180/200 gallon sps lighting advice.

I am getting ready to upgrade from a 70 gallon to a 180 or 200 gallon tank. I have a few options on which tank but they all have the same lighting currently. 4x96 watt pc. I know I need more light but budget is also a consideration. I have an almost new 36" 8x39 wat t5 on my 70 gallon. I could either get another 36" 8x39 or I also consider 3x 250watt metal halide to suppliment the current 4x96watt pcs. Or should I scrap the pcs all together and start new? If there room in the canopy getting a new 36" t5 would be the least exspensive option. I like the idea of metal halides for shimmer but I have never used them and am worried about heat and cost. I do have AC in the summer so I don't think I will need a chiller. Any ideas. Retrofits,metal halides,new t5s.

 

I'd get another 8x39 t5 unit since your on a budget and put them side by side installed into a wood canopy..
624 total watts of t5 over a 6' wide tank should get you by for a while.. and also if you already have 4x96w pc fixture and have the added space in the canopy throw those in there too. that will put ya around 1000w t5+pc combined.. not bad.

 

What are the dimensions of the tank and what types of corals do you want to keep?

 

The 180 is 72 x 24 x 25 . I have a mixed tank right now, but am moving more toward SPS. I had thought about breaking down my 36" 8x39 watt t5 and using it to suppliment 3x250watt or 3x400watt metal halides. Getting another 8x39watt only give me 624 watts plus the pcs 384watts totaling 1008 watts. I know this configuration will be cooler than metal halides. I like the shimmer of metal halides though and also had though about adding leds to get that effect. Possibly 3 powerbrites?

 

everyone going to recommend MH's but it really up to you.. you should have enough room in the canopy for any configuration you choose. at least the tank isnt that deep so going t5s/pc combo can be done..

 

Go with the T5 definitely

 

with the depth I would say 250-400w halides. you can probably get away with three halides over it. If you have to choose reflectors use lumenbrite or lumenmax ones.

 

well, I am torn on what to recommend. Both t5ho and Mh will work fine, but since you already have a newish 8x39 t5, you might want to go with another 8x39 unit for the other side.

Or, sell the 8x39 you have, get a 6 x 80 retrofit of t5ho and be done with it, Or go with 3x250 of MH.

If you go with mh, you will want to run some fluorescents for supplementation at least.

You will need to do some number crunching. Now replacing 16 3 foot t5ho every year will be pricey. 400 dollars a year for bulbs with 16 3 footers is a bit crazy. If you went with 60" t5ho 980w) then 6 will easily light it extremely well. that's only about 150 dollars per year of bulbs. halides will be about 180 a year for bulbs, plus at least 2 80w t5ho for another 50 dollars. then you need to weigh the electrical costs too, and costs of ballasts and reflectors and endcaps.

 

Thanks Horkin,
Thats my delima. I have been going round and round with what is the best decision in the long run and you brought out some more points I had'nt even thought of. I feel like I'm leaning toward either a new retrofit of t5s or metal halides. I am familiar with t5s and have shimmer envy for metal halides. I kinda want both, but never haveing had metal halides I am kinda nervous about heat buildup and energy cost. Plus I don't want to create another problem and then have to buy a chiller.

 

I would do 3 250w MH. If you use a 14K bulb or higher kelvin rating bulb, then you really don't need supplemental actinics, only if you want to. I like the MH, b/c the depth of the tank is a little over 2ft and the number of T5 bulbs you will need is crazy. Sell the current T5 fixture and pick up some nice reflectors and I would do a retro fit kit with the MH.