What kind of lighting?

[Eissie]

So im looking to make my 45 into a salty. Im trying to make sure i have a good list of things i need to save up on but im not sure what exactly im needing in the lighting department.

There will be corals. Nothing that is going to require massive ammounts of light.

Tank size is 4ft long 1ft wide and 1ft 6inches tall. And pretty sure 45 gallons.

Im looking at T5 HO lighting, but dont want to pay too much and end up with over kill for the tank seeing as how these are not cheap.

Any suggestions? Thanks guys

 

[little_fish]

Sounds like its actually a 55, which is good!

If you dont want to go too overboard with the lighting, i would see if you can find a 4 bulb T5 fixture. You wont be able to keep some of the more light intense animals, but you still can keep a ton of neat stuff.

Having powerheads for enough flow will be very important as well.

You can also get very cheap, totally awesome dry rock from marcorocks.com and then just seed the tank with a rock from your tank that is already set up.

Dry sand is the best option, and it will be live in no time flat

You can run the tank without a sump/skimmer just keep up on your water changes, and then at a latter date you can add a HOB skimmer or a sump when funds allow

 

[Eissie]

Well im planning on trying to make a sump out of a smaller tank that can fit underneath the main tank.

And how sweet is it that its really bigger than i thought! Woo!

Any suggestions where to get the lighting?

 

[little_fish]

if you are looking for a deal, i would start scouring cragslist. Be patient and thorough, good deals are to be found if you look. If not there are lots of good place to buy lighting online, check out the vendor eval section for some ideas

 

[Eissie]

I think i love you L_F. :D <3

 

[NanoReefer]

check out this, i love these lights 48" T5 HO Aquarium Light Hood Marine Coral Cichlid 216W | eBay

 

[little_fish]

personally i would look for one that has individual reflectors, i think they make a big difference in the lightout put for a fixture. With the few bulbs this becomes even more important IMO

 

[NanoReefer]

i think id go with the odyssea, its so affordable

 

[Eissie]

Hmm. I'll keep my eyes ofen and see what i can find. I might just have to wait on the better lighting and possibly just get the tank set up and let it cycle untill i have better lighting. Does the lights affect the cycling?
Btw i do have lights, just nothing very strong.

 

[NanoReefer]

not at all,the light i listed will grow all softies and probably all lps, i have it and have candycanes, acans, frogspawns etc

 

[little_fish]

You dont need lights to cycle a tank, and you can keep just fish until you have the lights you want

 

[Ulta]

I too reccommend the Odyessa 4 bulb fixture.

I also reccommend changing out the stock lights not too long after you get it (6 months max?) Stock bulbs are garbage.

 

[felixfish]

I have a side question. If you have a 4 bulb fixture with 2 10K, and 2 blues, could you purchase an additional T5 10k, bulb and swap out one of the blue bulbs? Aren't the blues just for the color in the water?

 

[Eissie]

Well if I don't need and ho bulbs I may go ahead and sell these fish I have and turn this tank into a saltwater tank. Might tank out the fish I have in the 29 and just put them into the 55( thanks again l_f)
what do you think the best sand to use is?

 

[Eissie]

And just how many pounds of LR do you guys think I need?

 

[NanoReefer]

i would shoot for 80-100 pounds of live rock, dont buy live sand, just aragonite and it will become live quickly. lil fish recomends to buy macrorocks, which is a dry rock so maby 80 pounds of that and 10 of live rock? macrorocks are cheap, and come in great shapes and sizes

 

[Ulta]

I have a side question. If you have a 4 bulb fixture with 2 10K, and 2 blues, could you purchase an additional T5 10k, bulb and swap out one of the blue bulbs? Aren't the blues just for the color in the water?

Yes you can do that.

 

[Sir Alex]

If your going with odyssea I'd say go with their halides. They're pretty good from what I hear.