Diff between VHO PC MH

autojunkie

autojunkie

Member
New, coming from FOWLR. What is betterthe diff between them and what should i run on a 90gal with intent to have an assortment of corals? thanks for all your help.
 
T

timer

Guest
i think the real difference is if you want to maintain hard corals. they need the intense MH lighting. otherwise if you are like me and like corals that, IMO have more character, VHOs would be the way to go. course you can still keep some of the hard corals under the VHOs if you want. i am still trying to upgrade my PCs to VHOs. i havent found a maker of a 24h light cycle VHO fixture yet.
also with the MH you have heat issues to think about.
 
autojunkie

autojunkie

Member
so for a 90 gal what do you think would be sufficient lighting? and, what bulbs should i use for day, and what for night?
 
T

timer

Guest
that is one of the things that is holding me back. i would like to have 4-5watts per gallon.
and i dont want to have to buy new bulbs every 6 months.
i have found a pretty cool light fixture that takes 8 54watt t-5 HO bulbs called the Nova Extreme. but i dont know how good its bulbs will be.
as far as what bulbs i like to do roughly half daylight bulb and half actinic
(im not much of a lighting buff, only speaking from what i have played with)
 
jhill5

jhill5

Member
I used to use 260 PC on 55, when the bulbs needed replaced I bought 4x54 watt T5, a little less wattage, but my tank is doing better. I have only softies.
I have read that t5 is good enough for clams if the tank is not super deep.
With that being said, I still went with metal halides for my new 180, with t5 for actinics.
 
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