Confused about lighting !

[ali1]

So I got a 125g that I would like to start my saltwater tank with . The coralife aqualight pro 72" and the marineland pro 72" are roughly $1000. I want to go with sps and Lps corals and was told that those lights will take care of most corals. I did some research and found that people recommend 250 watt bulbs for a 125g tank and the ones with those fixture are 150watt. I really don't want to do any modding , just simply plug and play . So my question is will those units take care of most corals in my 125g? Are there better for the money ? Can someone point me in the right direction?

 

[meowzer]

This is MY OPINION......if I was gonna spend that much money......I would spend the little extra and get the 250W.....ALSO....I would go with Marineland over Coralife
I spent $1200 for my Outer Orbit 72" unit with 3 250W metal halides and 8 T5ho lights.....and also led white and blue moonlights....all have seperate timers too...which IMO is also very important

 

[acrylic51]

I would opt fo the coralife pro unit out of the 2, but I'd opt for goo reflectors and ballasts for better all around and price.

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by acrylic51
http:///forum/post/3290404
I would opt fo the coralife pro unit out of the 2, but I'd opt for goo reflectors and ballasts for better all around and price.
REALLY

I always thought Marineland was the better of the two.....

 

[ali1]

Thanx , I see They don't make those units anymore. How are the ones listed ? Any experience with them ? Is that sufficient lighting for my needs ?I'm ready to make the purchase but I wanna be sure I don't make the mistakein buying a 1000$ unit

 

[acrylic51]

I've used the AquaPro and very nice units.....Personally I'd save the $1000 cash and look at LEDs or you could go with something like IceCap or CoralVue MH ballasts (2) at about $120.00 each....Good reflectors such as LumenBright (2) not sure on current pricing, and you are no where near $1000 and IMO a better lighting system than either mentioned above....

 

[nycbob]

hv u taken a look at any t5 fixture at reefgeek.com? just as efficient if not better, and less heat than metal halide.

 

[ali1]

Yeah i seen those T5 fixture, but they dont make them in 72", and i didn't really want to go with two fixtures side by side.

 

[ali1]

I have another question.If i intend on switching the bulbs to 250watt 14k MH later down the road, is it simply swapping the bulbs or do i have to change some of the hardware in the ballast/system to allow such a thing?

 

[meowzer]

You can put whatever K bulbs you want as long as the fixture is a 250W fixture
in other words if you buy a 150W fixture......you can not use250W bulbs

 

[ali1]

Those 2 fixtures are 150watt, correct? Are their better options that is all in one unit?