250 gallon planted tank

To: aquatic-plants <aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
Subject: 250 gallon planted tank
From: Don Hutton/Omnipoint <dhutton at omnipoint_com>
Date: 22 Oct 96 13:48:16

Thanks to those who offered advice and suggestions on my 250 gallon planted 
tank.  I received alot of comments about the potential hassles of dealing with 
a 30 inch deep tank.  As a result I made a deal to trade the 250 for a 200 
gallon tank at the local aquarium store.  It's the same footprint, the depth is 
24 inches versus 30 inches.  Also, since the VHO canopy added 6 inches to the 
effective depth of the tank, I am dumping the VHO canopy in favor of 3 175 watt 
metal halide pendants and an open top.  Hopefully these changes will make it 
easier to maintain the tank in the long run.

I considered 250 watt metal halides but it gets fairly hot in Texas and I'm 
trying to keep my air conditioning costs under control.  I know from experience 
with reef tanks that the ballasts for these lights generate alot of heat in 
addition to that generated by the bulbs.  Any comments on the choice of 175 
watt lights?  I think this works out to roughly 2.9 watts per gallon and the 
lack of a glass top should help increase the intensity a little.

Thanks again for the suggestions,
Don