lighting for a 20L

gregvabch

gregvabch

Active Member
i'm trying to decide which would be better for a 20 long i want to set up as a reef tank. either a setup that would include one 175W metal halide and two 75W VHO's, or 3 55W PC's. are they both comparable set ups or would one be better than the other?
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
If you can afford it go with the 175 halide and at least 2 supplemental actinics whether pc's or vhos. Always go higher if you can afford it. Youll be way happier with the growth and color... Besides a 175 halide can always be used again on a bigger tank one day....
If the halide is to expensive go with the vho's. OR maybe 2 96 watt pc's? your tank is 30 inches long i think and would be a perfect candidate for 2 :)
 
gregvabch

gregvabch

Active Member
my question is would i get the same results if i had 3 55 W pc's as i would with the 175W mh + 2 75W VHO's? if i got the MH it would really just be for something small like that. if i get MH's for my 55, i'll definetly be going for 2 250W's or maybe even 2 400W's in case i decide to expand. but money wise i can't go wrong with the 175W MH and two VHO's for the 20L i'm setting up. i just want to make sure that there would be a difference, otherwise i'll just go with the 3 55W PC's because of the obvious difference in prices. i haven't fully decided what i'm going to put in there but i don't want any limitations because of lighting.
 
catera

catera

Member
you will be much happier with mh. youll get a better spectrum of lighting. i have a 175, 2x20 vho and i love it. 20 long youll have to watch temps but i just leave a fan on it and its fine. in my opinion go with metal halide.
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
Catera you can match the spectrum of light a vho+mh combo gives off to a pc combo but you can not match the sheer power of mh+vho to a pc. Its all in the output power of the light. A halide light will provide you with much better color and growth in your corals since the corals will be recieveing light comparable to the sun. If you can afford it go with the mh+vho combo, otherwise try 3 pc's.
 
dazed1

dazed1

Member
I have a 20 long, and earlier I was using a 2 X 65 W PC. Changed that over to a 250W MH 10000k Ushio bulb. The corals are showing a real good response to the lights only after 1 - 1.5 months of changing them. Although i'm using a pendant, you have to worry about heat. Easily taken care of by having a 6" fan blowing on top of the water surface.
 
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