lighting new to this
- Thread starter sciknen
- Start date
thangbom
Active Member
i know that this hobby is expensive... going reef or just fowlr but one thing i will always tell someone when setting up a tank is to get a decent lighting.. yes, even if it's a FO or whatnot... why??? the difference of how 'nice' your tank can look are really dependant on the lighting... ever notice how nice fish look in reef tanks under good lighting as oppose to the same fish you see at the LFS under regular flourecents??? it's all in the lighting... i remember when i had regular shop lights on ly agressive then 'up-graded' to PC's... i was like wow!!! look at the colors!! aceenics really bring out colors in fish and other things... so my advice is to get something decent... if i where to just set-up a fowlr i would do a pair of t5.. one blue+ and one acetenic... or maybe one aqua sun and acetenic... on SLR... it will make you $100 fish look the $100 that it is worth...
YzGyz
YzGyz
reefforbrains
Active Member
Build your own skimmer............. might be ugly but it will work, and save you tons.
Build your own stand.............pain in the tail but if you are handy go for it.
Grab a buddy's used tank on the cheap..........a scratch or two will be overlooked.
Seed your live rock......Be patient and it will save a ton.
OK BUY GOOD LIGHTING!!!! Onlything worse than dealing with the financial punch in the face of having to buy lighting is when you have to buy them more than once. Cheap lights just plain suck. No way around it. They might function and get you by for the time being, but you will indeed regret cheap lights if you are planning on going with anything reef related. Cheapo bulbs, crumby reflectors, inferior ballasts ect ect ect.
Lighting is a system. It provides a very valuable and demanding purpose for our tanks health. When shopping for lighting with products side by side, the little differences that you might overlook if you are thinking to just grab something to get you by will surley bite you in the backside down the road.
Maybe in powerbills being higher than needed.
Maybe noisy or annoyingly loud cooling fans.
Maybe in bulblife being prematurely shortened by inferior electronics internally
Maybe the reflectors look to your eye as bright but the "usable light" is half what you would have gotten with another so your photo dependant inhabitants will starve.
A good lighting system is worth its weight in gold for this hobby. Not just bigger and better, but more importantly being of good quality, safe, and reliable with consitant quiet operation for the long term.
Sorry for the rant, but just all too often folks try to "make due" and it becomes an expensive headache that is so easily preventable. Just do some research. Get lots of oppinions, and then go from there for what you are planning long term for your tank and its inhabitants.
-RFB
Build your own stand.............pain in the tail but if you are handy go for it.
Grab a buddy's used tank on the cheap..........a scratch or two will be overlooked.
Seed your live rock......Be patient and it will save a ton.
OK BUY GOOD LIGHTING!!!! Onlything worse than dealing with the financial punch in the face of having to buy lighting is when you have to buy them more than once. Cheap lights just plain suck. No way around it. They might function and get you by for the time being, but you will indeed regret cheap lights if you are planning on going with anything reef related. Cheapo bulbs, crumby reflectors, inferior ballasts ect ect ect.
Lighting is a system. It provides a very valuable and demanding purpose for our tanks health. When shopping for lighting with products side by side, the little differences that you might overlook if you are thinking to just grab something to get you by will surley bite you in the backside down the road.
Maybe in powerbills being higher than needed.
Maybe noisy or annoyingly loud cooling fans.
Maybe in bulblife being prematurely shortened by inferior electronics internally
Maybe the reflectors look to your eye as bright but the "usable light" is half what you would have gotten with another so your photo dependant inhabitants will starve.
A good lighting system is worth its weight in gold for this hobby. Not just bigger and better, but more importantly being of good quality, safe, and reliable with consitant quiet operation for the long term.
Sorry for the rant, but just all too often folks try to "make due" and it becomes an expensive headache that is so easily preventable. Just do some research. Get lots of oppinions, and then go from there for what you are planning long term for your tank and its inhabitants.
-RFB
frankthetank
Active Member
I personally would recommend a Current Dual Satellite or Orbit PC fixture since money is an issue for you. I have a Dual Satellite PC fixture that was worked great for me! One thing though, it is shipped with a dual daylight bulb (10k & 6700k). I purchased a straight 10k bulb last week to replace the bulbs and the 10k looks beautiful!!! I can't begin to tell you how much of a difference all 10k makes compared to that ugly yellowish 6700k bulb!!! It's like I got a whole new tank! So when you buy these set ups, I recommend replacing the daylight bulb with a 10k bulb. Maybe save the dual daylight for emergencies if a light goes out on you or something?
Anyways, that's my thought since money is an issue. It's a great light system... and you can keep a lot of corals with it.
Anyways, that's my thought since money is an issue. It's a great light system... and you can keep a lot of corals with it.