Coralife Aqualight Power Compact Light

[gen1dustin]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for a light for my 55g tank I'm starting. I am kind of on a tight budget so looking for all options. I want a few corals or maybe an anenome or two in the near future after it's been set up for a while. Does anyone know how the Coralife Aqualight Power Compact Strip Light - 48" - 4x65 watt. It comes with two atinic & two 10,000 K lights. That would be about 4.73 WPG. So I'm under the influence that this would be moderate lighting and quite good for a good bit of corals. What do ya'll think? Thanks in advance.

 

[arsen_36]

yeah you could keep softies and lps with that light but your gonna want to stay away from anemones sps and clams. for those you need mh.

 

[krazy302]

I have this light on my tank I think it is a great light...Doesn't throw off alot of heat and really didn't even raise the temp in my tank..I have it mounted to the top of my canopy about 8 inches from the tank top..

 

[gen1dustin]

So things like anemones, clams, & sps corals specifically need metal halide lighting? I thought that as long as you had enough lumens & an animal that needs around that amount of lumens?

 

[arsen_36]

um im not to educated about lumens but i doubt pc's give off the amount of lumens a metel halide bulb would.

 

[gen1dustin]

Originally Posted by arsen_36
um im not to educated about lumens but i doubt pc's give off the amount of lumens a metel halide bulb would.
Probally not, but correct me if I'm wrong as I am totally a newb to the SW section of fish keeping, but I've never heard where anemones have to specifically have metal halide lighting verses something else, when you could get another type of light fixture that does in fact put off that same amount.

 

[gen1dustin]

bump*

 

[bawood]

It has to do with overall light versus intensity.
MH has more intensity to penetrate water, MH and PCs don't penetrate as well. Shallow aqauriums cans make a difference, but that's a bandage fix. The intensity of the lighting from MH also helps the photosynthesis in the animals take place better. PC and Vhos put out less lumens and generally spread it out more. You've also got to consider the light's spectrum, from my limited knowledge PCs struggle to produce the spectrum as well as MHs.
It depends on the exact situation, but generally speaking it's a much healthier and safer condition for anenomes and clams to be under the MH.

 

[gen1dustin]

Ok cool thanks for the comment ya'll. I think what I'm going to do is for now I'll get the Coralife Aqualight PC, but the one with only 2 65 watt bulbs & later on I'll get me a MH pendant to add on to the system. How does that sound? Because I need me a light regardless & I figure that way gets the most out of itself in the long run.

 

[bawood]

That'd be a good setup for a start with mushrooms and leathers. You can add the MH later for more stuff. Allows you to upgrade efficiently in steps as that pc could still be used once you add the MH. I think you'll need two mh for a 48" aquarium though.

 

[gen1dustin]

Originally Posted by BAWood
That'd be a good setup for a start with mushrooms and leathers. You can add the MH later for more stuff. Allows you to upgrade efficiently in steps as that pc could still be used once you add the MH. I think you'll need two mh for a 48" aquarium though.
Ok cool thanks. Exactly what I was thinking maybe just some mushrooms with just the PCs & later on add the MH too it & I could grow a lot of different stuff.
Well I was looking at the pendants & notice most of them are either 150 watts or 250 watts. So should I get multiple? Which wattage? Or what.

 

[bawood]

Depends on aqaurium depth. A pair of 150s would probably be fine, but I'm not an expert on MH lights.

 

[gen1dustin]

I actually found an awesome deal on an Odysea 4x65 PC fixture, 260 watts total. So sometime down the road I'll decide on the MH. Though for now I'm guessing there is a pretty good bit of corals that I could grow with 260 watts. The tank is a standard 55 Gallon.

 

[drewdog82]

I also have a 55 and I have a 4x54 T-5 lighting unit. Although it isn't as good as MH, it produces a great deal of light and I know many people have posted success with keeping a BTA under this lighting. I plan on getting a BTA evetually, to make my perculas happy.

 

[gen1dustin]

Originally Posted by drewdog82
I also have a 55 and I have a 4x54 T-5 lighting unit. Although it isn't as good as MH, it produces a great deal of light and I know many people have posted success with keeping a BTA under this lighting. I plan on getting a BTA evetually, to make my perculas happy.
Yeah I also have thought about just trying an anemone with just this lighting. I hear most people say no you need MH, but I've heard of people saying they kept them fine not under MH.

 

[macsmith77]

I just did the 260w coralife lunar thing, and have been very happy. The LR I have is showing new signs of life already.. I would think that you could put most coral in your tank, if you kept the more demanding ones higher in the water column. My tank is a regular 55 as well, and the lighting is very bright. I have read a number of negative things regarding Odyssea, just my 2 cents, Spend the extra cash. 200 bucks is pretty cheap in the world of saltwater setup lighting.

 

[gen1dustin]

Originally Posted by macsmith77
I just did the 260w coralife lunar thing, and have been very happy. The LR I have is showing new signs of life already.. I would think that you could put most coral in your tank, if you kept the more demanding ones higher in the water column. My tank is a regular 55 as well, and the lighting is very bright. I have read a number of negative things regarding Odyssea, just my 2 cents, Spend the extra cash. 200 bucks is pretty cheap in the world of saltwater setup lighting.
Well I went on ahead & got the Odyssea one. I'm happy with it, everything works fine. I've heard bad about the brand, but then again I've read a lot of people saying their lights worked out fine. So far so good, I just couldn' beat the price. It's was $79.95 for a 260 watt fixture 48" long. Came with 2 65w 12000 K bulbs, 2 65w Atinic, 4 bluie lunar lights, 2 fans, & mounting legs.

 

[cowfishrule]

Originally Posted by Gen1Dustin
Yeah I also have thought about just trying an anemone with just this lighting. I hear most people say no you need MH, but I've heard of people saying they kept them fine not under MH.

i had more success with a bta under my pc's than my mh

 

[gen1dustin]

Originally Posted by COWFISHRULE
i had more success with a bta under my pc's than my mh
Really......... I guess some people have luck doing that. I might try me one too under my PCs.

 

[fishfiend]

i have the coralife 4X65W with the lunar lights, and my BTA is doing awsome!
alot of people (including LFS) said they would die, but mine seems to be doing really well.