Is 250w mh to much for my 29g reef?

[Trigs]

this is a question that is worrying me, i have a 250 watt mh hqi and im worried it is to much for my 29g tank anyone have ne comments?

[untamed]

I suppose that would depend on how tall the tank is. My first guess is that you will be fine. You can always hang the light higher or lower above the tank.

[Trigs]

well the tank is 19" tall and the light is about 5.5" above the tank what you think?

[fishoholic]

I have a 250 watt MH over my 28g tank that is 12" high, the light sits about 5" above. Works well for me.

[Trigs]

sounds good, what you think about flow. i have 2 koralia 3s and a 2 and also it is sumpless think i should drill it and go through that or what you think?

[Myka]

I would only be worried about heat. Watch your thermometer carefully, and be sure it's accurate as well!

For flow...what kind of corals are you planning? That Prism protein skimmer isn't particularly effective. If you're planning a full blown reef you may want to replace that with a more effective brand.

[Trigs]

yah dude i was wondering the same thing, it is a piece of ****...

[fencer]

I have had a 150 watt MH 3in above the waterline (behind tempered glass). Never used a heater in the tank(78 F)

[Trigs]

over what size tank and how long do you run your light for a day?

[fencer]

Sorry....34g 8hrs/day

[Marlin65]

250w DE on 24 gal for me.
Heat is a issue for sure with my tank had to buy a chiller.
I also have a bit of a problem with too much light for some pieces of SPS that I have. My Catspaw I can't get any father than the bottom of the tank. Every time I try it starts to bleach. Some other pieces are doing great though.

[Trigs]

yah the heating isn't to bad of a issue for me i have a fan running on it so it somewhat works im just worried about keeping my corals and such but i think it should be fine, other than that everything seems to be going great i have it on a 2 scheduled timer that pretty much runs it at 2 different times a day about 7-8 hours a day, the temperature pretty much stays in between 78-79 sometimes 80 so thats working fine only thing that worries me is now the skimmer, any ideas on a better skimmer or should i go for the gusto and buy a new cube tank and get a sump going? =) =)

[Myka]

Sorry if I missed it, but what kind of corals are you planning on keeping anyway? You may have issues with some corals bleaching from too much light.

[Trigs]

wanting to keep sps some lps

[Myka]

I think you may have difficulty keeping some LPS under that strong lighting. If it was SE instead of DE you would be more likely to get away with it.

Wait though, you said your tank is 19" deep? Maybe you could get away with the DE then... Is it a hex tank then, or? What are the rest of the dimensions?

[Trigs]

its 19"x13"x30"long

[Marlin65]

My tank is 20" deep and I have too much light for some of my SPS. My caps, catspaw,and millies are not responding that well.
The other side is that I have Monties, and a few others (I don't know what they are called) that do really well, and my clams love all the light.

[Myka]

its 19"x13"x30"long

When speaking dimensions it's always l x w x h so yours would be 30x13x19", right? Eeep, that's an awful shape to use as a reef! That's going to be a real pain in the butt!

A DE MH does a poor job of spreading light, but is much more intense than a SE. A SE bulb spreads the light much better and produces less hot spots (spots of higher intensity). Both SE and DE bulbs will light a 24x24" area with most reflectors. The SE will do it more evenly, and the DE will do it more strongly. Neither will do a good job spreading the light over the 30" length of your tank. It's going to be rather dim on the ends. This may work to your advantage though as you could keep the lower light corals on the ends of your tank.

I assume this will be your first sw tank? If so, I would recommend you get a bigger tank, it's easier to keep stable. Your light would be great over a cube shaped tank or a shallow cube. Something 20x20x16" or 24x24x18" or something like that would be great. Much easier to light, and also easier to rockscape it. Just a thought...

[Trigs]

no this will not be my first sw tank, will be my third, but i used fowlr with softies before and im just getting into a real reef tank, im thinking a cube tank would be a lot better so i will keep my eyes open for a cube tank and maybe a new light

[Myka]

I think your light would be great over a cube tank. It's a great light, no need to replace the light! Check out King Ed's, they usually stock a few cubes at decent prices. :)

[Trigs]

will do! is there any where else that would? and also does king eds have a web site i dont think they do if i remember correctly but i culd be wrong

[Myka]

I don't think they have a website. I guess it's a bit of a drive for you isn't it? Try to find a cube that is equal in width and height or shallower than it is wide...easier to 'scape. Tanks that are taller than they are wide make better fw planted tanks than reefs imo. Like your 29g...that would be a great fw planted tank! :D

[Trigs]

how about a 30" w x 30" L x 18" H sounds like a pretty good size dunno how many gallons that is though...:question:

[Myka]

how about a 30" w x 30" L x 18" H sounds like a pretty good size dunno how many gallons that is though...:question:

That is 70 gallons. Personally, I wouldn't use a DE bulb over a 30x30". The only bulb I would use over that would be a SE with either a Lumenarc or LumenMax reflector, and only if it was overdriven by an HQU ballast, otherwise your light won't reach the edges. With your DE bulb I would suggest no more than 24x24", but 22x22" would be even better. :)