Heres a List of MH..Which should I purchase for a 56 gallon tank...

[ashley84]

I have a 56 gallon tank with a width of 31". So people are saying I can get a 24"-30" light fixtures. Theres not a whole lot of 30" lights (due to probably not being popular) but I did find 1 fixture thats measured 30"...Now our goal is to get ANY coral for our tank....So heres a list of lights....Please help me choose..im new to MH and dont know the differences between them....Thanks guys
1) 24" SunPod 1x 250W HQI Fixture by Current USA @ $315.99
2) 30" SunPod 1x 250W HQI Fixture by Current USA @ $369.99 (Which would be more beneficial for my tank 24 or 30)
3) 24" Marineland Marine Series Pro Metal Halide Fixture 1X150W HQI & 4X24W T5 @ $424.99
There you have it guys...which one should I go with?
Thanks guys and gals

 

[ashley84]

anyone? Im making the purchase in next couple of days and in a bindof which one to purchase..can someone please give me an input?

 

[vinnyraptor]

they will all work fine.

 

[ashley84]

sooo the 24" sunpod will work just as well as the marineland? So it would be foolish for me to spend the extra $100?

 

[spanko]

Don't know much about the Marineland brand quality wise but if you can get a MH fixture with either PC or T5 supplements you will be happier. I say this because the MH, no matter what kelvin bulb you use IMO will not give the fluorescence of actinic supplement.

 

[ashley84]

ya im leaning towards the marineland one. now my ? is since my top is 30inch wide would the 24inch be ok? ive heard with mh u cant lay it flat on glass that itll rip a whole and fall in. so how do i mount it? do the legs that it comes with adjust to the size or do i haveta purchase something else?

 

[bmkj02]

Being that your tank is 31" and the light is 24" the legs wont reach unless you make something for it or buy one of those light hanging kits and hangs it above. Im not familar with any of those units so the legs may extend out but

 

[ashley84]

I ended up getting the 24" marineland. The guy said as long as my top of tank is all glass I can sit the light on top with the legs mounted on light...Can't wait to get everything running

 

[mxkris]

I just purchased that SAME fixture! Mine shipped yesterday so let me know if you get yours before mine how ya like it!

 

[chrisnif]

I know you already got something, but I have a 56 gallon with a custom hood and I have a 175W MH single-end bulb in it. Works great. The previous owner removed the center brace and replaced it with clear acrylic. Here's a picture of it, from the previous owner, I'd never put the fish you see in this small of a tank It's nice tho

 

[mxkris]

Ashley.. I got my Marineland fixture tonight. Looks really really cool, however, didn't realize it was the size of the ENTIRE top of my tank.. I hope it clears the filter...
ANYWAY... I started putting it together right away (removing packing stuff.. blah blah) Well, the last step is to put the legs on. I didn't get past this step.. let me just say I hope you have better luck then I did. The allen head bolts that have to be tightened to get the legs on stripped out. ALL FOUR of them. I guess I'll be out to the hardware store in the morning to look for some screws that will work. I'll let you know when I get it all squared away and on the tank.

 

[ashley84]

thanks for the update! We are waiting for our shipment to come thursday...Were really excited and cant wait to piece this aquarium together..

 

[tizzo]

I'm glad you chose marineland, even though I don't know much about that particular brand. But I work in a lfs that sold current's setups and they are notorious for bulbs burning out around 4 or 5 months old, the sockets got water damage and a lot of them even smoked!
Good luck with your new purchase.