MH lighting question

[rockerpeller]

Hey everybody,

Just wondering if a 150 Metal Halide DE would be too much over a 7.4 gal (40cmL X 25cmD X 28cmH) tank? I have a spare ballast and bulb holder leftover that I want to put to use. Whether it will be in a canopy or make up a ghetto pendant, I have no clue yet.

I was planning of having an anemone or a few zoos with a clown and thats all. I know that having an anemone in a tank this small would create a problem but I will have another 4ft reef tank running so I can transfer it if it gets too much.

Not being able to get many nano marine related things where I am really restricts what I can do with this tank. Although I can get 70MH ballasts I'm not sure if I can get the right Spectrum bulbs. I've been on few sites with info regarding lighting and they have contradicting info regarding the amount of light in a nano, so I thought I'd ask here.

Cheers

I also should have said that it will have a 50L sump tank which will hold all the equipment, with a modified Aqua Clear 500 as a fuge. And it will be in an air conditioned room through the summer months.

 

[reefman23]

:welcome to nanotank.com!

That would be quite a bit of light on that size tank, but it can be done. A pendant-style set-up would work best for two reasons. One being the reduced amount of heat versus a canopy, the other being you can raise the pendant up higher to control both the amount of heat and light. You will have to acclimate everything very carefully to the lighting. The sump can help with the heat too. I would suggest putting a 10cm-15cm or so fan down there that blows over the surface of the water. This can drop the temp a few degrees. Also, go with a 20,000k lamp. This will give a bluer tint without the use of actinic lighting and also generally be less intense as the lower kelvin lamps.

Here's my question though... why not get a tank that is a little larger? Usually the tnak is the least expensive investment. A 150 watter would work even on a standard 20 gallon (~60cmLx30cmDx45cmH). Is the tank already set up?

I hope all of this helps.

Jesse

 

[rockerpeller]

Cheers for the welcome .
I was thinking of a bigger set-up but this is just for my sons room so it has to be rather small and unobtrusive.

 

[Trogdor]

i think a 150w MH light will be more obtrusive than a larger tank... :lol:

 

[rockerpeller]

I was thinking of puttin the bulb and holder in a 500w halogen floodlamp casing then connecting the casing to a retractable desklamp arm.
That way the fitting can be raised and lowered to whatever height is needed (up to 20inches above the tank), and its still small and is not in the way.

 

[reefman23]

I was thinking of puttin the bulb and holder in a 500w halogen floodlamp casing then connecting the casing to a retractable desklamp arm.
That way the fitting can be raised and lowered to whatever height is needed (up to 20inches above the tank), and its still small and is not in the way.

Sounds good! If you wanted to spraypaint the casing you can use the high heat spraypaint designed for barbeques and such.

Jesse

 

[Trogdor]

You might want to fire it up outside if you paint it with the paint that Jesse recommended. It will probably smoke a bit the first time it's fired up after you paint it.