Lighting in a 55 gal tank

[jdragunas]

I have a 55 gallon tank. Right now i just have the lighting that came with the tank (it sits on the tank). It's not even pushing 1 watt per gallon. I want to get some anemones and other corals, and my LFS says i need at least 3 watts per gallon. In your opinion, what's the best lighting setup i should get for my tank? LFS showed me a setup with a single compact light, but it would only give me about 2 watts per gallon. Need something with a dual compact light setup.
Also, he told me the lights should be at least 6 in. above the tank. Is that true? if so, how do i do that? Is there some sort of shelving unit or something i could get?

 

[jamie907]

To the best of my knowledge, metal halides are the best lights available in order to keep corals and inverts, but I'm not sure how much power you would need. They are also.. well, not cheap.

 

[arkey.d]

This is the Light Fixture I got. I can keep Soft Coral and some LPS oral. MHs are the best though and you can keep anythng with the use of them.
48in Orbit 4x65 watt SunPaq with Lunar Lights & Fan
Create the ultimate dawn to dusk effect with the pro-grade, Orbit. It packs the SunPaq Dual Daylight (10,000K & 6,700K), the Dual Actinic (460nm & 420nm) and the Lunar Light together in one sleek, fan-cooled fixture. Offering the leading technologies in one 24-hour lighting system that gives you one small step to take for a gigantic leap in performance.
Dimensions: 48" L x 8.25" W x 4.5" H
Wattage: 4 x 65W
No./Color Temp: 2-Dual Daylight/2-Dual Actinic
No. of Lunar Lights: 4
Fan: Yes
No. of Switches: 2
Configuration: C

 

[snipe]

For that orbit your looking at a $400 system and you can get a metal halide system same price on a famouse auction site. I got odyssea lights for $109 and they have antincs 12000k daylights and are wired for moon lights.

 

[jcarroll]

I've never been able to find mh lights for that cheap on any auction sites, how am I missing them? I've been searching site after site and just seem to get more and more confused about what to buy. Everything seems too pricy. Any suggestions?
jcarroll8674@yahoo.com I also have a 55 and would like reasonably priced lights and be able to keep corals and clams

 

[mudplayerx]

For clams, metal halides are mandatory. You will need at least two bulbs of 150watt HQI for a 55 gallon tank. Try to position the clams at the uppermost portions of your live rock.
ps- if your clams start becoming more and more colorful and opening up wider, this is a sign they are not getting enough light.

 

[arkey.d]

Originally posted by Snipe
For that orbit your looking at a $400 system and you can get a metal halide system same price on a famouse auction site.
My Orbit Fixture only cost $270

 

[snipe]

If you look hard you can find them cheap but most ppl have them at $399 or $450 I saw a couple around $270 $280 mark but that is still along way from $109

 

[jdragunas]

i looked on that famous auction site. I found a Jebo 48" 4X65 compact light set with built in fans and lunar lights for only $115. is this a pretty good deal? I'm not looking to keep clams, only some corals, mushrooms, anemones, polyps, and maybe some other stuff like that.

 

[arkey.d]

Sounds Like A Great Price. That's the same type of setup that I have at half the price. Is the unit new or used?

 

[arkey.d]

Sounds Like A Great Price. That's the same type of setup that I have at half the price. Is the unit new or used?

 

[jdragunas]

says it's brand new in the box.
Maybe you can answer some of my questions, because the seller is not getting back to me in a timely manner. How does this setup work? I mean, there's 4 lights. are these all day lights? where are the lunar lights? are those a separate thing, or are they all in the same unit. Says there's 4 lunar lights, but the picture of the unit only showed the 4 compact lights (2 12000k & 2 actinic). Also, what is the difference between these two different kinds of lights? sorry about all of the questions.

 

[arkey.d]

The Lunar Lights are built in and are very small, they look like a screw head. The 2 Actinics are the dusk/dawn lights and the others are daytime lights. Use the Lunar lights at night then the actinics for dawn then turn the daylights on then off then the actinics off and lunar lights on......... to simulate dusk to dawn effect.

 

[jdragunas]

so with this kind of setup, the tank's only going to be getting 130 watts at a time? I need at least 3 watts per gallon, if not more... hmmmm. are there like 80 watt bulbs?

 

[arkey.d]

You keep the actinics and daylights on at the same time for about 6 hours, so that gives you 4 X 65watts=260watts. The next step up is 4X96watts...

 

[jdragunas]

does this system have a timer for the different lights? i work all day long, so i wouldn't be able to turn the actinics off during the day.

 

[arkey.d]

Mine has 3 cords comming out of the unit that I put on Timers. I would think the unit your looking at has the same thing that you could put them on timers as well

 

[jdragunas]

awesome, thanks for all of your help!

 

[snipe]

Well the light your looking at only has 1 cord but it has 3 switches. You can fix that with some DIY though.

 

[jdragunas]

yeah, i noticed that. Arkey, what brand do you have?