Help me with my lighting choice

[boostin240]

I am new to the hobby and i was given my whole setup from a freind and the lighting i have is pretty weak.
What is a good setup using T5 or MH lights for a 38G tank? I am wanting to be able to keep my live rock coverd in the green and purple coraline it has now, and maybe corals in the future And what is a good place i can buy a light kit from?
I want something thats plug and play, all i have to do is plug the light in and im done, nothing i have to really put together that much. I say that becuas ei have seen alot of MH lights that you have to build.
thanks

 

[sign guy]

for coral I would recamend MH's. they are a more powerful and give off a good shimmering effect. They also are known to run hotter than t5's, are more expensive to run and buy.

 

[boostin240]

Well, right now i have no corals and i prob wont have any for awhile so maybe i only need a T5 light, but is there a huge price difference between the two lights? If thre not that bad i might as well get the MH light and be done with it. But i cant seem to find a good place that sells them as a whole fixture so i can sit it on top of my tank and plug it in?
anyone show me a website that has some good prices for something like that?

 

[sign guy]

cant post websites, its not allowed on the form. A very good brand is coralife.
google coral life or its parent company ESU and see what meets your budget

 

[boostin240]

oo
ok, thanks i will do that

 

[reeffreakgeek]

If your tank is not to deep I would go T5's.Unless you want to hang the lights, MH may produce heat issues especially in a 38.
Look at these options:
Current Nova Extremes
Tek by Sunlight Supply
Aquatinics
Aquamedic
Prices vary greatly
Good Luck

 

[boostin240]

Thats really helpful and i was worried about having too much heat
what wattage shold i aim for with the T5 lights? And does it get a little more complicated thatn just having the one light? I see that the MH lights have not only the MH bulb but also alot of other bulbs in the same fixture, do i not have to worry about that with the T5 light? Or do i have to turn on differnt lights at differnt times or something like?

 

[boostin240]

I quick look around and i found a decently priced unit for about 200 dollars.
It has 1 X 150 WATT METAL HQI HALIDE HQI 20,000K BULB
2 X 24 WATT T5 10000k BULBS
1-Ceiling hanging kit
1-non corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
1-tempered glass splash guard to block uv rays
Would that be sufficent for my 38G tank? And will those bulb temps be ok for my live rock and possibly corals in the future?

 

[brucoh]

That's an odd unit in that the halide is 20000K and the T5's are 10000K. I'd rather have the halide 10000K and the T5's as actincs.

 

[jfcat]

I'm assuming standard 38g which is 36"x12".
Sounds to me like you want a FOWLR with the option of adding some (beginner) corals in the future. Really, both MH and T5 are overkill. You could be quite sucessful with PC or even VHO. Under the PC's you can keep the LR fine, and even have soft corals and lowlight LPS / SPS.
Down the road, if you decide you enjoy the hobby you'll want a larger tank (you say no now, but you will

. You can then use the 38 as a sump / refugiam as for a larger 55 or 75 gallon (both of which are 48" in length). The PC or VHO setup would still be fine for that (MH would be way overkill for a refugium) and then buy a dual 175 MH setup.
MH lighting generally is considered to cover a 2'x2' area so with the one 150 watt MH you're over doing the front and back and under doing the sides. What you'd really want for that tank size is something with dual 70 watt MH's.
The end answer to your question is that lighting is a very complicated piece of equipment, probably the most of all the pieces that you'll buy. Exactly which type and how much is firstly dependant on your planned stock list and secondly on your budget. If you wanna keep clams, you need MH. If you can't afford MH you shouldn't keep clams.
You can also consider the overall look of the tank under different lightiong. I went MH rather than T5 because I prefer the shimmering effect that the single point light makes. Any of the long bulb type fixtures will give the tank an overall lighted look, which to me looks "flat". The MH + pc combination looks more natural.

 

[reeffreakgeek]

Originally Posted by boostin240
I quick look around and i found a decently priced unit for about 200 dollars.
It has 1 X 150 WATT METAL HQI HALIDE HQI 20,000K BULB
2 X 24 WATT T5 10000k BULBS
1-Ceiling hanging kit
1-non corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
1-tempered glass splash guard to block uv rays
Would that be sufficent for my 38G tank? And will those bulb temps be ok for my live rock and possibly corals in the future?
As long as you hang them from the ceiling I think you won't have heat issues.Strange bulb arrangements though.200 bucks for that fixtures sounds cheap.Is it used?Is it an Oydessea?
Be careful if its either.Odyssea are not quality fixtures.It should be plenty of light although I would change the T5 10k bulbs to actinics.