Lighting Question

I have a coralife aqualight PRO. It has a 150W MH and 2 65W Actinic lights.

I have my tank in my office in my home. I also have a lot of windows. I keep the blinds shut to keep the direct sunlight off of the tank...but it does get warm in the room in the summer time just because of the sheer amount of glass.

As a result of this problem, I only run the Metal Halide light for about 6 hours. With a fan blowing across the water to encourage evaporative cooling. If I run it any longer, the temperature will get too high and I risk coral loss. Also, I have noticed that my temperature dips at night and I am seeing a daily range of 4 degrees...78 at night and 82 at the end of the MH lighting cycle. I know this is less then Ideal..

So my question...Knowing I do not have room for a chiller in my office...would I be better off replacing my Metal Halide light with all PowerCompacts? I see that I can get a fixture with about 200W of total power - split 50/50 with Daylight bulbs and Actinics.

I think with the PC set up, I could run a longer light cycle, and would have less of an temperature issue. So is it better to have less light for a longer period of time, and a more stable temperature set up? Or is it better to have more total light for less time and have the temperature fluctuations?

Another thing of importance is my tank is 24" deep - 65 gallon - probably only about 55 gallons in the display tank by the time you factor in displacement from the sand, liver rock, etc.

Also, my corals are not doing great...the look okay..but they are not thriving. I maintain correct water parameters, I do regular water changes, etc.

Also...I keep only soft corals in this tanks. No SPS or LPS.

Finally, one benefit to getting new PC lights...is I will have then have an extra MH lighting system...which I can use on another tank in a cooleer area of the house

Thoughts?

Thanks

 

That is getting awful high on the temp, no wonder your coral are not doing good. You need to keep the temp as stable as possible. Try switching you lighting cycle to the evening and night instead of the mid day when it is the hottest and see if that helps. You have a good light system now and would hate to see you down grade to PC. The fan you are using, how much CFM does it move?

 

Not sure on the fan CFM's. Agree on not wanting to change out the lights, but I feel like I am out of options. It's great that the Halide puts out a lot of light, but if I can't use it for a decent amount of time, it does me no good. It's really frustrating that is for sure.

 

Try putting a fan in the sump, it helped my tank a bunch and I burn 3 400w MH's. How big is the fan you have blowing across the top of the water, 4" 6"?

 

Why not have a look at t5 vho.You can have all the light you want for as long as you want and not overheat the tank.With units both retro and manufactured fixtures available with single lamp reflectors they are the equal of metal halide without the heat or bulb expense.Have a look at the ice cap retro kits and Aquactinics fixtures in the attached link.
T5HO Retro Kits - DIYReef

 

Absolutly no requirement for MH with only softies.

They actually will do much better with much less lighting.

I have a new nano setup - 12 gal jbl - with only 24w of lighting. Kenya trees and finger leather moved from main tank growing much faster and expanding fuller then sisters in main tank (125) with a 250w MH and 4 65w pc's.

Also have zoa's and two small BTA's that are thriving in the nano.

I will post some pics in another thread...

 

if its a small tank look into a Thermoelectric probe chiller for it ? If its a small tank I'd look to VHO's far better then anything else that burns in a tube

 

The fan is 6" I believe.

Thanks for the advice on the VHO, and the info on success with the PC's.

Please keep the advice coming! I'm looking to make some decisions this week if possible.

Thanks

All

 

As a follow up question...any opinion on T-5's vs. PC's?

 

I think the most important factor here is the ambient temp of the room in which you're keeping the fish tank in. You mention that there are "cooler areas of the house. Does this mean that you're you're not running a central a/c? Or is it just that the room gets direct afternoon sunlight?

The solution might be as easy as tinting the windows in that room, assumming it's athstecicaly pleasing, (and ok with the wife of course)
Many newer homes and houses that have new windows installed have the windows tinted or are usually already done so by the manufacturer. It makes a huge difference.

Living in S. Florida - the temp here rarely goes below 80 in the summer time (even at night) and I keep the house at 75 degrees. I have two small fans in the canopy that are on 24/7 to keep air moving at all times and to lessen the ammount of humidity that builds up in the canopy which contributes to heat build up. And when my main lights go on (4 - 96watt PC's) , I have two four inch fans that come on which will blow the hat off a pimp . . . . . that being said, even after cycling different powerheads on and off with the lights, my temp varries between 80.5 to 81.7. Which works for me. Some might say its a little high but I have Torch coral that is growing agressively and Polyps (yello/Star Zoa's) that are spreading nicely.

I also agree with Otty - a fan in the sump will help out alot, thats actually my next step - as threre is no room for a chiller under my set up as well.

But hey, new lights = the possibility for more fish tanks in the home, and who would be opposed to that?