150 gallon reef lighting

Thanks in advance im building a fixture to hang from the celing for my 150 gallon tank 72"x28"tall 18"deep and my question is im planning out to have 2 250 watt MH bulbs with 4 60" t5ho

i would like to have any type of coral and not worry about it seems to be an openended question with MH setups as far as i read 250 watt is good to from 26-30 inches deep but thats about it

 

You should go 3 250W since they are good for 2 feet, I had heard 250W are good to 24", buy a top of the line t5ho kit and use top of the line bulbs and that will take care of your depth worries.

 

thanks 2in10 i have some raw mh ballast laying arround but i only have 2 probe start and 2 pulse start i was origanaly thinking of running 2 14k probe start bulbs and one 20k on one of the pulse start . but i couldent figure out how to design the reflector arround that then i figured heck go with 2 14k's and 2 20k's but gese thats intence not to mention m138 bulbs seem to be a pita to find for some reason m58's are everywhere

i have the ballast left over from a project from about a year ago and there brand new i figured why not use them i can bend me up a project box with some aluminum maybe ill try to find another m58 ballast and make it 3

 

Good luck, you should be able to find the m58 ballast no problem, sounds like you will have an enjoyable DIY project. Depending on your sand depth you maybe within working limits on the mh any way. Good luck.

 

I would skip making your own reflector for this tank. It just will not penetrate near as well as a high end reflector. Unless you want to be limited on placement of coral, don't skimp on the reflector.
I use IceCap pendant reflectors and can grow SPS on the sand with mine.

You will not be happy with just two lights. It will leave some very dark spots within your tank.

Do you have the older center brace, or the newer dual braces?

Edit: also, individual reflectors for those t-5 made a huge difference on mine.

 

ok guys i have gotton a third matching ballast and a sylvania t5 ballast and a total of 5 parabolic reflectors 3 for the halides and 2 for the t5's

in the mean time i built the lamp cabnet with fans as soon as i get a chance i will start another diy lighting thred like i have done with my 90 gallon 4 bulb vho setup