150w MH

J

jborlace

I have a 40 breeder. Is a 150w MH with a Phoenix 14k enough light for the tank. Only have zoas and LPS at the moment. I would like to add some blue also but not sure how I would do that with the fixture already hanging in the middle of the tank. Thought about a two bulb T5 to go along with it but wouldn't it be in the way and block light from the MH.
 
Do u have any DIY skills like soldering? You could easily make your own lighting using Cree leds

20 leds should be enough ran at 3 watts a piece looking at a 60w driver you could even add dimmer knob to adjust the brightness
 
You really should have 150 MH's as 1 MH covers approximately 24"x24" and that is a 36" long tank. However, if you keep you rock pile near the center and have space on the sides, you could easily get by. Also depends on how high you have the MH off the tank. Being a 40 breeder, the tank is not all that deep (I think 16" if memory serves me) so you can have the light mounted higher above the water increasing the spread of light a bit. I have LEDs now as my tank is completely encased so MH would cause heat issues. They are radions and I much prefer the MH as the growth rate far far far exceeds that of the LEDs. As far as the T5's, I would have those as well for actinics (or even throw in 2 blue plus bulbs) for the sunrise/dusk effect. Plus, it helps balance out the overall light and if you get the blue plus bulbs, adds a little more usable par.
 
One in the center could work, putting livestock with less light-demands on the left and right edges. I have two (150w setups) over here that I'm not using if you want to buy another.
 
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