Help Me! Pretty Please? I'll

landolakes

Member
I would not get those for any anenomes. They are right up at the top even with halides and are very light demanding. I would look for a reef club/society in your area and buy some halides from someone, you can usually get them really cheap. I also have the that system and I am satisfied but they definately will not support an anenome in my tank.
 

tx reef

Active Member
The watts per gallon rule is pretty much crap.
It does not take into account the type of lighting or the depth of tank.
For example, 220 watts of VHO lighting is very much superior to 260 watts of PC lighting.
If you want to try anemones and are on a budget, consider VHOs. You could get a fixture with 4-110 watt bulbs. The bulbs have to be replaced every 8 months, but are pretty cheap.
 

imurnamine

Active Member
Okay... and might you be able to show me what those are?
I know VHO = Very High Output... but... I'm still a light-novice.
How much more expensive will it be than what I found on the big auction site?
 

tx reef

Active Member
I read back in the earlier posts and see that you want an actual fixture and don't want to build a canopy. The VHOs I am talking about would have to retro-fit into a canopy.
If you are set on buying a fixture and don't want to spend at least $300, then you are pretty much stuck with PCs.
 

miaheatlvr

Active Member
Originally Posted by ImUrNamine
Question.
With the PC that I'm talking about, could I put a higher wattage bulb in it...?
I dont think you can do that because of the ballast!
 

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by ImUrNamine
Question.
With the PC that I'm talking about, could I put a higher wattage bulb in it...?

No.
 

torno

Member
Hey, did you get the bowfront from *****? They're having that sale where you buy the stand, you get the tank free (excluding overflows and kits). I was there tonight and I saw the 72 gallon bowfront, the stand was only $150! I'm so tempted to get it....
 

imurnamine

Active Member
Oh my gaw, no!
I bought my stand there last week... I'm going to return it and re-buy it and take back the tank I bought at my job.
 

miaheatlvr

Active Member
Originally Posted by ImUrNamine
Dammit!
Okay, if you guys could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it very muchly.
Im gonna tell you in the most straight forward way and try not to disrespect the others.Get the best lights you can afford which in your case are the 260w pc's. ME personally I have 4w per gallon with my Anemone sitting up close to the light, but you can also see how healty and happy he is for OVER a year! He moved until he found his sweet spot and now does not move! You are pretty much in the same situation as me. Keep asking but as far as i go, I think you will be fine! And that is my unbiased opinion!
 

tx reef

Active Member
I agree that a few anemones out of hundreds will live under PCs if the rock work is stacked so it can get as close to the lights as it wants. But remember, you could kill a great many anemone before you find one that will be okay with these lights.
Also, the only anemone that would have a chance under these lights would be a BTA. No Rose BTAs, they do even worse under this lighting.
 

hatebreed

New Member
Aquatraders.com has a 36" 305 watt fixture that includes one 175 watt halide and two 65 watt PC for $179. That would give you an extra 45 watts and a halide. Perhaps you could just put lower light corals off to the sides.
If you can push the extra $100 they also have a 48 inch fixture for $299. It is 542 total watts and has 2 175 watt halides and 2 96 watt PC. It might be a little overkill on lights, I am also not much of a light expert.
For $269 they also have a 480 watt fixture at 36 inches.
You can view the selection here:
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp...TS&Category=24
 

doglvr

Member
Drs Foster & Smith have a 48" Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights on sale for $199.99 + $12.99 shipping ($50 off reg) I just received my 38" lights from them. Ordered them
on Monday & they were delivered on Saturday in perfect condition :) http://www.**************.com/
I looked at lighting for a month before settling on these. The
MH's were just too much for my $200 budget. On several sites
the concensus was PC lighting is ok, but does not penetrate the water as deep as T5's. This, along with reading posts from many happy T5 owners, helped me make my desicion on these.
This Nova light is compact, 4 power cords, built-in fan, and 3 white lunar lights. The 48" gets 4 lunars and is 4x54. I am very pleased with them, and so far my corals are too :)
 

hardcrab67

Member
I have the Odyssea w/ 2x65 12,000 daylights and 2x65 blue actinic on my 55g since Dec '05. I like the light but not the brand. The fans quit working a month after I had it. The legs didn't really fit but work w/ little adjustment. If I'd had it to do over I would go w/ Current or best yet a Coralife, but they are twice the price. Your tank's a little deeper than mine, I would be looking at 2x96 daylights and 2x96 acts. You could add MH later. I have moderate growth and if I were upgrading my light to house SPS, I would add a 2x250 10,000k MH. Here's some pics of both light cycles. JME
I've had that RBTA since Feb and I think from not regularly spot-feeding is why he got a little bleached(they don't catch enough to count), first I was over-feeding(everyday) it is recovering nicely on a shrimp/clam diet fed every other day. They will find a spot they like, if I move the rock he will move over to where he was, I just have to rearrange that rock slowly if I'm moving rock around. Again JME


 

efishnsea

Active Member
Originally Posted by MiaHeatLvr
Im gonna tell you in the most straight forward way and try not to disrespect the others.Get the best lights you can afford which in your case are the 260w pc's. ME personally I have 4w per gallon with my Anemone sitting up close to the light, but you can also see how healty and happy he is for OVER a year! He moved until he found his sweet spot and now does not move! You are pretty much in the same situation as me. Keep asking but as far as i go, I think you will be fine! And that is my unbiased opinion!

I had a LTA under 4- 96watt PC's for 5 years, on the bottom of my 75g. Now he is in my 210g on the bottom under 3-250 MH's and looks the same
..
 
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