lighting hood help

mary787

mary787

Member
:thinking: I'm thinking about adding to my 30 gal tank a perfecto fluorescent double buld hood. Is it good for a reef tank with maybe some soft corals and maybe even after a year an anemone? It would have 2 24"bulbs, (6500K) & (acnitic) ??i think i spelled it right??? Any suggestions?
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
I just did a little searching around and found out they are normal output bulbs. These may work for some mushrooms and zoanthids, but nothing else IMO, no anemone. The mushrooms and zoos probably wouldn't even grow and their color may become pale.
How much are you willing to spend on the lighting? Power compact lighting or VHO lights would be $130+, and metal halides are $300+ for a complete setup. Metal halides would be ideal for an anemone IMO, but you can get away with high PC/VHO lights for one. With metal halides, you can get soft corals, LPS, SPS, anemones, and clams too.
 
mary787

mary787

Member
I don't want to spend that much :nope: I'll probably look into high pc or vho lighting I guess, do you know if perfecto would carry that kind of lighting?
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
High PC/VHO lighting would still cost about $220 for a 3 bulb. That would be a retrofit setup, so you would also need to buy or make a canopy for your tank. That would be good for a bubble-tip anemone, condy, or LTA.
Or if you'd rather not spend that much, I'd say you shouldn't get an anemone. Then a coralife 2 x 65 watt hood for around $130 would be good for soft corals and LPS. No anemone IMO, but others may say otherwise. I used to have a rose bubble-tip anemone in my tank with 130 watts (2x65 watt bulbs) and the anemone went downhill fast. Just wasn't enough light for it even with feedings. I almost lost it for good. Then I got a metal halide and it's coming back now.
 
mary787

mary787

Member
Thanks for the info. I also saw some threads about DIY lighting, I'm thinking of comparing prices with that as well. I never thought this hobby would turn out to be so expensive!!!:scared:
 
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