Anyone done a Lighting upgrade for the 250 yet?

bodyguard295

bodyguard295

Member
I was thinking about doing a lighting upgrade for my RMS 250. A local reefer has offered me a Coralife Aqualight Pro 36". I would be removing the top on the 250. It has 2 65w Actinic Blue 420nm compact fluorescent lights, 1 150w 10,000K Super Daylight HQI Metal Halide Lamp built in, and cooling fans with Lunar Blue-moon glow led lights. The local reefer is asking $300 for it and it's only 3 months old with New bulbs included. MD wants $530 on sale so at $300 it's not a bad deal.

With the top off, I could also do more with the tank like add a better overflow and things also!

Has anyone done a upgrade like this on the 250 yet?

The link is below for the Aqualight Pro. Tell me what you guys think!

Coralife Aqualight Pro Lighting Fixtures

Oceanic Systems | Products | Aqualight Pro Series

Thanks
 
bodyguard295

bodyguard295

Member
It does have the T5's but it's lacking the Metal Halide Lamp. I've heard that things like clams and some corals won't do too well with just T5's. I have one clam now and I have to keep him high in the tank in order to get him enough "strong light".
 
bodyguard295

bodyguard295

Member
Total watts is almost the same, but it's missing the MH light that several sps corals need to grow.

The Current USA light are nice but for a 36" it's between $719-$855 for a new one when I could get the Aqualight Pro from a local reefer for $300 with all new bulbs and the unit is only a couple months old. I wish I had the extra money for a Current USA light but I think the Aqualight Pro will be better than the stock lighting.
 
bodyguard295

bodyguard295

Member
Don Carner from about.com wrote an article on saltwater aquariums that I found intresting and he has many good points.

"When it comes to how corals grow, each category of animal requires its own unique lighting requirements, but all share one common trait; photosynthesis in order to survive. Just as plants convert sunlight to produce chlorophyll, marine animals survive similarly by converting light energy into "food". Actually, this energy is consumed by zooxanthellae algae that produce by products that the corals need to survive; a true symbiotic relationship.

Coloration of coral polyps and tissues is dictated by these zooxanthellae. By differing the spectral output of our tank lighting we can actually influence the ultimate color/shading of our corals. How? Let's say that we have been using a 5500K VHO fluorescent setup at 220 watts. We get that itch to spend money and help our tank and animals by installing a 250 watt metal halide with a 10,000K lamp. Aside from the aesthetics of the rippling light show these lamps provide, we have suddenly changed the frequency of light that all the animals in our system have grown accustomed to."


From what I got from reading from a number of different sources, is that some SPS and Clams need a higher level of photosynthesis to maintain and grow. You can get this from MH lights.

Any thoughts?
 
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