Aquarium Lighting

[ballzee]

I am about to buy 4 - 55 Watt Power Compacts for my Fish Only aquarium. I would like to know suggestions for the bulbs from lighting experts here on the board. The Aquarium is a 130 gallons. It is 20" Tall.
My options are listed here as suggested by the company I am buying them from: "The bulbs you choose would depend on your personal preference regarding appearance. You could use all 10000Ks, or, if you like a bluer appearance, all Combo bulbs (which have one tube that is 10000K and one that is dark
blue actinic). An option that would fall in between these two in terms of the amount of blue would be to use two 10000Ks and two Combos."
Thank you, Mark!

 

[claymore66]

Hay mark,I was told by a very well respected local fish dealer that the blue actinic bulbs will bring out the colors in the fish more.He suggested to me that I go with half 10,000 k and half blue actinics. He also suggested that if I was going with a fish only tank that there was no need to spend the money on p/c or vho lighting.That fish did not need that much light. He also said that if I was planning to build a reef tank that it was a good idea to invest in the lights now. I hope his knowledge will help you out. He is said to be the best in the central florida area and has helped me out a great deal. Good luck

 

[donkeykong]

Claymore is right. For a fish only tank high wattage lighting is not required. The fish only need enough light to see. But if you plan on moving on to reef it can be easier to get good lighting from the start and then just add on to your setup instead of having to completely redo your setup, IMO.

 

[slick]

Donkeykong IMO I wouldn't buy the pc's if you never plan on moving on to a reef tank. You can buy bulbs in the color spectrum that you want that will fit into regular tank hoods. Claymore66 I think your lfs person was right I have 4x65w pc's on my 90g tank 2 of the bulbs are 10,000k bulbs and 2 are actinics. I love the look this givs my tank.

 

[krusk]

the 130 G tank
is it 6' long?
if so
I would get 2 x 160 W VHO rather than 4x55 PC for fish only tank. And in the future you can use this same VHO as Actinic suppliment conjuction with Metal halide for a Reef tank conversion.