Lighting Questions...

C

Ctimpson

Reefing newb
Ok... I am upgrading my lighting, but I am having difficulty trying to decided wheather to purchase halides or not... I currently have a satellite 36" fixture and would like to keep it where it is. I am looking at buying either another 36" fixture to give me a combined total of 3.5 watts per gallon. I was also looking at the new viper 150 watt clamp on halide... The problem I am having is that the tank is in my bedroom which is white walls and light hardwood flooring and is only like 12 x 12, so I am worried that the halide will blind me especially since my bed is lower than the tank... The other option, is buying a t5 setup... I would like to try and spend less than 250.00... Does anyone have any suggestions? Also can someone direct me to the cheapest place to buy my new lights...

Here is my breakdown of increased watts and it's total cost...

3.5 watts per gallon 90.00 All Power currents
5.2 watts per gallon 165.00 All Power currents
4.5 watts per gallon 200.00 Power current with Viper Halide
4.6 watts per gallon 190.00 Power current & NovaT5's
 
Ctimpson,you are looking to supplement what you already have?How much space do you have another fixture?

Rc is right,it would be better to replace the whole light with T5's.They have better PAR/lumens per watt than PC.In other words,more light for corals.
 
PC's will work fine; thats what I use, however, t-5s are better, run cooler, last longer, and put out more light to the watt.
 
If it's just softys and your on a budget PC's will work great. I can keep any softy in my tank and I have a two 96 watt pc's retro in my canopy. If you want to keep sps, clams or nemes then t-5 or halide is the way to go. To save some money on it you can but a retro kit, but you need a canopy to do it. If you dont have a canopy the are very easy to DIY. I dont know how much your into DIY but I love. DIY is one of the things that makes this hobby intresting to me.
 
Try looking at a retro fit halide set or two, if you have a canopy or want to make one. You can usually find a halide retro for about 100.00 each. The light shouldn't be a problem because it should only be on at daytime and wont effect your sleep. Tanks need a day night cycle or thing can become very stressed.
 
Ctimpson said:
Well, I don't really want a canopy on this tank... But basically what you are telling me is power compacts are fine for what I basically want to keep, but if I want to start some anemones, sps, or clams, then go with either t5's or halides.
Click to expand...

Exactly!
I'm not a big fan of those Odyssea fixtures.I know the price is tempting and all but sometimes you get what you pay for.Don't forget that MH may give you heat issues with your tank and they do a good job of heating up a small room too.My vote goes to that T5 Aquactinic fixture Rc link too.It has individual reflectors and allow you to be unlimited without the heat issues of MH.
 
Aquatraders in a different light. Personally I wouldn't mind trying them. They used to have a really bad rep, but from all the new seemed to have changed their ways. The down side though is the light isn't nearly as good as a different brand. There is a very big thread on RC called odysea the new electronic version, but the basic jist of it is that they have a nice cover but the ballasts and bulbs are no good. Alot of people are buying them and then buying new bulbs and ballast to save money on a nice looking unit. What you can do is look on ebay thats were I got mine from for 30.00 but I would stay away from oddysea and JEBO the're the same thing. Then again you get people all the time saying how much they love their light from aqautraders.

In the past aquatraders lights were magnetic ballast which run hotter and some were catching fire, and then when you had a problem there was no customer servic. Now their light are electronic and run cooler, but from what I read the bulb just doesn't put the same light out as a different halid of the same wattage.

In the end it's really up to you. I believe there is a chance, but is the chance worth it. I guess worst case senerio you dont like the light sell it off and lose a little money, best case you get a light your happy with for a good deal.
 
Before you buy PCs, realize that most of us started in this hobby by saying, "I only want to keep some softies, shrooms, zoas... Nothing too light intensive." Fast forward six months, and we have all upgraded are lights so that we can keep more things. It is very addicting, and I think it is probably better to buy good lights to start off with so that you do not end up having to replace them six months down the road when you want to start keeping more challenging animals.
 
Here is the basic break down of each light.

Pc's run alittle hotter than t-5, dont have as much par, cheaper, but bulbs need replaced every 6 months to a year.

T-5s run cool, Great par (so you could use less energy and watts and get the same effect) Bulbs need replaced every year to year and a half and with the right amount of watts can keep anything you want.

MH run hot, use more energy, the best light you can get, because I think if I remember right mimic the sun the best, bulbs need replaced about every year I think not too sure on that one, but I think there about the same as t-5 as far as time of replacement, bring out the best colors of your corals, and you can deffinetly keep anything you want.

I know it's frusterating to figure it all out, but you will. My suggestion is research the different lights, find out for sure what you want and dont want, compair prices and then make an educated choice. If it weren't for the heat halides put off I think they would be the best light, but heat can be taken care of by fans.
 

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