Lighting

F

Fastlight

Semper FI
Well i need bulbs for my light. The 75 gallon system that was given to me had all but 1 blown out. I want a reef tank(live rock, corals, and fish) I want a nice t5 setup with halogens but it will take me a long time to save up for. I was wondering with this 4 lamp light that has 4 moon led would be good to get me started on some easier corals and fish.

Next what bulbs to get. They are 65w straight compact flor. I was thinking 2 10,000k and 2 50/50 bulbs up front. the half actinic and half 10,000k? is that a good start or does anyone have a better suggestion.


Thanks for any help.
 
Thats actually about your only choice,but it only gives you a little over 3 watts per gallon.
I think you'd be pretty limited in corals.
 
I would wait and save for the lights you want rather than spend it twice. You can get some T5's that will allow you to keep most corals. You may have to watch the placement of them in the tank (put them higher). It is probably the best way to go if you really want corals.
 
ive been trying to understand these t5's. I mean i can understand getting the t5 and mh combos. There are alot of watts pouring out of those. But heres the thing. If i run the current light set up with 2 actinic and 2 10000k thats 4x65=260 75 gallon tank and ur looking at just shy of 3.5 watts per gallon. Now if im thinking correctly reef tanks need what 4-6 watts per gallon? I see alot of 4 lamp t-5 lights out there running at what? 4x54=216w/75=2.88w/gal. so unless everyone is getting the 8 lamp models for there reef tanks which would then double the w/gal. what are so special about these t-5ho? also i read that the actinic bulbs are good for reef tanks cause of the ?450nm? color spectrum. so can u just run metal halides if you wanted with no actinics/t-5? im just trying to wrap my head around things.
 
T5 bulbs don't really measure off your same wpg rating. They have really good penetration and even if its less than you would normally need with a different type light you can typically keep just about anything in there, just keep in mind the high intensity sps will have to be kept at the top.
 
The t5 lights are great if you get the individual reflectors. If you want just halides you can run a higher kalvin rating like 15k or 20k bulbs and you don't need actinics.
 
So then if t-5 rated the same could you use a 4 bulb system such as
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+12772&pcatid=12772 ? and still be able to have live coral and such? or would you have to run like a 6 or 8 bulb system. Btw i just realized this thread should be in the lighting section of the forum(my bad) Can anyone link me to a good informative lighting website? all the books i borrowed from the library are just to old.
 
With T-5s,you get more light per watt used.Or something like that.
I know that I got 432 watts of T-5s lighting up my 75 with SPS and an anemone.And I have to start all my new corals on the bottom to keep from bleaching them.
 
Fastlight said:
Can anyone link me to a good informative lighting website? all the books i borrowed from the library are just to old.
Click to expand...

When it comes to lighting, you can spend weeks or months researching them. There are pros and cons to each, many opinions thrown in with facts, and it adds up to a tough topic.

The T5s will definitely give you enough light to keep corals.
 
I think you guys have me leaning towards the nova pro 6 bulber. I mean if its true about the individual reflectors and all. It would be nice to find a 4 bulb individual reflector t-5 set. Any one see any of those? Most my searches lead to a single reflector of to the nova pro. I still like the way metal halide with actinic bulbs look in an aquarium with the shimmering and all. but if i can grow just about any kind of coral under these t-5 i think i can save a couple hundered bucks and just have a nice t-5. Damn this expensive hobby!!!!

So anyone got any links to t-5 with individual reflectors at a good price other than the nova pro? maybe a 4 bulb system?
 
Definitely go with T5s over MH. The shimmering effect is overrated anyways. Buying T5s will save you money up front, not to mention MH bulbs need to be changed every 6 months and cost 3 times as much as T5 bulbs, which need to be changed every 12 to 18 months. T5s don't follow the wpg rule, 5 wpg of T5s s much much much better than 5 wpg of PCs.
 
There is no need at all for MH lights if the tank isn't too deep (I've heard up to about 22"). I would definitely look at the Nova Extreme Pros if you go with T5s. Also, while the individual bulbs are cheaper, you generally want to change all of them at once.

As a side note, if your tank has more depth and you need MH, look at the double ended HQI fixtures. They are cheaper to run and last longer than single ended mogul fixtures.
 
Halides are not necessary at all. I used to run my 55 gallon tank on all T5s. I actually got a lot faster coral growth than I do under halides now. I'd have stuck with all T5s if my tank wasn't so big. My tank is nearly 3 feet deep, and T5s just don't penetrate that well after 18 inches or so. If I had my choice though, I would not have gone with halides.
 
The 265w. Power Compacts you mention earlier is good enough for LPS and soft corals.Stay clear of anemones,SPS corals and clams for the most part.LPS corals will do better the top half and softies bottom half or anywhere.I like an all 50/50 bulbs-2 10k/460nm and 2 10k/420nm.

Of course,in a more ideal setup would be T5-HO fixtures with 6-54 watters with individual reflectors.
 

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