Learning for the Future

[rberhow]

OK, I will be the first to admit that I am no where near being ready or able to move onto a reef tank. I lack the experience and definitely the know how. So, I am wanting to glean all of your knowledge in the coming months so I will know when I have finally reached the point that we can try our hand at it and be successful. So my first question and it will show my absolute lack of knowledge is, what is the difference between metal halide, PC, and any other type of lights? Which is the best investment for the long run? What can we expect to pay? Are there aspects that we will be able to do ourselves to save money? I know this is not the brightest question but I have to start somewhere right. h* TIA

 

[romeofoeve]

Ok. the first thing you need to keep in mind is the size and depth of your aquarium. and ill explain, the depth determines how low the light will reach. so if you have a very tall aquarium, you will need higher intensity lighting in order to penetrate deeper. the second thing you need to think about is what type of reef inhabitants you will be keeping. some corals need more light than others. clams also require high intensity lighting.
Metal halides look like regular screw in light bulbs. and thats about it, they are a completely different animal. they produce a very high amount of light and very intense. They are hung like a pendant above the aquarium. the Pros about them arethey are very powerful and will enable you to keep any type of light demanding coral. the cons: they are Very expensive($300-1000), they generate alot of heat, therefore require a chiller (which also costs about $500-900) and the bulbs are very expensive to replace.
Power compacts (PC's) are similar to flourescents, however they are dual tubes, and the tubes are thinner. they produce higher intensity lighting than flourescent and are much much cheaper than MH (metal halides). the pros: they are cheaper, the bulbs are cheaper, you have many different lighting options as far as colors, they can be retrofitted into a regular hood.
VHO's (Very High Output) lights are similar to flourescents but smaller in diameter. they are single tubes, unlike PC's. the advantage of having smaller diameter tubes is the gas will run hotter, creating a higher intensity light than flourescents.
I Personally believe for most applications PC's work Wonderfully. as a matter of fact, my lfs has been running Flourescents in his coral tanks and i have bought almost all my corals from him and they all flourish in my house as well as in his displays.
all in all, it dep[ends on what you will be keeping and your tank size. i have been running PC's for the past 6 months and they work perfectly. what i did myself to save money is to buy a PC retrofit kit and build a hood myself. it has saved a heap of money. and in this hobby, every penny helps.
the best way to learn more is go on different sites and take a look at the corals, you will learn which require certain lighting, water flow, placement, and care.

 

[55galgill]

well im definitly no expert but i am a beginner just like you.. i did alot of research on lighting. i decided to go with PC lights the advantages are that you can keep alot of different things. it doesnt produce alot of heat like metal halide. with out a doubt i think MH is the best but its kinda expensive and produces alot of heat. Now as far as corals i would maybe do what i did. i went to the lfs and got myself some yellow polyps on a small rock with about 25-30 of them on there. they are easy to take care of and feed. and you dont have to sell your first born to buy them. also if you lose them you can figure out what u did wrong and start over as soon as your ready again. the main thing with corals is lighting and water quality. if you get your water in line and get proper lighting youll be fine. pick up a good coral book. ill be doing that soon too :happy: i hope this helps you im sure some one will chime in with gobs of usefull info too

 

[55galgill]

romeofoeve beat me too it! lol , and i couldnt have said it better. good answer to his post
romeo :cheer:

 

[romeofoeve]

Thanks 55GalGill. its been such a learning experience. its a science as much as its a hobby. it seems every aspect needs to be looked after. its also an addiction and debt maker. speaking of selling your first born, they have an acanstrea... on eye it buy it for $2000, WOW! thats a lil too much for a coral.
anyway, tell us about your tank and how long its been up and running, rberhow, that way we can show you what will be sufficient. keep in mind once you decide to go reef, you will need more than lights. you will need powerheads, skimmers, additives, and most of all alot of time, money and most importantly patience.

 

[rberhow]

First of all, let me say thanks for the great info. It helped clear up alot of my questions and brought up a whole new batch, which I have found to be typical in this hobby. h* Anyways, the thought is, we are looking at buying a 75 gallon, complete sw setup from a girl at my hubby's work. It is completely established with lr/ls, protein skimmer, hob filter, power heads and fish. We also own a 55 gallon that has been up and running for about 2 months that has lr/ls, protein skimmer, hob filter, power head, and fish/clean up crew in it already. Our thought was, down the road to either convert the 75 to an aggressive tank or make the 75 our FOWLR tank and convert our 55 to a reef tank. From my understanding, the 55 is too new to be a reef tank as of yet and is becoming more stable but we aren't there yet. So that's why I want to get all the info I can get so we can decide what route we would take with the "new" tank. What do you think? Would the 55 or the 75 be better as the reef? What could I be buying and getting ready while we allow our 55 to become more established?

 

[snailheave]

since you said best investment in the long-run, without knowing exactly what you plan to keep, i would say mh lights. i've just recently gone through the ever upgrading of lighting equipment. had i not had the this-is-enough-for-what-i-need mentality i would've saved myself tons of money. lighting is the one piece of equipment that you shouldn't take the save-of-the-moment approach.