lighting help please...

mujtba

mujtba

Member
i am starting to make a reef. i have a 55g tank. what kind of lighting do i need? any places i can check online? i prefer tube lights because they do not heat up. can i get something like that?
also the tanks in my livin room, so i prefer something i can just sit on top of the tank. maybe remove my current canopy.
helppppp... details please.. provide me with actual names i can look up and see pics of also..
:help:
thanks
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
What kinds of corals do you want to keep? You shouldn't spend extra money on more expensive lights if you do not want the high-lighting corals. The tube lights you are refering to would be normal output (NO), power compacts (PC), and very high output (VHO) lights. Note that NO lights cannot support any photosynthetic corals. All lights do heat up too.
 
corbettb

corbettb

Member
For my 60 gallon, I purchased a 48 in, 4x55 power compact setup. I then built some plexiglass "legs" onto it to set it right onto the tank but with the required 3-4 inches above. I also purchased a couple fans to help with the heat. The lights were only $99 for "Jebo" brand on everyone's favorite auction site. I do recommend that you upgrade the bulbs that come with it but that's a great price just for the fixture. The fans are also easy to find on the same auction site. These lights will support a lot of corals and did so for me. Just a suggestion. I thinks the lights may have gotten even cheaper now as well.
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
tube lights produce less heat.
i want basic corals. i dont know much about them. but i suppose i wont be getting the ones that need too much light.
do soft corals take more or less than hard? im still learnin..
thanks ill look into the jebo lights. i hope its self explanatory. is it tube lights or bulbs?
how do you setup fans? jebo fans? i dont want it to look sloppy in my livin room..
thanx
 
corbettb

corbettb

Member
For fans, I just searched for "aquarium fans." You can also find fans that'll work at Radio Shack, that are made for computers. Do you have a hod for your tank? I built one for mine that concealed the lights and fans. I would recommend that you build or buy one. Exposed fans, in my opinion, don't look that great.
These bulbs are called power compact and look like the picture I'll attach. (The pic is after I retro-fitted them into a small tank)
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
do you face the fans towards your water or lights? does it stick on to something or we need to find a way to make it stick?
 
corbettb

corbettb

Member
Before I modified the fixture, it was 48" long total.
Those bulbs are 21" long. I cut the reflector to 19" to fit inside an Eclipse 12 hood. If oyu look in the nano forum I have a post with a bunch of pix attached about the retro-fit.
And as for the fans, they typically have a bolt hole in each corner to be attached to something. I attached them to me "legs" and aimed them toward each other (facing from each side into the middle of the light.
I've attached a very basic sketch of what my leg/fan assembly is like. I cut it out of plexiglass with a dremel.
 
corbettb

corbettb

Member
Really not bad at all. There area also pre-fabricated "legs" you can buy at most fish stores and you can just set the fans right on the glass on top of the tank as well. This hobby is usually only as hard as you choose to make it...
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
thankx.. i saw some plactic clear legs online. i think its for these light hoods. i can then just raise the hood up 2 inches i think.
i suppose i can get a jebo power compace for about $109, 240W i think. is that enough, or i can just upgrade the bulbs always?
wats the normal watts it should be in a reef?
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
240 watts would be enough for zoos, shrooms, polyps, leathers, and LPS corals. No clams or SPS.
You can't just upgrade the bulbs. The ballasts that run the bulbs are made for a certain wattage of bulbs, and only that wattage it cannot be changed.
Normal wattage? I don't think there is really normal, but the best lights would be MH, and that is as close to the sun's rays as they get.
 
corbettb

corbettb

Member
I looked and you can get the Jebo 220 watt (4x55 power compact) like I have for roughly $75 + shipping. You can then upgrade to a higher quality bulb. The blue bulbs that come with this are not actinic at all and are pretty much worthless. I prefer the Coralife 10k actinics myself. It's true you can't upgrade to higher wattage but you can get better QUALITY 55 watt bulbs. That's what I'd recommend to keep many corals without the huge expense of metal halide. Lots of colorful, interesting, and pretty hardy corals will thrive under those lights.
 
mujtba

mujtba

Member
wow $75? can you please email me the link:
mujtba@galaxyhit.com
also, is orbit light better? what is all that lunar talk about?
are you ABSOLUTLY sure if i get the jebo light, it will be enough for a reef?
thanks
 
corbettb

corbettb

Member
If you just go to everyone's favorite auctoin site and type "jebo" in a search, you'll find them. God luck!
 
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