Lighting question

[Jon]

I am thinking about buyig a 58 gallon oceanic reef ready ultimate tank. The tank comes with a canopy and I was wondering if anyone has ever done a home made retro fit lighting unit before.

I currently have a tek light T5 6 bulb canopy that would work for the tank minus the canopy. I really like the look of the canopy and thought that I could put a 250 metal halide retro fit and a 2 bulb T5 retro fit lighting system in the top of the canopy. I also think that when I do this I will need to insert two fans of the sides of the canopy to help with the circulation.

Please tell me your thoughts on my idea and if this can be completed as easy as it seems.

Thanks - Jon

 

[danthemanj]

I have done a lot of retro lighting for Nano Cubes. What kind of lighting do you have in mind?

 

[Jon]

I was thinking of using an aqumedic 250 wat metal halide retro kit with an electronic balast and a 36" ready fit two lamp retro kit by sunlight supply.

 

[danthemanj]

What is the height of the canopy you got with the tank?

 

[Jon]

the canopy dimensions are 38x19x8

 

[danthemanj]

You can install a PFO parabolic reflector with T5 lighting but the Metal Halides will transfer a lot of heat into the water because of the distance between the bulb and the water surface. You might be better off going with a full T5 setup. If you have a chiller and don't mind the additional expense then the Metal halides will work.

 

[DaveK]

I would also suggest that using a single 250w MH and asking it to light a 36 inch long tank is asking a lot of it. Typically MH's will light a span of about 2 feet. No matter how you place the bulb there will be darker corners. This is not necessarily bad, since you can put low light corals there.

If you really want more even light, I recommend using two 150w or 175w MHs. Your light will be a lot more even. Yea, I know, the total cost for the MHs almost doubles, since a ballast, socket, and bulb for a 250w MH is only slightly more expensive that one for a 150w or 175w MH.