mini's) into a canopy?
 
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incysor

New Member
You're not going to be able to keep glass tops over a tank with a MH light over it. Unless you want to go spend a ton of money on a chiller that is.
The you need as much open water to be able to cool the tank through evaporation.

The 14k is definitely more blue than the standard 10k, but they're still not as blue as the 20k. I've seen some stores that do this as well, and I ususally think the colors look washed out, but it's your tank and your taste that counts. The corals will be healthy either way. 8)

Nope the actinics don't really do much for the coral. The same useable wavelenghts in actinic lights are already available in the white ones. And in much higher output from the MH.

As for using the HQI pendant, lots of folks use them in their canopies. I've only seen it done on taller canopies, generally on larger tanks, but it's not uncommon at all. I haven't really seen a 29 with a canopy with one over it. With smaller tanks people usually just leave them open.

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Iceburg98

New Member
So which color temp would you recommend?

If i need to go "topless" to keep the temp down, is there any way to combat the evap? or am i just gonna have to top off every few days? Also, how would you keep moisture/splashing from hitting the lights? Or the fish from jumping out?

I was going to go with a canopy, because i don't want to risk hanging a pendant from my ceiling. For one, I don't think my landlord would be too happy, and two, I don't know where the beams are, and i don't want the roof caving in on my tank.

So, that's why i was going to use a canopy. I was thinking of going with a 250w mogul, with 2 3" fans to help keep it cool. I'd just have to get a high enough hood...

Basically, I want to be able to keep SPS and clams without spending too much of a fortune on the lighting...

Or would a 175w MH with 2x55w actinics be cooler while still allowing me to keep a clam?
 
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incysor

New Member
It'll be cooler, but not by much.
Build a canopy.
Your lights should be about 8-10" off the water so splashing shouldn't be an issue.
If you're concerned about fish jumping then just make it an enclosed canopy. (No open back).
Your exhaust should be double the intake. So if you have two 4" fans blowing into the canopy you should have four 4" fans pulling air from the inside to the outside. Or at very least have four 4" holes for the air to be pushed out of .

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Iceburg98

New Member
What if i do more of an open framework to hang the lights with, rather than an actual canopy? It wouldn't look as nice, but it wouldn't trap the heat either - if i had too, i could still add some fans to blow across the lights...
 
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Iceburg98

New Member
So maybe i'll just do that...

I'll do an open framework to hold the lights about 10" up, and not use a glass top...

I'd prefer the look of a canopy, but i don't want to have to install that many fans... i was hoping just 2 would do it...

I'm also curious about the different color temps - i think 14k looks nicer than 10k, but i've never seen anything under a 20k - is anyone running a single 20k that can post some pics?
 
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incysor

New Member
I don't know the difference in temp. I've never heard anyone mention that DE run cooler than SE, so there's probably not much difference. Since heat is something we're always fighting, it would have been listed if one was particularly cooler than the other. You do have to have a UV glass guard on the DE that you don't need on the SE. If for some reason that guard gets broken you can't run your lights until you replace it. One of the stores here trashed their display tank because they figured they'd get a new guard in a couple days, and went ahead and ran their lights without it. They killed probably 70% of the tank.

One clarification I should make about some of my statements about actinic lighting not being particularly necessary, is I'm talking about with the 250w MH over a 29. Actinic light can and will be used by coral. However the amount of light youd be putting out with the 250w MH is so much stonger that really the actinic would just be a drop in the bucket as far as the corals are concerned, so they would mainly be there to add some blue back for your eyes. Now if you're running four VHO's, with two being 10k, and two being actinic, then the ratio of the actinic light is much higher and the corals would be using more of the light from them. Hopefully that'll make more sense.

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Iceburg98

New Member
I know the DE's need the UV glass - and i've noticed that all the pendants come with it already. Also, I used to work at a frame shop, so getting a piece of UV glass would be no problem if i needed one.

Is there any real advantage to a DE over an SE? I've just heard that they are a little more concentrated light... If it's easier to find a SE retro, and you don't need the UV glass, it just seems easier to go SE

The guy at the LFS told me the same thing about the actinics too. He said that the MH will still provide the blue spectrum, but 2 55w PC actinics are gonna look like a moonlight compared to a 250w MH
 
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incysor

New Member
My understanding is that the DE setups tend to be a bit more energy efficient than SE. I haven't really done a ton of reading on them, because I've never looked at going to lights that bright. For what I'm interested in keeping I don't need them.

You're best bet is to spend a couple hours doing searches on RC and reading threads. It's not the most exciting reading as far as I'm concerned, but if I were concerned about it that's what I'd do.

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Iceburg98

New Member
Yeah, i've been reading some other sources as well trying to get as much info as possible, as well as talking to ppl who have similar setups - this would be my first time with MH lights and i just don't want to boil my tank (although i do like shrimp cocktails).

I think i've also heard that the DE's are a bit more efficient now that you mention it...

I also wanted to thank you, incysor for all the help and information you've provided me on this thread. I always enjoy reading your advice, even when you're giving it to someone else.. .always good stuff to know. :D
 
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incysor

New Member
No sweat. A lot of people helped me out when I was starting into this. Then I just kinda got hooked and read a ton. I'm glad I can help by passsing some of the info on to others. :smile:

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Iceburg98

New Member
Well, I think I may have figured out a solution to the heat issue.

I think I'm going to build a small shelf (16"x24" using braced L-brackets) and screw it into some studs in the wall, about 8-10" above the tank. I can then screw a pendant to that and get the light I want, with hopefully minimal heat issues. :D

Functional, and decorative :wink:
 
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incysor

New Member
Yep, it just depends on how much space you put between it and the shelf. I wouldn't bolt the reflector directly to the shelf. I'd hang it from the shelf with at least a couple links of chain between the two. I've read too many comments about people charring their canopies by putting the reflector directly against the wood to think it's a good idea.

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