Is a metal halide alone enough?

[mister entropy]

Will a reef tank thrive on a metal halide bulb alone, or does it need T5's to supplement? My tank is 50 gallons and about 20 inches high. It came (it's a used tank) with a hood that just has one 150 HQI bulb and two moonlights. Do I need to upgrade to a hood that will support PC's or T5's if I want a true reef system?

 

[teresaq]

unless you want dawn and dusk, The light you have is fine.
T

 

[salt210]

as Teresa stated it is usually for dawn to dusk but also some us the T5s to control the color as halides arent as easy to "play" with the color

 

[teresaq]

Thats true. I use cheap nova single bulb t5 for actinic to make my tank a little more blue
T

 

[mister entropy]

Good to hear. Thanks for the feedback.