question about the number of mh's

ok soo i keep reading over the interwebs(lol) that its recommended to have one mh per 2ft of tank but i keep looking and all 48" fixtures come with two mh's, whats with that? isnt' that waaaaaaaaaay over kill ?

now i keep thinking maybe a pendent situation BUT does that need alot of assembly?....we're not exactly very nifty with tools. If a pendent situation works best then do you buy the reflector/bulb/ballast asll seprately? i dont actually know how that works..........erm just wondering since we're considering an upgrade from pcs very soon...........

 

i have 3x250 mh over my 180 and have some cheap regluar reflectors and its fine SO much light

 

MH put out 2 Feet of tank coverage per lamp.

If you have a 4 ft tank only 2 are needed
6 ft = 3
and so on.

However, you can add them closer for a brighter tank.
I have a 3 ft tank and have 2 bulbs.

 

yes but wont doing that mean that u'll probably have to get a chiller because the mh's run so hot? i just dont understand y its 1 per 2ft yet all 48' fixtures have two......??.............lol maybe i'm being dense but i'm still confused.

 

48 inches is 4ft

so 2 x 2ft

and yes heat is one of the biggest drawbacks with MH , but it would be a great upgrade

have you considered T5 ?

Steve

 

Depends on how you have your corals/ aquascaping. I have a 180 with 2 X 250W and it's all I need. I do however wish the two lights were a little further apart... which they are on certain fixtures. Most people that have the standard reef all the way across will want the 3 light system.

 

WOW BRAINFART, ur right 48 is 4ft, woooooooow how did i flub that one!!!!!!!

lmao i guess i'll never get into med school now lmaoooo hahaha

 

What steve said. 48 inches is 4 feet, so 2 will cover a 48" tank.

I have 2x250 on my 75, and I have 0 heat problems. It stays under 80 degrees at all times. No chiller needed here.

 

well we thought about t5's but the way we figure, is that wouldn't replacing 6-8 bulbs a year be pretty costly? as opposed to replacing one or two mh? and also everyone swears there are certain things u can "only" keep under mh. which is the biggest thing. we're not really huge on coral but we dont want to someday see something in the lfs and then be disappointed when we're told we can't have it.


keep in mind......College students on a budget.

 

i kno i know i saw it. i'm a fail. lmao i'll go live in a box instead of becoming a doctor. *tear tear sob sob*