Too much light?

I've been wanting to invest in a new light fixture to be able to keep SPS. My tank is 24" deep. I currently have some softies; shrooms, toadstool etc, some LPS; brain, frogspawn. also some zoas, xenia and GSP. These all under 2x96watts PC's and 2x40watt actinics. All are fine at present under that lighting for about 11-12 hrs per day.
Now, I want to move up to some SPS and clams. I know that my current light fixture is too little for SPS so I want to purchase this new light Odyssea Metal Halide System
I think that this light would this be sufficient for SPS and Clams?
But would it be too powerful for my current Softies and LPS?
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks

 

IMHO

250 watt halides wont be a problem for softies and LPS corals once they get accustomed to them,

so you would probably be best to gradually acclimatise them to the new lighting
either by
screening the top with mesh screens , 4 layers - and then remove 1 layer a week until full light is achieved

or by decreasing the light up period down to 4 or 5 hours a day and then increasing it by 1 hour per week, until you get to desired time

Im pretty sure Amcarrigs 90 has 400 watt MH over it, and there are or at least where LPS corals in there

Steve

 

I agree with Steve, it shouldn't be a problem for your current corals. However, keeping soft corals and sps corals in the same tank can be tricky. Make sure to run carbon and try to keep the sps corals "up stream" of the soft corals.

 

Ok then, I'll be ordering the fixture tonight then The screening sounds doable but the shortened on time period sounds a bit easier. It would be kind of difficult to find enough egg crate to cover four layers on top of my DT. I will try to find another type of mesh to use instead of the egg crate.
However, my DT is 125gal. If my calculations are correct, 400W over a 90 gal equals to a little over 4watts per gallon and the light I want to get is 1072W over a 125gal which is equal to over 8watts per gallon!

I did not know this. Please inlighten me a bit on this topic.
Why is it classified as tricky? And how would the carbon help?

 

hey siddique I may have misled you - I dont think they have just 1 x 400 watt over the 90
Im sure they have 2

Steve

 

Oh well in that case, no worries.
Thanks Steve

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/180-up-running-37609-29.html

welcome - check this out - thread starts with a 180 , but due to problems a 90 needs to be set up - on page 35 or 36 you will see the 90 has 3 x 400 watt halides over it

Steve

 

Use screen door material. Plastic and cheap.

Chemical warfare between the corals. The carbon will help absorb the chemicals if it does happen.

 

Thanks for the link Steve. Wow. that's a lot of light, I never knew that such powerful lighting would be possible. I feel much more comfortable now.
Cheers

 

I see. Would chemical warfare still take place if the corals are not even close to each other? Would this explain why my finger leather and toadstool both look limp and/or deflated?

I'll do some looking around for the screen door material. Thanks