55 Gallon tank lighting question....?

[dolphins8426]

What would be the best lighting fixture for my 55gl. Its 48" long and I looking for something that isnt going to break my wallet. I am willing to dish out a few hundred but not 500+ like i have been seeing. I would like to have some corals as well as fish so i need so help on what to look into for power for coral and fish. Thanks

 

[Bifferwine]

Go with T5s. You get the best bang for your buck with T5s.

 

[hibye]

nova t5s or this 48" 760W Metal Halide System (Electronic Version) - 504023

 

[MikMcgyver]

Isnt that almost too much light for a 55? 13-14 watts per gallon.... Seems insanely high to me...8-10 should be good... Wouldnt have many or any limitations on what you want in your tank..

 

[yote]

T-5 Aquarium Lighting: Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights

You can go with either the 216 watt 4 bulb or the 432 watt 8 bulb.
Biff ran the 4 bulb on her 55 and I'm running the 8 bulb on my 75.
Both of us keep some SPS along with an anemone and clams.

 

[hotimportknight]

Man talk about heat issues on a 55 gallon, 760 watts of MH? Seems a bit crazy to me as well. If you are on a budget get the nova extreme T5's @ 216 watts, or if you dont want any limitations go with the nova extreme with double the bulbs and power @ 432 watts. I dont have any heat issues and mine is mounted about 3" above my tank. maybe raises the tank 1 degree F every day. Goodluck, I know some ppl will recommend individual reflectors, I'm sure they would be great, but the only fixture I saw with individual reflectors was really pricey. Something like the same wattage as mine, only double the cost.

 

[hotimportknight]

You beat me! as i hit send we both say basically the same thing...

 

[yote]

Great minds think alike.

 

[reeffreak]

For a couple hundred dollar budget than go with the Nova(216w) fixture Yote linked too.It should allow you to keep many,many different corals but not all.Yes,individual reflectors will double the output of the bulbs but those only seem to come in higher end fixtures.

 

[dolphins8426]

I am going to go with the 432watts. go big or go home. I am already 1000 in the whole on sumps ro water filter power heads live rock and etc.. do I really need the 8 bulbs in the long run or will the 4 bulb system be just fine. can smeone give me a example of what the 8 bulb will allow me to have over the 4 bulb

 

[reeffreak]

Since your going all out on this spending spree then at least look into an Aquactinics TX5(5x54w),3 less bulbs but they have individual reflectors which basically doubles the output.Check PremiumAquatics.com.

The difference between the 8 and 4?Its not really about what you can have and what you can't have.Its more about what will grow better and in this case the 8 bulb is the better choice.

 

[dolphins8426]

So I just installed my new Nova Extreme 8 bulb. Check it out......

 

[reeffreak]

Looks great.
There's not a speck of algae.

 

[Piggy]

Lights look good.