lighting and coral help needed

[kpatrick]

Im switching to reef from a FOWLR and im not totally up to speed on everything. Can someone tell me the difference in LPS and SPS corals??

I have a 125g with 330w of PC lighting. I know the lighting is sorta low but im not sure if I can add any MH since I have a hood on my tank ( i have heard the light need to be about 10" away from water). If I could get some MH cheaper then another 110w PC then I wouldnt mind adding some. I have just always heard MH can increase water temp to much so thats why I use the PCs


thanks

[OrionGirl]

Large polyp vrs Small polyp. While some will vow that you must provide more light for SPS, the truth is somewhere in between. Some SPS prefer lots of light and high flow, while others do not--it really depends on the individual coral you're thinking of getting.

The Borneman article mogurnda linked to in a previous thread may help you out a lot.

For lighting--more PC would help. One of the big differences between MH and PC is how deep the light penetrates--MH provides more light to the lower levels of the tank. So, as long as you are careful in placing the corals, many will be quite happy in your tank.

[gbolton]

You are right on the MH heating your water. I just added a 250 watt MH with a 65 watt PC and 32 watt PC to my system and with my two fans going through the canopy I have a water temp swing of a about 4 degrees over a 24 hour period not to mention I also have to replace close to a gallon of water a day.

[Kurt]

That is quite a bit of water evaporation, How far away from the surface would that Halide be? My halides are 11 inches. I don't find any temp. variation but my heaters do not switch on much durring the day. Tank is also 200 gallons so that may have something to do with it also. My evaporation is maybe just over a quart. Maybe more so now that I just increased my water circulation, so will see what becomes of that.

[kpatrick]

Well if you keep the lights 11" away from your tank then I know I cant do MH because my hood is only about 6" tall (or whatever standard size is). Is it even okay to mix PCs and MHs??
I know you can by MH lights (175w, 250w, or 400w) at the hardware store, are they the same lights or do you need special lights for the reef tanks?

[gbolton]

My Halide is 7-8 inches from the surce of a 50 gallon tank.