How much WPG do I have?

SHK_ATK

SHK_ATK

Clam Chowda
Nov 4, 2006
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(805)-CA (336)-NC
I dont really know how to figure out the WPG but im sure someone here might be able to tell me what Im runnning on my tank.

I Bought low light coral mushrooms, green star polyp and one little zoo.

and although they have "bloomed" and opened up nice and pretty, I dont really know what kind of wpg I have. My lights are by Coralife I have one 50/50 96Watt and two 50/50 65Watt. I eventually want to get MH that produce 4 wpg and buy some bubble, or hammer, or my g/f fav. clams any good sites that have MH at a good price,good shipping ect ect. Thanks in advance.
 
Well, you have roughly 230 watts and a 240 gallon tank, so I'd say you have like 1 wpg, roughly.

Your tank is pretty darn big. To get 4 wpg, I'll bet your electricity bill would go up substantially each month.
 
Yea I figured that is what I have. I really want to get MH instead of the ones I have now.
 
ok Im starting to get rather confused about lighting. I want Metal Halide lights that produce about 4WPG to grow coral like hammer, clams, and bubble's But as I look for them I see some that say HQI? :huh: Can some one give me a site or a link that has some MH lights for a decent price. Im trying also to find them to fit a 32"L by 24"W since I have two openings that big on either side of the tank. TY
 
I just got 2 175w MH's they came with 18" x 18" reflectors...

I paid $205 shipped to my door (This is dirt cheap)

I got them from a guy on ebay named 360summer360

I usually would'nt promote someone so much, but I am really happy with my lights...

The best way to describe Metal Halides is that they are the most like the sun I have ever seen! My lights make the water have that shimmering effect and when the light comes out the side of the tank and onto the floor it creates a rainbow (lets see PC lights do that...)

One of my favorite things is the shadow my fish leave on the bottom of my tank when they swim... It's simply awesome....

I was running more watts on a smaller tank before and I dont think I had half as good of light as I do with the Halides...

WPG or Watts per Gallon is simply a math equation

Watts devided by Gallons ( any time you her "per" it means "devided by" )I.E. Miles per Hour

HQI is simply the fixture type... I think all HQI's are double ended but dont quote me on that...

I use a Mogul base (screw type bulb) Mogul is German I think and HQI is Japanese, but don't quote me on that either...

For you to acheive 4wpg you would want 960 watts which is huge! but very easy to accomplish with Metal Halides...
Three 400w halides would cover it with room to spare... and They even make 1000w Metal Halides ( but those cost a fortune! $260 for the bulb alone!)

I personally don't think you need that much light but It's up to you...

All in all, I'm really happy with my 2 175w MH's over my 6' 125g Tank... and thats only 2.8 WPG ( I may add a third down the road)

Hope my lenghty report helps :spam:
-LS
 
A retrofit is basically a DIY kit that you install yourself into a canopy. The parts you need are all supplied, you have to assemble it and install it. Here is an example. A retrofit is different from a fixture in that there is no case to enclose the lighting system. This is why it's typically mounted inside of a canopy.

Watts is only a measure of power consumption, not light output. Different types of lighting convert watts into light at different efficiencies. Four watts per gallon of MH creates far more light than 4wpg of PC or regular fluorescent lighting. MH is pretty much the most efficient at converting energy into light. That said, you will not need 4wpg of MH to grow a bubble coral or a hammer. Bubble and hammer corals are not high light corals -- we have both and they are thriving in roughly 3 wpg of PC lighting in our 24" tall 90g. Our bubble coral is on the very bottom of the tank, which is about 20" from the bottom of our light if you take into account the height of our sand bed and the distance the light is off the top of the tank. I'm no clam expert, so I can't comment on how much light a clam needs.
 
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ah okay makes sence, But does anyone have a good website to go to for MH? I wouldnt mind doing 3 wpg but I really do think that clams need at least 4 since my g/f adores clams its pretty evident we are going to get one. Might as kill 2 birds with one stone to buy the MH that have 4wpg and this being able to get clams. Or with that kind of lighting anything I want. :D
 
Alright after going to my LFS they sell MH that are 250W for around $260 each look just like the ones on the link (it might just be the sameones I did not see the brand). He told me that he would wait till they have a buy one get one half off sale to get them I was thinking maybe getting 3 250W. and maybe some actinics lights How many would I need though? Also would I need to get Compact Florecent to go along with a canopy set up? How many of those would I need? He is willing to drop the price and get me out the door with about 3 + close to 4 wpg for under a grand. :D
 
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