Howdy. I have recently come into a Lagoon Style tank that I will post pictures of in a few days when it is all set up, but I have a few lighting questions for you guys.
It came with 2x250w MH pendants (20k XM SE) run off their own ballasts (ARO). I had planned on running each bulb for approximately 6 hours a day with about a hour over-lap. So, the first would fire up at 1:00pm and shut off at 7:00pm. The second would fire up at 2:00pm and shut off at 8:00pm. Livestock is all over the board including zoos, acans, brains, plate coral, 1 scolly, and 2-3 pieces of SPS, not to mention a few mushroom rocks, one of which has a wicked rock anenome.
How does this lighting schedule sound to you guys? I would adjust or move pieces based on reactions of course. Am I on the right track?
My second question involves actinic supplementation. I would like to add some actinic for mostly asthetic reasons, but if it would help in growth, that is definately a plus. Couple of things. There is NO canopy and I have the pendants hanging from a nice heavy duty shelf. I could easily hang another fixture, but it would be towards the back or the front of the tank, as the pendants take up a lot of space. Would you guys recommend 2 fixtures (one for the back and front)? Clearly I would have to hang these from the same shelf, which is not a problem, but they need to be able to hang. I need recommendations. VHO, T5's, and lastly, bulbs. Would one Super Actinic 48" VHO be enough you think? I know this is subjective, but thought I would ask.
I had planned on turning the Actinic lights on one hour before the MH's and turning them off one hour after the MH's are off. Thoughts?
Thanks guys, I know the last question about the actinic light is pretty odd, but the tank is in my living room so the fixture for it needs to be decent looking and not just rigged up.
Thanks again everyone. I'll post pictures in a few days.
Josh
It came with 2x250w MH pendants (20k XM SE) run off their own ballasts (ARO). I had planned on running each bulb for approximately 6 hours a day with about a hour over-lap. So, the first would fire up at 1:00pm and shut off at 7:00pm. The second would fire up at 2:00pm and shut off at 8:00pm. Livestock is all over the board including zoos, acans, brains, plate coral, 1 scolly, and 2-3 pieces of SPS, not to mention a few mushroom rocks, one of which has a wicked rock anenome.
How does this lighting schedule sound to you guys? I would adjust or move pieces based on reactions of course. Am I on the right track?
My second question involves actinic supplementation. I would like to add some actinic for mostly asthetic reasons, but if it would help in growth, that is definately a plus. Couple of things. There is NO canopy and I have the pendants hanging from a nice heavy duty shelf. I could easily hang another fixture, but it would be towards the back or the front of the tank, as the pendants take up a lot of space. Would you guys recommend 2 fixtures (one for the back and front)? Clearly I would have to hang these from the same shelf, which is not a problem, but they need to be able to hang. I need recommendations. VHO, T5's, and lastly, bulbs. Would one Super Actinic 48" VHO be enough you think? I know this is subjective, but thought I would ask.
I had planned on turning the Actinic lights on one hour before the MH's and turning them off one hour after the MH's are off. Thoughts?
Thanks guys, I know the last question about the actinic light is pretty odd, but the tank is in my living room so the fixture for it needs to be decent looking and not just rigged up.
Thanks again everyone. I'll post pictures in a few days.
Josh