MH Recommendation

I am running 2 HOt5 fixtures over my 90g tall, a 4 and 2 bulb. The 4 bulb is an old Nova without individual reflectors. I am looking to do an upgrade. I like what I get out of my t5's, but wonder about MH.

I do not have a hood. Would 2 250W MH be in an Orbit be overkill? I am worried about bleaching my coral, never mind having to wear sunglasses to look at my tank. Would my coral react badly to the switch? My rock is stacked high.

I have SPS, LPS, softies, ... a little bit of everything.

 

i dont think that would be too much, you would have to do some serious light acclimation to avoid bleaching tho. and make sure your softies and non photosynthetics are very low

 

2 x 250 wouldnt be too much, and no you wouldnt have to bury all your softies & nps at the bottom of the tank. its all about the light acclimation. just light acclimate them with a limited photo cycle of hang the lights hi & bring them down over time (or preferably both).

another kinda easy technique is to use the crappy factory bulb as part of your break in then once everything is good upgrade to like some 14k phoenix bulbs and go for the big color pop!

 

i didnt sy bury the softies, just have them of course lower in the tank than the lps and sps. just common sense

 

and relax. its a forum and we're all adding our own advice/opinions.

 

its a common sense scenario, sps on the highest rocks, then lps, then sps, then non photosynthetic. i am relaxed this is just the way he will have the best results. if you have softies in overwhelming light they wont open as big. and non photosynthetic corals and such wont open at all from the shock of such a bright light.

 

You probably don't "need" the 250s for a mixed reef and there can a benefit to having more a light gradient in such a tank. This is so corals can be placed at varying light intensities.

Not all corals are going to need or even be happy with MHs. I had some LPS corals directly under a 4 bulb T-5 in one tank that were thriving, but bleached out at the bottom of a 24" tall 93 cube, with a 250 MH, even after significant acclimation. The 250 has a very good reflector though, and also, the vodka vinegar dosing likely plays a role. In general though, certain corals are happier under intense lighting and others not so much. However, with acclimation you can do it, but with some corals, it can take some work. So, it just depends if you think there is a benefit for your situation and whether or not it fits your goals better.

A 6 bulb T-5 is another option. There is a benefit to more lights, as you have more control and can extend the photo-period. You probably won't want to run the MHs as long, but of course you could add supplemental lighting to do so. Again though, in the end you just need to decide what your goals are and what kind of a tank you want. My 93 has more acros than I originally intended, just because the shallow water acros seem to be doing the best. I really like LPS corals, but placement of LPS corals is certainly more limited with this setup. I am happy with the lighting and results though, but the system requires some strategic arrangement for sure.

 

A good 6 bulb was the original plan, then sell off my other 2 fixtures. Thanks all for the input.