lights for 200 gallon

[Dargason]

Please forgive me for asking yet another lighting question, but searching the forum has left me more confused than ever.

I have recently purchased a used 200g system. It included 3 400W 10K MH pendants. The LFS tells me that I really should add some actinic lighting.

Is actinic lighting really necessary for corals? I read in a book that it's mostly for looks.

I like the look of actinics and I think I'd like to install them anyway. Should I go with some 6' VHOs, or exchange my pendants for ones that will also do PC?

I don't have a canopy yet, so my options are still wide open there. Incidentally, if anyone has advice on how to build a canopy, please point me in the right direction!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[EEreefer]

What are the dimensions of your tank? I would think the 10KK MHs would be plenty of blue light without adding the actinics. If anything, my preference would be to change the MHs over to 6500K, then add the actinics. But I'm biased since that would equal my setup

.

 

[McReef1]

D~

I tend to agree with EEreefer. Dimensions would be handy...and switch out the 10k's for 6500 and actinics. I have 4 ft VHO's over a 6ft long 225gal bowfront (along with 250 watt MH, 2 ea) and the set up works great. So, 6 ft VHO's are not needed. I actually copied the setup from another well established tank that is beautiful.

Good luck,

McReef

 

[jdeets]

With the 10Ks you can get away without adding the actinics.

My setup is a 180 with 3 175W 10000K Blueline MHs. I initially tried using URI VHO actinic 03's with it and it was WAY too blue for my taste. So now I'm using the URI VHO Actinic White bulbs in conjunction with the MHs. I like the color that I get from that. JMO

[ August 08, 2001: Message edited by: jdeets ]

 

[Dargason]

Thanks for the info!

I forgot to mention the dimensions... it is 2'x 7' x 2' deep.

If I don't need the actinics for the health of my corals, perhaps I'll wait and upgrade the lighting later. I really like the flourescence you get from the actinics.

Mike

 

[M.E.Milz]

I have the same tank (7'x2'x2'), and use 3x 250watt 6500K MH's and 2x 6' 160watt VHO actinics. Your set-up should give you around the same intensity (400 watt 10000K bulbs put out about the same lumens as 250 watt 6500K bulbs).

If you want to see want to see what my lighting looks like, you can see some pictures in a post by Cheese Sandwich, titled "M.E.Milz's tank photos" (or something like that), which was posted 2-3 weeks ago.

 

[Bishop1]

NO VHO actinics provide next to nothing more than asthetic appearance.. so as long as you're okay with the color of your bulbs you do not need to use them.

 

[Dargason]

M.E.Milz -

Yes, I saw that thread a few weeks ago. I looked at it again and I'm still impressed.

How old is that tank?

 

[McReef1]

The nice thing about the actinics is that you can run them for an hour or so before and after your MH to simulate the sunrise and sunset. Although I have never used an MH only setup, the corals and fish seem to like to "take their time" waking up and going to sleep (just like me ). Who could argue with attempting to simulate their natural habitat?

McReef

 

[M.E.Milz]

Thanks, the tank has been up and running since June, 2000 (but much of the livestock came from previous tanks). I have been keeping corals/reefs since about January of 1999. FOWLR tanks for a few years before that.

Anyways, I agree with the others that actinics are probably more important for the sake of appearence. If you like how the 10000K bulbs look, then I wouldn't bother adding actinics or changing bulbs.

 

[Laurie]

Howdy - I have a 200 going, too, and we are running 2X175W 10Ks, a 250W 10K, and an Iwasaki 250W 6500. The Iwasaki is temporary - one of the 250 watters wouldn't fire. We have 4X4 ft. VHO actinics, too. You can really see a difference in the lighting where the 6500K bulb is - somewhat brighter but definitely more yellow even with the actinics. The side with the 175s is a little dimmer but is actually more pleasing to the eye. When the Iwasaki bulb is out of there we will be able to really see how the tank is going to look with all 10K. It's a matter of preference - we like a bluer tank and the VHOs take care of that nicely. Plus the dawn/dusk effect is the best.

Laurie