Here we go with the lighting questions (hope I don't get confuded)

bigsteve

bigsteve

Member
First of all, sorry for a question that's been brought up a thousand times. But, I did a search and just couldn't find the answers that I wanted. (There's soooo many posts of "What kind of lights do I need for my 10g. I want a yellow tang and a clown trigger and a bunch of corals.") lol.
Ok guys. As everyone probably knows, I just got a 44g corner tank. Well, I'm going to start it out with fish & inverts, and then move up to a simple reef. It's got the perfect shape for it (diamond shaped).
So... I know all the basic terms. Normal Output, Power Compact, Very High Output, and then Metal Halide. I also know that for most soft corals, 3-5 watts per gallon is ok, but the more wattage the better in most cases (too much light can hurt, right?)
Now... here's the limiting factors. I don't want to do MH. Too expensive, too hot, and I don't even want to try corals that NEED MH lighting. Also, I'm planning on making a hood for my tank, so I'm probably going for a retro-kit. But, my questions:
Can I get away with PC, or should I go with VHO's? I found a nice kit for about $250. It's 36" 3x95w VHO's w/ Ice Cap Ballast (opinions anyone?) w/ coralife bulbs- choice of: 10000k, Trichromatic or Actinic 03.
It'll be quite a while before I scrape the money together for the kit (and I'll also be looking for it cheaper... anyone w/ good sites please email: Dropped99ZQ8@aol.com).
Am I on the right track? Thanks for any help, as always.
 
bigsteve

bigsteve

Member
Thanks for the reply Brownleaf.... at least someone likes me

I also just thought of another question... As far as the VHO vs. MH lighting goes, if I go with that VHO kit, I'll have 285 watts. More than most people's 250watt MH bulbs. I realize it's a different type of light, flourescent rather than incandescent, but are there any disadvantages to using flourescents?
(and again... sorry for asking about lighting, I know it's been covered a million times, but I think my questions are a lot more in depth than most other's)
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
The biggest difference between MH and fluorescent lighting (of the same wattage) is the "intensity" of the photosynthetic radiation...
Thats the stuff the corals use to produce energy to grow...
Try thinking of it this way...
Take a 1" PVC pipe...pump 250 gph (watts) through it...point it down into your tank...
The water will blast to a deeper depth and spread out as it goes down...
Thats what a HID (High Intensity Discharge) bulb will do..like a MH...
Now take that 1" PVC pipe and cap it...drill bunch of holes in it...as many as you want...
Now, pump 250 gph (watts) through it...and hold it horizontally over your tank...
Same amount of flow/juice/watts, but it wont "penetrate" the depths of the tank with the kind of "push" (intensity) you had in the first example...
Thats the kind of light you get from a fluorescent bulb...and the effect of the PAR (photosynthetic available radiation) you get from the two different bulbs of the same wattage...
 
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