hps lighting for a reef tank?

plantman1028

plantman1028

AC Members
Dec 3, 2003
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sewell,new jersey
myway.com
I'm trying to get everything together to get my 125 gal up and running.I have a question about lighting.I have 1 175w mh bulb,2 48 inch 40w acitine bulbs,1 blue 1 white.the tank is 72x18x24,kinda deep.Question is, Can I use a HighPressureSodium lamp?Will it have positive benefits to the corals and inverts?Would it be OK to use it with the bulbs i have?I would like to get going but am a little leary about jumping in without having everrything correct.any help would be appreciated.THANK YOU.
 
I'm confused- in the subject line you are asking about HPS lights, yet you mention having a 175w MH bulb?? They are not interchangeable... meaning a MH bulb will not work with a HPS ballast (unless you have a switchable ballast but that's another story).

HPS lighting is way down in the yellow/red range- much too low a K number for a reef tank. You could look into HPS/MH conversion bulbs and check the Kelvin number- you're looking for something at least upwards of 6000 although higher would be better.

FWIW I think a 24" deep tank needs at least a 250w.
 
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